I’ve concluded that President Tinubu’s relentless and often clandestine assaults on his opponents boil down to psychological warfare.
He WANTS us to lose faith in the system and throw our hands up in despair and lose the will to actively seek alternative leadership.
If you make people suffer, they become physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted and it is easier to take advantage of them.
If you give people who are weakened by suffering the impression that they cannot liberate themselves from your dominance, most will abandon any ideas of rebellion that lurk in their hearts and regard you as an inescapable, omnipotent semi-deity whom they might as well obey.
Even when there is no light at the end of the tunnel and no sign of imminent salvation on the horizon – and even when evidence of malfeasance-at-the-top abounds – these victims of brainwashing are being told again and again and again that Tinubu is their only hope.
While senior government officials flaunt their obscene,
ill-gotten wealth and while terrorists and bandits do their worst, the anguished masses are being programmed to suppress their rage, tearfully bury their dead, shrug listlessly and say defeatist things like:
“What is the point of fighting back when the APC has undermined every opposition party and owns the courts, INEC, the police, the army, the National Assembly and almost every governor in Nigeria?”
Then there are those who – understandably – think that an election will be a complete waste of time because Tinubu has already triumphed.
Fortunately, some of us are still standing strong, despite moments of doubt! Our spirits have not been crushed. We KNOW that the APC is not the only viable political entity in this country. We KNOW that it is not over till it is over. We KNOW that a year is a long time in politics and that the Opposition can still win the 2027 election. And we are begging the Nigerian voters to quit throwing their hands up in despair…and to vigorously support credible Tinubu rivals like Peter Obi.
People Power has turned the tide in other countries.
There is no reason why it cannot work here.
Someone sent this to me via WhatsApp.
TWELVE MOST FOOLISH PEOPLE IN NIGERIA.
(1) Jobless person supporting people that are behind his or her joblessness.
(2) A student who is on strike and still raising banner for those who are behind the strike
(3) A father who can no longer feed the family and is still running around like a fool under the sun supporting the people that brought the poverty upon him and his family.
(4) Youths who support the killers that ordered the killing of their own fellow youths.
(5) Homeless and jobless persons supporting the people who brought inflation that has made him jobless and homeless.
(6) People living without electricity and still raising banner and asking people to support the evil men that are behind electricity failure in the country.
(7) People that cannot travel to their home because of bad roads but are still campaigning and and asking other people to join them to support people that looted the money meant for the construction of road to their homes.
(8) People that couldn’t sleep because of killing, kidnaping and banditry, yet still supporting the founders of terrorism in the nation.
(9) People that do not even have clean water to drink, but still planning to vote for people who looted the money meant for water into power.
(10) People buying fuel at #1200 instead of #65, yet still supporting the evil men stealing our crude and refusing to build refineries that has brought us to where we are today.
(11) People supporting others because of ethnicity, or tribe and forgetting competence, capacity and track record.
(12) People supporting others because of food on the table and stomach infrastructure, and forgetting the future.
A girlfriend recently complained about people who complain about Nigeria and japa to the UK or Canada etc. She lived in the UK before returning to Lagos to work for an oil company. She said she wanted to profer solutions here instead of complaining incessantly about problems; and she has done well and feels that Africans will always be second-class citizens abroad and can succeed at home if we work hard.
This is how I responded to her:
When you were born privileged like us, you must not fall into the trap of underestimating how difficult it is for folks in weaker positions to survive and thrive.
You left the UK because you knew you could be Somebody back home.
When you came home to proffer solutions, influential people were willing to hear you out and give you a chance to contribute.
Not everyone is so lucky.
For millions, every tiny step requires blood sweat and tears and pain and acceptance of insults and no protection against sexual harassment and so on.
Most Nigerians, including many who are as clever as you and me (or cleverer) languish at the bottom of the mountain and don’t stand a chance of making it to the halfway mark, never mind to the top. Because they have one hand tied behind their backs.
We, on the other hand, can do well without being especially smart because we have successful parents, connections and self-confidence.
Imagine if you can’t get a job or afford a generator in a part of town where there is never any electricity? Or pay for medical treatment.
Moving to the UK or Wherever, often to do menial work, starts to look attractive. At least proper countries are fairly meritocratic and compassionate and there’s a chance that you might eventually be able to work your way into better jobs.
And, by the way, I very much doubt that Kemi Badenoch would have become the leader of a Naija political party if she had stayed home! ?
Do Vanguard readers agree with me?
I have a YouTube channel. It’s called DONU’S WORLD. https://youtube.com/@donukogbara?si=bBm_IPdFZ_wUyKYq
NIGERIA UNFILTERED – spicy commentaries on Naija issues – appears every Wednesday, while DONU’S WEEK appears on Fridays and is international as well as local and covers a mish-mash of soft and tough issues around my personal life, my work and my worldview.In this week’s Nigeria Unfiltered video, I hail ADC Opposition leaders for leading a protest march about INEC’s shamelessly partisan conduct. Please check out my Donu’s World library (dating back to early 2024) on YouTube, plus the new videos I produce every week. I would love to hear your opinions and any constructive criticisms you may have to offer. And I will be very grateful if you “like”, subscribe and share!
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