Odesola JF
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive ignorance in public office.” – Adapted from Cicero
Nigeria today stands at a dangerous crossroads. The tragedy is not merely poverty, insecurity, unemployment, or corruption. The greater tragedy is the growing culture of official self-deception, where political leaders manufacture success stories while citizens struggle daily with harsh realities. The ticking clock of ignorance is loud, yet many of those entrusted with leadership seem unwilling to hear it.
One wonders: where do some politicians obtain their statistics and conclusions?
The Mystery of the 81% Reduction in Terror Deaths
Recently, some political leaders celebrated figures claiming that terror-related deaths have reduced by 81% compared to previous years.
The question is simple: where are these numbers coming from?
Statistics are important, but statistics disconnected from reality become instruments of propaganda.
If terrorism has truly declined to such an extent, why do communities in parts of northern Nigeria still live in fear?
Why are farmers still abandoning their farmlands because of insecurity?
Why do kidnappers continue to operate on highways and rural communities?
Why do parents still worry when their children travel between states?
The average Nigerian does not measure security through government press conferences. He measures it through his ability to sleep peacefully, travel safely, cultivate his farm, run his business, and return home alive.
The late American President Abraham Lincoln once observed:
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
When official statistics begin to conflict with the daily experiences of citizens, credibility suffers.
Where Is The Electricity? For decades Nigerians have been told that democracy would deliver development. One of the most basic indicators of development is electricity.
Yet after more than two decades of uninterrupted democratic governance, millions of Nigerians still live under the tyranny of darkness. Businesses spend enormous resources on generators. Manufacturers struggle with production costs. Students read with torchlights and rechargeable lamps. Hospitals battle unstable power supply. Families spend significant portions of their income buying fuel simply to enjoy a few hours of electricity.
Where then is the electricity that was promised as a dividend of democracy?
What kind of democracy leaves its citizens generating their own power?
What a paradox.
Countries that were once behind Nigeria in economic development have built reliable power systems that support industries, innovation, and economic growth. Meanwhile, Nigeria, blessed with abundant natural and human resources, continues to celebrate incremental improvements while citizens bear the burden of systemic failure.
The Reform That Citizens Cannot See
Every administration speaks the language of reform. The word has become fashionable. Economic reform. Political reform. Institutional reform. Fiscal reform. Governance reform. But genuine reform must produce measurable improvements in the lives of ordinary people.
The critical question is this:
Where are the reforms that would convince young Nigerians to remain in their own country?
Every year thousands of highly educated young Nigerians seek opportunities abroad.
Doctors leave. Nurses leave. Engineers leave. Academics leave. Technology professionals leave. Entrepreneurs relocate.
This is not merely migration; it is a vote of no confidence in the system. Political leaders frequently urge young people to stay and build Nigeria. But what exactly are they asking them to stay for? To endure unemployment? To endure poor infrastructure? To endure insecurity? To endure declining purchasing power?
To endure a system where merit is often sacrificed on the altar of connections and patronage?
Many young Nigerians watch a political class living in extraordinary luxury while preaching sacrifice to ordinary citizens.
They observe convoys growing longer. Government expenditures expanding. Political office holders enjoying privileges unimaginable to average citizens. Meanwhile, millions struggle to afford food, housing, healthcare, and transportation. What are we asking the youth to stay for?
A nation cannot inspire loyalty by offering suffering while rewarding privilege.
Nigeria: A Prison of Oppression for Many
For many citizens, Nigeria increasingly resembles a nation captured by a privileged minority.
A few opportunists have effectively pocketed the state and appropriated its resources.
Public office has become, for some, a pathway to personal enrichment rather than public service.
The gap between rulers and the ruled continues to widen. The average citizen feels disconnected from government. He sees little evidence that national resources are working for him. He watches corruption scandals emerge repeatedly with little accountability. He sees projects announced but rarely completed. He hears promises repeated but seldom fulfilled. The result is frustration. The result is hopelessness. The result is anger. Yet history teaches that no injustice lasts forever. The cry from countless Nigerians remains simple: “There is God ooo.”
It is a statement born not merely from religion but from the conviction that accountability ultimately catches up with those who abuse power.
Where Is The Fiscal Transparency?
Another frequently celebrated achievement is improved fiscal transparency.
Again, the question remains:
Where is it?
Transparency is not about issuing statements. Transparency is about making public resources visible and accountable. Transparency means citizens can easily understand:
How much government earns.
How much government spends.
Who receives contracts.
How projects are executed.
How public funds are monitored.
When citizens continue to ask basic questions about public expenditures without receiving satisfactory answers, claims of transparency become difficult to accept.
A transparent government should welcome scrutiny. A transparent government should not fear questions. A transparent government should understand that accountability strengthens democracy rather than weakens it. Yet too often, Nigerians encounter opacity where openness should exist. Again, what a paradox.
The Danger of Ignorance in Leadership
Perhaps the greatest danger is not corruption itself. The greater danger is leadership that becomes disconnected from reality. When leaders surround themselves only with praise singers, they stop hearing the truth. When statistics become more important than citizens, governance becomes theatre. When propaganda replaces performance, national decline accelerates.
The philosopher George Orwell warned:
“The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.”
Nigeria needs leaders who are willing to confront uncomfortable truths.
Leaders who listen.
Leaders who admit shortcomings.
Leaders who understand that governance is not public relations.
Governance is service.
Governance is responsibility.
Governance is accountability.
Conclusion
The ticking clock of ignorance continues to count down.
Every day spent celebrating imaginary victories while ignoring real problems pushes the nation further from its potential.
Nigerians do not need manufactured statistics.
They need security.
They need electricity.
They need jobs.
They need opportunity.
They need transparency.
They need hope.
The challenge before the political class is simple:
Stop managing perceptions and start solving problems.
History will not judge leaders by the speeches they delivered or the statistics they announced.
History will judge them by whether the lives of ordinary Nigerians became better under their watch.
That is the true test of leadership. That is the true dividend of democracy. Everything else is merely noise.
