Friday, October 3, 2025

Do We Deserve Bad Leadership?

 By Donu Kogbara

On Tuesday night, I appeared on Charles Aniagolu’s Arise TV show, alongside Dele Farotimi and Professor Jibrin Ibrahim.

We had been invited to discuss my view that most of today’s Nigerians deserve bad leadership because they don’t protest significantly when they are subjected to endless injustices and governance deficits.

Nigeria can and should be a great giant of Africa, thriving capital of the black world, source of pride for our Diaspora brethren and example of what black people can achieve if they do things properly.

But we are held back by corrupt, uncaring, cynical, inept politicians and civil servants at the federal, state and local government levels. And I don’t know why we do not rebel more and rebel vigorously.

There will always be full-time or occasional activists who possess a low tolerance for nonsense and are willing to stick their necks out and risk the wrath of the Establishment by highlighting its shortcomings.

But such activists are pretty thin on the ground and don’t generate much active support from the general population; and I don’t understand why the average citizen is so allergic to meaningful protest.

I am not singling President Bola Tinubu out. Long before he took over, I was disillusioned by the submissiveness of the average Nigerian.

The authorities conduct an intelligence-insulting election that is clearly fraudulent and voters who have been robbed of the chance to choose their representatives and Ogas at the top do nothing.

Hunger, systemic unfairness, infrastructural failures and terrifying insecurity make life extremely difficult for the majority and those who suffer most from these avoidable problems do nothing.

An avaricious, predatory and contemptuous elite hijacks resources that belong to everyone, steals us blind and indulges in heartless levels of conspicuous consumption – ill-gotten private jets, obscenely expensive cars and so on – while ordinary folks struggle for survival, basic healthcare, educational opportunities, etc; and ordinary folks do zilch.

I became particularly disillusioned when a state of emergency was imposed on Rivers, my home state. But instead of most indigenes taking to the streets, led by a governor who had been humiliatingly suspended, most indigenes shrugged and accepted this undemocratic outrage.

The Rivers governor Sim Fubara even more or less insulted the few of us who were ready to fight on his behalf by more or less telling us to mind our business! Then when he was reinstated, he thanked his tormentors!

And, by the way, they are still messing with Fubara and telling him who he should and should not associate with. And it serves him right, if you ask me!

I have never been fond of weak doormattish individuals. And, frankly, I even prefer some of Fubara’s tormentors because even though they are monstrously obnoxious, at least they have balls and self-esteem.

OK, so it’s not very kind to blame victims like Fubara and the millions of Nigerians who are being shortchanged. But, as I said on Arise, if you put up with crap, you are more likely to have crap inflicted on you.

Nigerians will complain in beer parlours and private gatherings, but they do nothing when massive indignities are dumped on them.

Is it cowardice or a myopic inability to recognise the potential power of protest? Is it a case of short-sighted, short-term self-interest versus enlightened self-interest that will get better long-term results?

I could be wrong but I believe that Tinubu – who was once an activist himself! – has a reasonable streak and will deliver more democratic dividends if the Nigerian people put him on the spot beyond social media whinges and demand more in a sustained and significant way.

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders are simply not being aggressive enough.

Long story short, activism is a thankless job at the moment. And I’m SO tired of trying to hassle the authorities for change.

At 65, I’m the same age as Nigeria. And I feel gloomy about the future. As we “celebrate” yet another Independence Day, I yearn to be liberated from pain, failure and disappointment.

*Kogbara is a commentator on public issues

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