A veteran Nigerian politician has set the internet on fire after calling on Britain to return and recolonise Nigeria, saying the country's leaders have failed so completely that foreign rule may be the only solution left.
Buba Galadima — a chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and one of Nigeria's most outspoken elder statesmen — made the explosive statement on Thursday, March 12, 2026, during a live programme on African Independent Television (AIT). The remarks were monitored and first reported by Daily Post Nigeria.
Speaking with barely concealed fury about the state of governance, security, and economic management in Nigeria, Galadima declared: "The government should remove selfishness and do the job of protecting the citizens and providing an enabling environment for the citizens to thrive. How the government can do the job is bring in mercenaries to sort out the country. If they can't bring mercenaries, let them ask Britain to come back and colonize us again. They can sanitize the country, put us in the rule of law, teach us democracy and good governance and ultimately, stop corruption."
The statement immediately went viral across Nigerian social media, with Nigerians sharply divided between those who found the remark deeply offensive and those who said the 77-year-old politician was simply voicing the frustration that millions of ordinary Nigerians feel but are afraid to say out loud.
Who Is Buba Galadima?
Buba Galadima was born in 1948 in Gashua, Yobe State. He is a trained civil engineer and a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He served as Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Authority (NMA) from 1996 to 1998, and participated in Nigeria's 1994/95 Constitutional Conference under General Sani Abacha.
Galadima is perhaps best known as one of the founding architects of former President Muhammadu Buhari's political career. He was the National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) — the party that carried Buhari to the 2011 presidential election — and one of the nine signatories of the historic 2013 merger agreement that created the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party that brought Buhari to power in 2015.
But after Buhari's victory, Galadima publicly turned on his former ally, accusing the President of betrayal, nepotism, and catastrophic governance failure. He later aligned with the opposition and eventually joined the NNPP under former Kano Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. He has since been one of the loudest critics of successive Nigerian administrations — including the current Tinubu presidency.
This is not a fringe figure talking. This is a man who helped build the political machinery that brought Buhari to power — and who now says Nigeria has become so broken that Britain should come back. That fact alone tells you the depth of despair behind Thursday's remarks.
This Is Not The First Time
In December 2025, during a separate AIT interview monitored by Daily Post, Galadima made a near-identical call. He warned that bandits could take over Abuja itself if they coordinated a simultaneous motorcycle-borne attack from Kaduna, Lokoja, and Keffi. In that same interview he declared: "If they can't secure this country, then let them ask Britain to come back and colonise us. They should come back, sanitise the country, enforce the rule of law, teach us democracy and stop corruption."
He also cited former President Goodluck Jonathan's early 2015 counter-Boko Haram offensive as proof of what was possible when government got serious — saying Jonathan "within six weeks almost obliterated Boko Haram before the elections of 2015." The fact that he is now repeating and escalating these same remarks in March 2026 suggests that in his assessment, the situation under Tinubu has not improved at all.
The Security Crisis That Provoked The Outburst
Galadima's comments come against the backdrop of one of the most violent weeks in the Nigerian military's recent history. Just three days before his AIT appearance, Defence Minister Christopher Musa convened an emergency security meeting after ISWAP — the Islamic State West Africa Province — launched a devastating 24-hour attack on Kukawa Local Government Area in Borno State, killing three commanding officers ranked Lieutenant Colonel in a single week.
Communities in Doro, Mafa, Baga, and Konduga were also attacked in the same period. On the very Thursday that Galadima was speaking on AIT, President Tinubu was holding a two-hour closed-door emergency security summit with all four service chiefs and newly sworn-in Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
In the North-West, the picture is no better. Bandits continue to terrorise Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kaduna. Kidnapping for ransom has become a near-daily occurrence on major Nigerian highways. In his December interview, Galadima described the human reality bluntly: "If I stay at home, I die of hunger. If I go to the farm, maybe I survive. Even farming has been destroyed by this government. They've opened the borders for massive importation. A bag of beans is N25,000. How many must a farmer sell to buy one bag of fertilizer?"
Add to all of this the soaring petrol prices — which have jumped from below ₦800 per litre to over ₦1,300 per litre in less than two weeks following the start of the Iran war — and the full picture of the crisis that Galadima is reacting to becomes very clear.
Nigerians React — Fury, Agreement, And Dark Humour
The reaction on Nigerian social media was immediate and explosive. Thursday's statement trended on X (formerly Twitter) for hours, with Nigerians falling into three clear camps.
The first camp was outraged. Many Nigerians — particularly those with a strong sense of national pride and historical memory — condemned the remarks as an insult to the millions of Nigerians who suffered and died for independence. Nigeria gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960, after decades of colonial administration that stripped the country of its resources, dismantled traditional governance systems, and deliberately created structural imbalances that the country is still trying to correct more than 60 years later.
The second camp defended Galadima — or at least defended the frustration behind his words. They argued that while the literal suggestion of recolonisation is obviously unacceptable, the anger and despair driving it is completely real and cannot simply be dismissed.
The third camp, perhaps the largest of all, responded with the weapon Nigerians have always used against impossible situations — dark humour. Memes spread rapidly across WhatsApp groups and X timelines, with many Nigerians joking that Britain would simply decline the offer once its representatives discovered the current state of Nigeria's roads, power supply, and petrol queues. One widely shared post read: "Britain will look at our NEPA bill and say we no longer want to be involved."
Does He Actually Mean It?
Galadima himself addressed this question directly in previous interviews. When challenged about whether his call for recolonisation was a serious policy suggestion or merely rhetorical frustration, he responded with a question of his own: "Does it matter whether it is a blue man, a black man, or a yellow man who brings peace and puts food on your table?"
He has also consistently insisted that his motives are patriotic. "I am patriotic. All we need is peace. We don't care who brings about that peace," he said.
Most political analysts agree that Galadima does not literally believe Britain will or should return to govern Nigeria. Rather, his remarks are widely read as a deliberate rhetorical device — extreme language chosen specifically to force Nigerians and their leaders to confront just how severely the system has failed. Whether one agrees with the method or not, the conversation has certainly been forced. Thursday's remarks will be debated in living rooms, radio studios, newspapers, and offices across Nigeria for days to come.
In Pidgin: Buba Galadima Tok Say Make Britain Come Back Come Rule Nigeria
NNPP chieftain Buba Galadima don shock Nigerians on Thursday when him talk for AIT say if the government no fit protect ordinary citizens from bandits and terrorists, make dem call Britain come back come colonise the country again.
The 77-year-old politician wey used to be one of Buhari's closest political allies say Nigerian leaders too selfish and dem no dey do their real work. Him first suggest say government fit bring foreign mercenaries come fight the insecurity. But him come go further say if even mercenaries no work — make dem ask Britain to return.
Him exact words: "If they can't bring mercenaries, let them ask Britain to come back and colonize us again. They can sanitize the country, put us in the rule of law, teach us democracy and good governance and ultimately, stop corruption."
The statement scatter social media. Some Nigerians vex well-well say Nigeria get independence since 1960 and nobody go ever accept make foreign country come control us again. Others say dem understand the frustration even if dem no agree with the suggestion. And plenty Nigerians just laugh say even Britain itself go reject the offer once dem see the state of Nigeria roads, light and petrol queues.
But behind all the arguments and the jokes, the serious message wey Galadima dey send is clear — years of government promises have produced nothing. Security don get worse. Petrol don reach ₦1,300 per litre. Bandits dey everywhere. And many Nigerians don reach the point where dem no longer believe say anything go change anytime soon.
Source: Daily Post Nigeria — March 12, 2026