Tone-Deafness: A leadership in the throes of confusion, by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE
Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. This timeless adage captures, with haunting precision, Nigeria’s present political descent. The warning lights are flashing red, yet those steering the ship of state appear blinded by arrogance and illusions of invincibility.
The gale of defections sweeping across our political landscape has thrown the nation into a trance of confusion. The ruling APC, luxuriating in its swelling ranks, seems deaf to the dangers of a creeping one-party state. What should be a healthy contest of ideas has degenerated into a hollow ritual of allegiance, where political survival depends more on convenience than conviction.
As the old wisdom goes, you never truly know the glutton until the table is cleared. Those basking in the comfort of dominance today should not be under any illusion that this state of affairs will go unchallenged.
This tone-deafness is not merely political; it is moral. It reflects a leadership disconnected from the pulse of the people—insensitive to their pain, unresponsive to their cries, and indifferent to their fading hope. Nigerians are watching—frustrated, weary, and disillusioned. They are trapped in a political hide-and-seek where those in power flaunt privilege while the masses endure hardship, insecurity, and economic paralysis. Logic and reason have collapsed in public life. Dissent is branded as disloyalty; opposition treated as a nuisance.
But history is unkind to leaders who mistake silence for submission. When a government suppresses dissent and mocks opposition, it digs the grave of democracy itself. Power without restraint breeds instability; suppression fertilizes resistance. And when citizens are denied genuine representation, they will inevitably reclaim their voice—peacefully or otherwise. That is the dangerous edge on which Nigeria now teeters.
To the APC, tread softly. True leadership is not measured by how many defectors you attract, but by how well you govern and how much confidence you inspire. Political dominance built on fear, defection, and opportunism is a fragile illusion—it never lasts. Democracy thrives not when opposition is silenced, but when it is allowed to speak, question, and correct. No nation can progress on the wheels of uniformity and submission.
READ ALSO: The Laughter That United the North — And how we lost it, by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE
To the opposition, wake up. You cannot confront a tone-deaf government with disunity, ego, and inertia. Nigeria’s democratic survival depends on your ability to offer a credible and visionary alternative. The 2027 elections will not wait for your internal quarrels or ambition-driven rivalries. If you fail to rise to the moment, history will record your complicity in the nation’s democratic decline.
Nigeria stands perilously close to political asphyxiation. The ruling class must rediscover humility, and the opposition must rediscover purpose. Our democracy—bruised, battered, and gasping—still calls for redemption. The time to listen is now. A word, indeed, is enough for the wise.
bgabdullahi@gmail.com
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