Abuja — A Nigerian who left as a child and returned after two decades abroad confronts an uncomfortable question shared by many diaspora returnees: did Nigeria's infrastructure actually deteriorate, or do childhood memories simply deceive?
The answer, according to infrastructure data and returnee testimonies, is unambiguous: things got worse.
"Did things actually get worse, or am I just remembering childhood through rose colored glasses?" asked a returnee who left Abuja in the early 2000s and recently returned after building a retirement home for his parents. "Fast forward 20+ years, and now I'm back... it feels like so much either hasn't improved or has actively gone backwards."
The testimony resonates with thousands of Nigerians who left during the relative stability of the early 2000s and return to find infrastructure, security, and public services measurably degraded. What the returnee remembered as a child — functioning schools, manageable traffic, reliable institutions — has given way to systemic dysfunction.
The most visible change: electricity. "I never understood why we were leaving because from my perspective as a kid, life seemed fine. I don't remember electricity... feeling like major issues," the returnee noted. Today, grid power in Abuja and Lagos remains unavailable 12-18 hours daily, forcing middle-class Nigerians into expensive solar installations.
Road infrastructure tells a similar story. Nigeria's road network has expanded in absolute terms, but maintenance has collapsed. Journey times between major cities have increased despite new highways, as potholes, failed sections, and insecurity make travel slower and more dangerous than two decades ago.
The returnee's observation — "did it get hotter?" — reflects both climate change and infrastructure breakdown. Urban heat islands have intensified as Lagos and Abuja expanded without corresponding green space or climate-adaptive planning. Coming from Texas, a notoriously hot U.S. state, the returnee found Nigerian heat "different" — a function of humidity, lack of reliable air conditioning, and urban design.
