Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has expressed his desire for Nigeria to “keep happening” to him, in response to a growing online phrase or prayer “May Nigeria Never Happen To You”, by some netizens, which gained renewed attention after the recent death of ARISE News anchor and reporter, Somtochukwu Maduagwu.
In a post shared on Tuesday, Omokri wrote, “May Nigeria happen to me and keep happening to me as long as I live!”
He faulted those who associate misfortunes with the country, arguing that many fail to acknowledge positive developments within Nigeria.
“When bad things happen, enemies of this country are quick to say that ‘Nigeria has happened’ to them. But they take the good that occurs to them in Nigeria personally, without attributing it to our great nation,” he said.
Omokri stressed that hardship exists everywhere, noting that even advanced nations grapple with serious challenges.
“Every year in America, 20,000 people are murdered. That is more than twice the murder rate in Nigeria. Have you ever heard Americans badmouthing their country as a result of this? This is Earth, not heaven,” he stated.
Highlighting what he described as progress under Nigeria’s current administration, Omokri pointed to recent achievements in power generation, economic growth, and petroleum refining.
“Nigeria broke its power generation record with a peak of 5,801.84MW and maximum daily energy output of 128,370.75 megawatt-hours , the highest ever attained in the history of the electricity industry in Nigeria,” he wrote.
He further claimed that Nigeria has reduced fuel imports and become a net exporter of refined petroleum products, citing the International Energy Agency.
“Nigeria’s fuel imports have drastically reduced. According to the International Energy Agency, Nigeria has now emerged as the largest exporter of refined petroleum products in West Africa,” he said, adding that only three civilian governments — those of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Bola Tinubu, had achieved such a feat.
Omokri also noted that the country’s economy had expanded significantly.
“Nigeria’s economy has expanded by $67 billion in two years, and the value of the naira stretches further than currencies in many African countries. $100 in Nigeria will buy you more than $100 in Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Ethiopia or South Africa,” he argued.
Calling for optimism and national pride, he concluded, “Nigeria is a great country, but it is not perfect because perfection is divine. We can choose to look at the negatives, but there are many positive things happening in Nigeria that we refuse to project because we love bad news.”
The comments came amid heated public discourse following the passing of ARISE TV anchor Somtochukwu Maduagwu, who had once written, “I pray from the depth of my heart that Nigeria never happens to me or anyone I care about.”
Her death, reportedly following a robbery attack at her Abuja residence, has reignited conversations around systemic failures captured in the phrase “Nigeria happened.” During a live broadcast on Tuesday, The Morning Show, her colleague Reuben Abati remarked, “When Nigeria happens to us, it is a sad thing.”
The expression has since become a shorthand on social media for the country’s harsh realities, though Omokri insisted it should be reclaimed as a phrase of hope rather than despair.
