A new policy analysis suggests that Nigeria could lose $412 billion in potential GDP by 2043 due to the long-term economic consequences of childhood stunting. The report, covering six decades of demographic data, indicates that 40% of Nigerian children under five currently suffer from chronic malnutrition, which impairs cognitive development and future earning potential. Highlighting the economic irrationality of prioritizing large infrastructure over human capital, the study calls for immediate, prioritized investment in maternal and early childhood nutrition. The author argues that this crisis of policy failure, most acute in the North West and North East, is a primary driver of poverty and political vulnerability, rather than a reflection of regional or demographic capability.