By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
  • Home
  • International
    InternationalShow More
    United Nations
    4th International Conference On Financing For Development Delivers Renewed Hope And Action For Sustainable Development
    4 months ago
    The African Development Bank and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) scale up drive for sustainable urbanization in Africa
    AfDB, UN-Habitat Scale Up Drive For Sustainable Urbanisation In Africa
    4 months ago
    UN
    North Africa: Green Climate Fund Approves Record $300m For FAO-designed Projects In Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, The Sahel
    4 months ago
    UNICEF
    How Wars Across Middle East, North Africa Affecting Children – UNICEF
    4 months ago
    UNDP
    UN Development Programme Welcomes Historic Deal On Sustainable Development Even Amidst Global Turmoil
    4 months ago
  • Africa
    Africa
    Show More
    Top News
    African Union Member States Pledge To Improve Nutrition And Food Security In Africa
    3 years ago
    Climate Change: How Women Weather The Storm In Sudan
    3 years ago
    New Visa Requirement For Namibian Nationals Visiting the United Kingdom
    2 years ago
    Latest News
     South Africa’s Think 20: Experts Address How Africa Can Bridge Digital Divide And Achieving Financial Inclusion
    1 month ago
    U.S. Africa Command Commander Visits West Africa, Underscores Partnership In Addressing Evolving Terrorism Threat
    1 month ago
    West Africa Regional Preparatory Workshop For COP30 On Climate Change Opens In Dakar
    1 month ago
    Systemic Racism Against Africans And People Of African Descent In Criminal Justice Systems Is Pervasive
    1 month ago
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
    Politics
    Show More
    Top News
    Tinubu’s Ambition Suffers Setback, As Coalition Of APC Groups Shift Support To Atiku/Okowa Presidency 2023
    3 years ago
    PAN Chief Congratulates Akwa Ibom Governor-Elect, Says He’s Inspiration To Persons Living With Albinism 
    3 years ago
    Rejected Nominees: Lagos Assembly Action Was In Order, Obasa Declares
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Ex-Pres. Jonathan’s Senior Special Assistant, Dr. Dudafa Dumps PDP For APC
    2 weeks ago
    Senate President Akpabio Engages Young Progressives in Mentorship Conversation at the Youth House
    2 weeks ago
    Minister of Women Affairs Visits APC Youth House To Mark International Day Of Girl Child
    3 weeks ago
    EU, ADC Parley: Calls for Electoral Reforms To Guarantee Free, Fair, Credible Polls In Nigeria
    4 weeks ago
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
    News
    Show More
    Top News
    Ondo Governor, Akeredolu Begins Construction Of First Flyover In Akure
    2 years ago
    Celebration Of Life: Reverend Adewumi Jegede Of Later House Of God Assembly Buried Amid Pomp
    1 year ago
    Pa Abdulfatah Amoo Ayanwale
    Pa Ayanwale Dies At 76, Fidau Prayers Holds 8 August
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    All Eyes On Nigeria, As Lagos Set To Host Groundbreaking Giving Tuesday Festival On 2 December
    3 days ago
    Alleged N532m Debt: Court Orders Bank To Takes Over Abudu Family’s Firm
    5 days ago
    Popoola-Taiwo Legal Practitioners, Shipper’s Council Resolve 3-years Dispute Between Logistics Firms Via ADR
    1 week ago
    Final Journey of Ezinne Juliana Anyanwu To Begin January 2026 In Nguru
    1 week ago
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
    Entertainment
    Show More
    Top News
    Nigeria’s Glo(W)Ing Entertainment Industry: 19 Years Of Strategic Partnership
    3 years ago
    2023 Polls: Stay Tuned To These Channels On GOtv For Breaking News And Analysis 
    3 years ago
    Family, Friends Celebrate As Princess Zara Raji Turns Two
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    GOtv Stream vs. Traditional TV: Why Viewers Are Loving the Flexibility
    1 month ago
    Securing Africa’s Digital Future: Entertainment in Safe Hands
    1 month ago
    BBNaija S10: Joanna, Mide, and Isabella Clash as Denari and Tracy Exit the House
    1 month ago
    Akamai Adaptive Media Player 2: Bitmovin And Akamai Set New Streaming Standard
    2 months ago
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
    Lifestyle
    Show More
    Top News
    Sanwo-Olu Receives TAMPAN Award
    8 months ago
    Radisson Hotel Group Announces Three New Hotels In Nigeria
    2 years ago
    Fanti Carnival Returns To Lagos This Easter Sunday
    6 months ago
    Latest News
    Faith On The Move: Legion of Mary Lights Up Owerri With Inspiring October Devotion Procession
    3 days ago
    The Day Mourners Rebelled in Church By Babafemi Ojudu
    2 weeks ago
    Ambassador Raffy Bello Greets Imperial Majesty, Ooni Enitan-Ogunwusi, As Olojo Festival Begins In Ile-Ife
    1 month ago
    Preserving African Culture: Polaris Bank , Chivita, And Danone Support CIKDAS’ Youth Literary Initiative
    2 months ago
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
    BusinessShow More
    Financial Action Task Force Removes Nigeria From Grey List
    5 days ago
    Unity Bank Shareholders Approve Merger With Providus Bank
    1 month ago
    Yomi Joseph Digital Pr Launches 360° Marketing Solutions To Transform Brands Into Industry Leaders
    1 month ago
    Gov Abiodun Showcases Ogun Investment Opportunities At AfCFTA In Algeria
    2 months ago
    Intra-African Trade Fair
    Nigeria To Host Intra-African Trade Fair In 2027
    2 months ago
  • Health
    Health
    Show More
    Top News
    NCDC Activates Lassa Fever Emergency Operations Centre In Nigeria
    3 years ago
    UNAIDS: Fully Financing HIV Response In Africa Will Save Millions Of Lives
    3 years ago
    How To Avoid Urinary Tract Infections During Sex
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Nigerian Academy Of Pharmacy Inducts 14 New Fellows
    2 weeks ago
    2025 World Pharmacist Day: Lagos Takes Healthcare To Ikorodu Communities
    4 weeks ago
    World Heart Day: Adopt Healthy Food Policies, CAPPA Tasks FG, States
    1 month ago
    Lagos Takes Fight Against HIV To Communities
    1 month ago
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Reading: Democrats or Deceivers? By Bosun Awoniyi
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
Aa
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
  • Politics
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Health
  • More
Search
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
  • Health
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Independent News Express > Blog > Opinion > Democrats or Deceivers? By Bosun Awoniyi
Opinion

