The 1% Secretly Controlling Nigeria Since 1900

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:02]In a country whereby over 255 million Nigerians are living in abject poverty.

[00:00:09]>> Did you know that the country you call your home was once sold for 865,000 pounds? That's the exact amount of money the British government paid to a private company called the Royal Niger Company on the 1st of January 1900. You were not sold as a citizen.

[00:00:22]>> [music] >> You were sold as part of a business equipment, land, and resources. This is the fact that the 1% does not want you to remember. They want you to believe Nigeria is a democracy, but from the very first day it was a business transaction. We want a Nigeria that work for everybody, for an Igbo man, a Hausa man, a Yoruba man, Christian or Muslim, despite your tribe. This video is not about politics as you know it. This is about the receipts, the names, and the secret laws that have kept the same few families in control of your life for over 100 years. If you think your vote is the problem, you are looking in the wrong place. You need to look at the contract. By the end of this video, you will understand why the 1% never loses, no matter who is in power. To understand the present, we must first look at the man who admitted [music] that the entire foundation of our democracy was a lie.

[00:01:10]>> [clears throat] >> It means 90% of Nigerians believe in government. Before I continue, like and subscribe [music] to our YouTube channel.

[00:01:19]In 1959, one year before Nigeria gained independence, an election was held that was supposed to empower the people.

[00:01:26]However, a British colonial officer, Harold Smith, [clears throat] later claimed that the British government rigged the election to protect its business interests after independence.

[00:01:35]According to Smith, [music] the British manipulated census figures and voting results to give the north more political power than the south, allowing them to maintain influence through proxy leaders. When Smith refused to participate, he said he was threatened and silenced.

[00:01:49]This meant Nigeria's first government was not fully chosen by its people, but shaped by colonial interests determined to keep control of the country's wealth.

[00:01:57]Critics that this laid the foundation for decades of political dominance by the same elite groups. But let's analyze the laws and [music] state's power to channel nations' resources into private hands. I learned and the Governor-General himself confirmed this to me that the elections were rigged, [music] contrived.

[00:02:15]The intention was that the north should rule Nigeria.

[00:02:22]In 1969, Nigeria was in the middle of a civil war. While the 99% were fighting and dying, the 1% were busy writing laws. General Yakubu Gowon was the head of state. His government passed a law called Decree 51. This law stated that all oil and gas in the entire country belonged only to the federal government.

[00:02:42]Before 1969, the regions where the oil was found had more control over their resources, but Decree 51 took everything away from the local people and put it into a single pot in Lagos and later Abuja. This was the moment the 1% became billionaires. [music] They did not have to build factories or reinvent technology. They just had to control the seat of power to control all the money in the country.

[00:03:04]In 1979, another man, Olusegun Obasanjo, passed the Land Use Act. This law took the ownership of all land away from families and communities and gave [music] it to the state governors. If the government wants your land today, it can take it because of this law.

[00:03:19]This is how the 1% took the two most valuable things in Nigeria, [music] the oil and the land. They turned the 99% into tenants on their own soil. You might ask why the people did not stop them. The answer is simple. The 1% realized that if they stayed as soldiers, the world would judge them.

[00:03:36]They needed to change their uniforms for suits. But when one man tried to break their system using his own wealth, they showed just how brutal that could be.

[00:03:44][music] That we must remember our contemporary history.

[00:03:48]>> [music] >> It is not too ancient.

[00:03:51]1993 is just behind us.

[00:03:57]In 1993, >> [music] >> a man named Moshood Abiola ran for president. He was a billionaire and a member of the 1%, >> [music] >> but he did something the others did not like. He promised to banish poverty. He had the support of the north, the south, the east, and the west. [music] For the first time in history, the 99% were united behind one person. The election happened on June 12, 1993. It was the fairest election in Nigerian history.

[00:04:23]Abiola was winning, but the 1% led by General Ibrahim Babangida stopped the results. They annulled the election.

[00:04:30]They could not let Abiola become president because he was too independent. He had his own money, so they could not control him. He had the people's love, so they could not scare him. They threw him in prison. They kept him there for 4 years. In 1998, just when it looked like he might be released, Abiola died under very suspicious circumstances after drinking a cup of tea during a meeting with American and Nigerian officials. The message was clear. Even if you are a billionaire, if you try to give power back to the 99% the 1% will eliminate you.

[00:05:00]>> [music] >> With Abiola out of the way, the 1% needed to make sure no one else could ever challenge them again. [music] They decided to sell the country's assets to themselves so that even if they lost an election, they would still own the economy. This led to [music] the era of privatization, which was really just a massive transfer of wealth. We do not want the peace of a graveyard.

[00:05:20]A peace where whereby somebody continues to ride on the rest [music] of us with the gun. We will get peace, but we'll get peace with decency and integrity, and honesty, and probity, and democracy.

