Nigeria is fifty years old having gained independence in 1960. Fifty years is a significant year in the life of any organisation or nation. It is the year of jubilee and it has symbolic and spiritual significance. It is therefore a good year to reflect on the challenges facing the nation.

Scholars are in agreement that every society has the capacity to develop and all societies strive for development. But the concept of development is a very controversial one. We have argued elsewhere that the definitions and interpretations of development are influenced by history, discipline, ideological orientation and training. In this paper, we examine the challenges of development in Nigeria. But first, we explicate the concept of development.