When the year becomes a teacher, By Sunday Ogidigbo

This is the year we saw the nation tremble, yet stand. The economy strained families to the edge, policies tested the patience of the masses, and insecurity carved scars into communities that were already fragile. We watched prices rise like floodwater, swallowing the certainty we once had. We saw young people stretch their creativity to survive in a terrain that seems determined to frustrate them. We saw parents become miracle workers…

As the curtain draws on this year, I find myself thinking of Nigeria, not as a headline, not as a crisis report, but as a classroom. The year has been a harsh teacher — stern, unrelenting, sometimes merciless in its lessons. But like every good teacher, it has also revealed our strengths, exposed our fault lines, and whispered possibilities that only the discerning can hear. We have learnt more about ourselves than the news could capture: our resilience, our restlessness, our frustration, our faith, and that stubborn seed of hope that refuses to die. The scriptures say in Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.” Not because the end is always pleasant, but because endings give us perspective. And perspective is a gift.

This is the year we saw the nation tremble, yet stand. The economy strained families to the edge, policies tested the patience of the masses, and insecurity carved scars into communities that were already fragile. We watched prices rise like floodwater, swallowing the certainty we once had. We saw young people stretch their creativity to survive in a terrain that seems determined to frustrate them. We saw parents become miracle workers — feeding families on shrinking incomes and growing responsibilities. We saw institutions exposed for their weaknesses, and leaders for their limits. It often felt as though the very soul of the country was being pulled apart at the seams.

Yet, strangely, the fabric did not tear. Instead, we discovered the quiet bravery that holds Nigeria together — the everyday courage of ordinary citizens. The teacher who kept showing up. The driver who kept navigating chaos. The farmer who planted again despite the fears of the field. The small business owner who refused to shut down. The police officer who continued standing watch under suspicion and stress. The mother who encouraged her children, even when her heart was breaking. These people became the unsung shepherds of our national survival. If Nigeria were a verse this year, it would be 2 Corinthians 4:9: “Cast down, but not destroyed.”

And so, as we stand at the threshold of a new year, the question is not, “Did Nigeria fail?” The question is, “What did Nigeria reveal?” It revealed our wounds, yes. But it also revealed our warriors. It revealed our struggles. But it also revealed our stamina. It revealed our failures. But it also revealed the faint outline of a future that refuses to die. This year reminded us that progress is not always a sprint; sometimes it is the slow, painful climb of a people who refuse to surrender.

So as the year closes, let us not cross into the new season with the weight of despair. Let us go forward with the wisdom this year has taught us. We have learnt that policies alone cannot save us; people must rise. We have learnt that survival is not a strategy; structure is. We have learnt that prayer is not a substitute for responsibility, but responsibility without prayer is blindness. We have learnt that destiny does not change by accident; it changes when a generation refuses to give up.

But reflection without direction is simply nostalgia. The future now calls. And it calls to all of us — especially the younger generation. They are tired, but they are not finished. They are bruised, but they are not broken. They are stretched, but they are still standing. They are the Daniels in Babylon — gifted, pressured, tempted, yet chosen for national relevance. They are the ones who must sit with the elders, not in rebellion but in responsibility. They are the gatekeepers that the nation will soon need — those who will speak to the enemy at the gate, protect the gates of our collective destiny, and ensure that the gates of hell do not prevail against Nigeria.

The new year will not magically fix our problems, but it may magnify our possibilities. I sense that the coming season will test us again, but it will also open new doors. For nations, as for people, God often allows a breaking before a birthing. And perhaps the groaning we have experienced this year is not the groaning of death, but of labour. The seed of change is already planted in the ground. It is germinating quietly in tech hubs, in farms, in prayer rooms, in classrooms, in small groups of young innovators who refuse to give up on this country. It is rising in communities where people are solving problems that government has neglected. It is rising in the private courage of citizens who refuse to bow to corruption, who choose character over shortcuts, excellence over excuses.

We cannot romanticise our challenges, but we must not underestimate our resilience. Nations do not transform by announcements; they transform by alignment — when the courage of the people meets the mercy of God. And I believe God is not done with Nigeria. Psalm 126:5 says, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” If tears were seeds, Nigeria has sown enough for a forest. The harvest may not come all at once, but the first shoots are already pushing through the soil.

So as the year closes, let us not cross into the new season with the weight of despair. Let us go forward with the wisdom this year has taught us. We have learnt that policies alone cannot save us; people must rise. We have learnt that survival is not a strategy; structure is. We have learnt that prayer is not a substitute for responsibility, but responsibility without prayer is blindness. We have learnt that destiny does not change by accident; it changes when a generation refuses to give up.

Nigeria may not yet be the nation of our dreams, but it is not the nightmare of our fears either. It is a work in progress, a clay in the Potter’s hands. And though the wheel turns slowly, the shape is emerging. Our calling — each of us — is to stay on the wheel. To build where we stand. To pray where we hurt. To hope where we doubt. To act where we can. To refuse to give up.

Next year will demand courage, clarity, and character. But it will also reward creativity, collaboration, and conviction. And I believe that the same God who kept us this year will guide us into the next. We may not know what January holds, but we know the One who holds January. And He has not brought us this far to abandon us now.

Nigeria may not yet be the nation of our dreams, but it is not the nightmare of our fears either. It is a work in progress, a clay in the Potter’s hands. And though the wheel turns slowly, the shape is emerging. Our calling — each of us — is to stay on the wheel. To build where we stand. To pray where we hurt. To hope where we doubt. To act where we can. To refuse to give up.

As we step into the new year, may the God who watches over nations watch over Nigeria. May He heal our wounds, strengthen our walls, and ignite our future. May He bless the ordinary Nigerians whose quiet bravery carried this year on their shoulders. May He raise leaders who honour sacrifice and steward possibilities. And may He give us the grace to lift our eyes above the ruins and see the rising.

The year may be ending, but the story is not. Nigeria is still on God’s mind. And as long as God has not given up on us, we must not give up on ourselves.

Sunday Ogidigbo is Senior Pastor of Holyhill Church, Abuja. He writes on faith, leadership, and the intersection of spirituality and culture. X/Instagram/Facebook: @SOgidigbo. Email: sogidigbo@gmail.com