[00:05:38]In the early 2000s, the government launched a program called privatization.

[00:05:41][music] They said the government was bad at running businesses like electricity, telecommunications, and steel. They said they wanted to sell these companies to private individuals to improve them. But look at who bought them. The companies were not sold to international experts.

[00:05:55]>> [music] >> They were sold to the same former generals, former presidents, and their friends. This was done through the Bureau of Public Enterprises. They sold the National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, and other major assets at prices far below their real value. This is why your electricity is still bad today. The people who bought the power companies did not buy them to give you light. They bought them to collect money and government subsidies. They turned public assets into private gold mines. The 1% now owns the bank, oil blocks, ports, and electricity. They have created a system where you cannot eat, travel, or turn on a light bulb without putting money into their pockets.

[00:06:32]>> [music] >> They have moved from being politicians to being business moguls. But to keep this monopoly, >> [music] >> they need to make sure you are too busy fighting your neighbor to notice what they have done.

[00:06:44]To maintain power, Nigeria's political elites often rely on godfather regime.

[00:06:48]One well-known example was Lamidi Adedibu in Ibadan, who reportedly influenced who became governor, senator, or local chairman despite holding no official office. He was known as the garrison commander of Oyo State [music] politics. Adedibu was known for amala politics, where food and small cash gifts were exchanged for political loyalty. [music] While thugs were allegedly used to intimidate opponents and manipulate elections. In 2006, Governor Rashidi Ladoja was impeached after a political conflict linked to Adedibu.

[00:07:19]This godfather system exists in every state in Nigeria. The 1% funds the election of their puppets. They pay for the billboards, the buses, and the thugs. [music] Once this puppet is in office, it does not work for you. It works to pay back the godfather. This is why roads are not built and schools are falling apart. The money meant for development is being used to settle the 1% who funded the election.

[00:07:41]They use your poverty as a weapon. They keep you hungry so that the 5,000 naira on election day feels like a life-saving gift. They have turned democracy into a marketplace where the 99% are the products being sold. But there is one more tool they use to make sure you never unite against them.

[00:07:56]The reality of godfatherism something that cannot be removed at all.

[00:08:02]And this is because of of course our own geographical reality, our cultural reality, the way and manner in which we view politics and practice politics.

[00:08:15]The 1% know that there are only a few thousand of them and over 200 million of you.

[00:08:20]>> [music] >> If the 99% ever realize they have the same problems, the 1% would be finished in a day. To prevent this, they use the most powerful remote control in Nigeria, [music] tribe and religion. When they steal billions, they don't do it as Christians [music] or Muslims. They do it as business partners. But when they want to win an election, they tell you that the other candidate is a threat to your faith. They tell you that your tribe will be marginalized if you don't vote for your own. Look at the history of the 1%. They all go to the same parties.

[00:08:50]Their children attend the same expensive schools in London and Dubai. They belong to same exclusive clubs in Lagos and Abuja. While you are on the street fighting a man from another tribe, >> [music] >> the 1% is in a private jet laughing and sharing a bottle of champagne that cost more than your yearly salary.

[00:09:06]They have made it so that we are more loyal to our tribe than to our own future. [music] They have convinced us that a thief from our tribe is better than an honest man from another tribe. This [music] is the greatest trick they've ever pulled. As long as you see your neighbor as the enemy, >> [music] >> you will never see the person who is actually holding the knife.

[00:09:25]The 1% does not just have money, they have [music] guns. In Nigeria, the police and the army are used as private security force for the elites.

[00:09:33]>> [music] >> You will see a convoy of 20 policemen protecting one politician while bandits are attacking an entire village. They control the laws and the people who enforce them. If a member of the 99% steals a goat, they might spend years in prison without a trial. But if a member of the 1% steals billions from the pension [music] fund, he's given a national honor and a front row seat at government events.

[00:09:55]>> [music] >> They have created a no consequences system for themselves.

[00:09:59]This is why they are so bold. They know the judges are their friends. They know the police are on their payroll. They know that if things get too hot, they can fly out of the country on a private jet and wait for things to cool down.

[00:10:10]They have built an invisible wall around themselves that the 99% cannot cross. To conclude, Nigeria is not a failing country. It is a business that is succeeding for its owners.

[00:10:22]The 1% keeps taking control because they are the only ones who know that the country is a business.

[00:10:27]What is the one thing you have seen in your community that shows how the 1% controls the 99%? Is it a godfather, a rigged local election, or a business that was shut down? Share your story in the comments. If you want to see more videos that break down the hard facts in politics, [music] make sure you subscribe and hit the bell. Share this video as well to enlighten more people. Thank you for watching. We'll be seeing you in the next video. Bye for now.