Democrats or Deceivers? By Bosun Awoniyi

Last updated: 2025/04/05 at 6:21 AM
7 months ago
Share
Nigerian Democracy
SHARE

In the past few weeks, I have read and watched commentaries and observed the language deployed by some people to castigate President Bola Tinubu for declaring a State of Emergency (SOE) in the oil-rich state of Rivers, especially by politically exposed individuals, and I wondered why he is so viciously hated by his colleagues.

But while it is understandable that most of these politically exposed persons, led by former president Olusegun Obasanjo and vice president Atiku Abubakar, respectively, are still bitter about losing elections and appointments, what baffles most is the audacity to play the holier-than-thou script on the Nigerian people, claiming to be more democratic than Tinubu.

- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

Also, retired practicing legal luminaries, including social media data experts, have freely shared their views and given different interpretations of the section of the Constitution from which the president supposedly derives his powers to declare a state of emergency.

Press commentators are having a field day, accusing both “the godfather (former governor Wike, “allegedly’ backed by the president) and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of pettiness, lack of decorum, and suffering from an ’embarrassing disdain for intellectual rigor.”

Citing the breakdown of governance as a result of the war of attrition between Governor Fubara and the state lawmakers, as well as attacks on oil facilities in the state, Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly.

Some observed that Wike and Fubara are “united in greed and personal aggrandizement” and noted that both are living in “opulence.”

Others have made the point that poor leadership and bad governance, of which both Wike and Fubara are guilty, are a direct cause of Nigeria’s failure to develop.

The declaration is not unprecedented. This is for those who don’t have a thorough understanding of our political history, especially during the era of President Olusegun Obasanjo (The Holier than Thou) from 1999 to 2007.

Saint Obasanjo, as president, and Comrade Atiku Abubakar as vice president, led the federal government to remove five Senate presidents in five years, sack three governors (Plateau, Ekiti, and Oyo states), sack local government chairmen, oversee the kidnapping of a sitting governor in broad daylight (Chris Ngige), and withhold Lagos State allocations even when the court ruled otherwise.

It is on record that the same saint, OBJ, conducted the worst of all elections since 1999, built democracy.

At least, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua admitted before the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, that the process through which he became the president of Nigeria was faulty.

He said, “The April elections had flaws and shortcomings, but it is significant that for the first time in our history, we had a civilian-to-civilian transfer of power.

He knew the process that ushered him in was a fraud unprecedented in Nigeria’s history. Even the legislators themselves were not allowed to pick their leaders.

What can we ordinary people do? They have nothing really to complain about, as they are the beneficiaries of the sham (s)elections. But we, as ordinary disenfranchised citizens, are very much aggrieved, and we have a case to prosecute.

The shamelessness in Rivers remains the foundation laid by Saint Obasanjo, a man who has cultivated the habit of writing letters at critical epochs in our history, failed to do so but was quick to attack a junior colleague.

Those defending the rule of law or democratic principles in Rivers today did not intervene when the matter was accelerating dangerously toward a total breakdown of law and order.

