Dafinone: Nigeria Risks Squandering Potential for Lack of Production Capacity 

Sylvester Idowu in Warri 

The Senator representing Delta Central District, Olorogun Ede Dafinone, has warned that the country risked squandering its vast potential if capacity was not translated into productivity.

He therefore urged Nigerian graduates to embrace discipline, innovation and institution-building as essential tools for national development.

Dafinone gave the warning Thursday while delivering a lecture titled ‘Harnessing Nigeria’s Potential: Strategies for Sustainable Development’ as part of activities heralding the 18th Convocation Ceremony of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka.

Addressing the graduating class of 2026, he described Nigeria as “one of the most gifted nations on the face of the earth,” but lamented that the country continues to struggle with poverty, unemployment, weak institutions and infrastructure deficits.

Posing what he called “the Nigerian question,” he asked: “Why does potential, so broadly distributed across the nations of the earth, translate into productivity so unevenly?”

He argued that Nigeria’s core challenge is not talent deficit, but systemic failure stating: “The question is not whether Nigeria will eventually develop. The question is whether this generation will be the one that turns our potential into productivity, the promise into performance, the abundance into prosperity.” 

Dafinone stressed that confusing “potential” with “productivity” remained a major developmental setback, stating thus: “Potential speaks to capacity. Productivity is what you do with that capacity, consistently, over time, within a system that either amplifies or suppresses your effort.”

He warned against “a dangerous narrative of inadequacy,” adding: “The moment a people internalise a narrative of inadequacy, they stop doing the hard, unglamorous, patient work of building institutions and systems.”

According to him, sustainable development required long-term discipline, not rhetoric.

Drawing lessons from countries that have achieved rapid growth, he emphasised the primacy of strong systems.

On the global economy, the senator described artificial intelligence as an opportunity, but warned of its limits. “AI does not fix weak institutions. It does not pave roads. But for individuals, it is a genuine amplifier of capability.”

He advised graduates to focus on continuous learning and competence. “The graduates who will distinguish themselves in the next decade are those who understand that formal education was not the finish line but the starting block.”

Addressing the growing migration trend, he said: “Nigeria needs you here. Not only some of you… but many of you — the best of you, the most capable and the most courageous — need to stay and fight for this country from within.”

He also decried poor implementation culture. “We are extraordinarily gifted at imagining and articulating the future we want. We are less consistently gifted at the unglamorous, iterative, detail-oriented work of building it, brick by brick.”

Dafinone urged the graduates to remain disciplined and focused. “The potential is yours. The productivity, what you do with that potential, how consistently, how disciplined, how long, that is the decision still to be made.”

Vice-Chancellor of DELSU, Prof. Samuel Asagba, described the lecture as “deeply insightful and thought-provoking” and urged graduates to apply its lessons as they step into the next phase of life.