Unfounded allegations and Nigeria’s democratic future
Sir: In the rough-and-tumble arena of Nigerian politics, accusations fly like confetti during election seasons. Opposition parties routinely level grave charges of corruption, incompetence, economic sabotage, and even the weaponisation
- By Sauban Olutobi Shorunke
Sir: In the rough-and-tumble arena of Nigerian politics, accusations fly like confetti during election seasons. Opposition parties routinely level grave charges of corruption, incompetence, economic sabotage, and even the weaponisation of state institutions against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
These claims—often amplified on social media, in press statements, and at opposition rallies—find eager ears among party loyalists. Yet, as many Nigerians have observed, a troubling pattern emerges: most of these serious allegations prove baseless or wildly exaggerated upon scrutiny. The danger, however, lies not just in the immediate political heat they generate, but in their long-term corrosive effect on truth, public trust, and the nation’s historical record.
The age-old adage that “a lie told often enough becomes the truth” has never been more relevant in our digital age. When opposition figures repeatedly allege that the Tinubu administration is deliberately engineering a one-party state, orchestrating budget chaos, or selectively persecuting rivals through anti-graft agencies, these narratives do not fade away even when disproven. Supporters, already disillusioned by economic hardships from reforms like fuel subsidy removal and naira flotation, internalise them as gospel. Fact-checks, government rebuttals, and even court rulings are dismissed as “cover-ups” or “propaganda.” Over time, what begins as partisan rhetoric risks solidifying into collective memory.
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We have seen this play out in real-time. From viral, doctored documents claiming a multi-billion naira ‘clandestine’ budget for the First Lady’s office, to manipulated video clips suggesting the president was incapacitated during international summits, the digital landscape is a minefield. While these claims are often debunked by independent fact-checkers like Dubawa or CDD, the initial ‘shock value’ often outlives the correction, leaving a residue of distrust that facts struggle to wash away.
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This is no abstract philosophical concern. History is littered with examples where sustained falsehoods have rewritten narratives. In Nigeria’s own past, politically motivated claims during military eras or previous civilian dispensations have occasionally found their way into textbooks, memoirs, and public discourse as unchallenged “facts.”
Imagine a scenario a decade or two from now: schoolchildren reading about the Tinubu years not as a period of bold economic restructuring amid global headwinds, but as one defined by alleged grand corruption and institutional capture—purely because today’s unverified accusations were allowed to fester unchallenged.
Future historians, relying on archived news reports, viral videos, and partisan accounts rather than primary evidence, could inadvertently immortalise fiction as reality. Nigeria’s democracy deserves better than a legacy built on distortion.
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To be clear, the administration is not above reproach. In a thriving democracy, constructive dissent is the engine of progress. Many Nigerians raise legitimate, heart-wrenching concerns regarding the high cost of living, food inflation, and the immediate ‘labour pains’ of necessary macroeconomic reforms. These are valid grievances that require empathetic governance.
However, the danger arises when genuine hardship is hijacked by political actors to manufacture ‘crimes’ that do not exist. We must distinguish between a citizen’s right to complain about high fuel prices and a partisan operative’s attempt to fabricate institutional collapse.
The Tinubu government, therefore, bears a heightened responsibility to neutralise these narratives before they calcify. Denial alone is insufficient; proactive, transparent action is imperative.
Critics will argue that every government faces scrutiny and that opposition is the lifeblood of democracy. They are right. Healthy criticism strengthens governance. But when criticism morphs into a barrage of unsubstantiated “serious crimes” peddled for political gain, it crosses into sabotage. The Tinubu administration must rise above the fray not merely to defend its record, but to safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic experiment for generations unborn.
If we fail to confront this now, the real losers will not be any political party, but the Nigerian people—condemned to navigate a future where truth is whatever the loudest voice repeated yesterday. The time for decisive action to clean the slate is now. Posterity is watching.
•Sauban Olutobi Shorunke,
University of Lagos.