When Fubara refused to pay the 27 legislators in the opposing camp their legitimate allowances, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Peter Obi, Abubakar Atiku, etc., probably saw that as a noble example of democratic practice.

When Fubara reportedly said he would tell the militants when to act, they did not see anything wrong with that.

They did not even bother to engage him and redirect him to the path of peace and reconciliation. When the militants came out in support of Fubara and threatened to disrupt the live wire of Nigeria’s economy, no one called them to order.

From childhood, individuals learn to manipulate the truth to navigate social interactions, avoid punishment, or gain an advantage. But why do people lie? The motivations behind deception are multifaceted, ranging from self-preservation to manipulation and protection of self-image. Yes, a liar will have to remember the lie forever.

The person that was lied to will not. They think the lie was the truth and will be able to recall it in detail, but the liar won’t. They will have to repeat the lie so many times that they will begin to believe it as truth.

Sounds kind of like what the government is doing to the people. Lie enough times, it becomes the truth, and the truth becomes the lie.

David Lieberman, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and an expert in the field of human behavior, helps us understand the signs of deceit and how to get a confession.

“I think a great way to see deception is to view it as a seed. It’s a seed that gets planted. Because it’s a seed, it eventually bears fruit, and that fruit is usually sin,” he said.

Some are more vulnerable to being deceived than others.

Our leaders think the citizens are dumb, and they, “politicians,” are smartly corrupt. A new study reveals the pessimistic view most politicians have of the people who put them in office.

The OBJs, Atikus, Elrufais, Ameachis, Jonathans, Tinubus, IBBs, Obis, Aregbesolas, Osibanjos, and a host of leaders believe that Nigerians are uninformed, unreasonable, and short-sighted.

These politicians want us to believe that their friend and brother, Tinubu, is entirely responsible for the current crisis our country is mired in, but it is a lie.

Where was Elrufai when former President Buhari destroyed our economy, drained our foreign reserves, and borrowed the next four generations into debt?

Why are El Rufai and some shameless northerners trying to play a regional agenda here?

Are the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governors like Bala Usman and Adeleke better than the APC governors like Dapo Abiodun and Abdulrahman?

The last thing politicians want is for us to analyze, synthesize, infer, and evaluate.  Most times, it is easy to imagine we are thinking critically when we are merely leaping to conclusions.

Atiku specifically admitted that the coalition by political actors from the opposition is not about governance but a strategic move to unseat the APC-led administration in 2027.

What a missionless and visionless man. Nigerians should know that the coalition led by desperate Comrade Atiku Abubakar lacks the necessary political structure to challenge any sitting government in an election, not to talk of Tinubu as president.

They are being driven by individuals rather than established political structures, making it unlikely to pose a serious threat to the APC’s dominance. Just imagine that the coalition is not about Nigeria but about defeating Tinubu!

Who are these Deceivers? Obasanjo, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, El Rufai, Kayode Fayemi, etc. All of them have held important positions, but what are their records of service?

How, for instance, were Kaduna and other states better on May 29, 2023, than they were four years before then? In Anambra, many local governments are just now having their first government-built hospitals since creation.

Atiku Abubakar presided over the privatization of government assets for almost eight years, and we all know the results. In their quest for power, these politicians are regrouping for themselves and their families.

They don’t care about you at all except for how your votes impact their power struggles. Some use power to make money. Some use money to grab power. They hate us for our freedom.

They are not Democrats. They are deceivers.

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

Bosun Awoniyi writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

You Might Also Like

Why Fortifying Ultra-Processed Foods Won’t Solve Nigeria’s Nutrition Crisis By Bukola Olukemi-Odele

INEC: An Institution In Need Of Rebirth By Babafemi Ojudu

The Day Mourners Rebelled in Church By Babafemi Ojudu

Nigeria’s Health Financing: Lessons From Canada’s $32.5bn Tobacco Settlement

Nepal Bloodshed: Of Nigeria’s Big Masquerades And Gọntọ By Festus Adedayo

TAGGED: Nigerian Democracy
INadminNG April 5, 2025 April 5, 2025
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Telegram Email Print
Previous Article Ayorinde Pays Tribute to Late Alhaji Yekini Adeojo
Next Article 2025 International Day of Sports for Development and Peace Int’l Day of Sports for Devt. & Peace: LSSC, Global Sports Ambassadors Unveil Commemorative Events
about us

Independent News Express (iNews Express), a publication of 4Ds Nigeria Limited, is birthed out of the desires of the founding fathers to report News as it is.

We value Professionalism, Excellence, Service, Creativity and Integrity.

The Company

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy & Policy

Quick Links

  • Advertise with us
  • Newsletters
  • Deal

Categories

Find Us on Socials

© Independent News Express. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?