A GOVERNMENT HIDING BEHIND INSULTS CANNOT HIDE FROM FAILURE
Dear Mr. Bayo Onanuga,
Your latest statement on behalf of the Presidency is not a defence of democracy; it is a tantrum dressed up as a press release. When a government abandons reasoned argument for name-calling, mockery, and conspiracy theories, it is usually because it has run out of answers.
Nigeria’s opposition does not need to be “virile” to be right. It only needs to speak the truth—and the truth is that a democracy where power consolidates itself through intimidation, inducement, and selective justice is already under severe strain.
The issue is not that politicians are defecting. The issue is why defections now coincide conveniently with investigations, arrests, and relentless pressure—while allies of the ruling party enjoy a curious and consistent immunity from scrutiny. Freedom of association cannot coexist with fear of persecution. One negates the other.
Invoking history does not excuse present abuse. The fact that impunity may have existed in the past is not a licence to refine or perfect it today. A government elected on the promise of reform should not be recycling the worst habits of previous administrations while pretending to be offended by legitimate criticism.
Your repeated claim that anti-corruption agencies are “independent” rings hollow when their actions are loud, selective, and politically convenient. Independence is not proclaimed by press statements; it is demonstrated by balance, fairness, and credibility. When investigations consistently move in one political direction, citizens are entitled to ask questions—without being smeared as criminals in advance.
Dragging up allegations, insinuations, and foreign cases—some concluded, some unresolved, some merely whispered—only reinforces what your statement desperately tries to deny: that intimidation has become a tool of governance. Guilt is determined in a court of law, not in the court of propaganda.
Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list is welcome. But no economic or technical milestone can compensate for democratic backsliding, shrinking civic space, and the growing public perception that the rule of law is being bent to serve political power.
This administration must understand one thing clearly: criticism is not sabotage, opposition is not treason, and accountability is not an attack on the state. Democracies do not collapse because opposition speaks—they collapse when governments stop listening.
If the government is confident in its record, it should engage with facts, not insults; with transparency, not threats; and with humility, not hubris.
Nigeria deserves leadership—not lectures.
Phrank Shaibu
Senior Special Assistant, Public Communication
to H.E. Atiku Abubakar
Vice President of Nigeria, 1999–2007
