By Banji Alabi
The destructive ways and manners rather than constructive, social media is being deployed by many Nigerians, especially opposition politicians and some opponents of government under the guise of playing politics or being aggrieved citizens, sometimes and more than often, cross the red line of responsible citizens.
On many occasions such individuals ignorantly failed or refused to distinguish between criticising government and bringing down their country and inadvertently becoming saboteurs of sorts. The time has therefore come to tell them to heed the clarion call, to stop spreading evil reports about Nigeria, even if you do not like the government in power, there must be a respected Nigeria for your desire or plan for a change of government or leadership. If Nigeria is brought down to her kneels or to inexistence, where will your desire for a change, if necessary take place?
There is a sobering truth that must shape our national conversation: What you see is what you get. You cannot build a nation, or a life, while staring only at the cracks in the wall. If your eyes are trained to scan for failure, you will never notice the foundation being laid right beside it. And the great irony of our time is this: the people cursing the darkness loudest are usually still standing inside the very house they’re cursing.
Let us be clear. This is not an argument against criticism. Democracy suffocates without accountability. Every citizen has the right and the duty to point out where government and institutions fail. But there is a chasm of difference between constructive criticism and the deliberate, daily circulation of evil reports designed only to deepen despair and summon collapse. History has already priced this path for us. And the cost was blood.
During the Second Republic under President Shehu Shagari, prominent political actors openly canvassed for military takeover. The chorus was deafening: “Anything is better than this government.” When the tanks rolled in December 1983, they did not ask for party cards. They did not sort “saint” from “sinner.” The calamity swept everyone. Many of those same leaders, who had invited the storm found themselves in detention, handed decades-long sentences, their careers shattered, their health broken. Some never walked out. Some emerged blind. The house they wanted burnt did not spare them. Fire does not vet its victims.
Fast forward to the Goodluck Jonathan administration. The single word “clueless” became a national anthem. Airwaves and timelines drowned in ridicule, caricature, and prophecy of doom. The government was voted out in 2015. But the calamity that followed—widening insecurity, economic shocks, institutional strain—is a bill we are still paying today. Again, those who shouted loudest did not escape. The economy they mocked contracted under their feet. The insecurity they weaponised as talking points moved into their streets, their homes, their families. When you pray for the house to burn down, you do not get to choose who gets out alive. These two chapters should sober every Nigerian who thinks national collapse is theatre. History sweeps the saints and the sinners together when the house burns, you do not choose who goes out alive.
Here is the hard truth: In the same Lagos, on the same night, two realities run parallel. One timeline screams collapse, hopelessness, finality. In another room, entrepreneurs are closing deals, engineers are laying fiber, founders are raising capital, and farmers are scaling harvests. Both Nigerians are real. The difference is which room you choose to sit in. We have normalised consuming Nigeria like a crime scene—especially online. But no nation was ever built on outrage alone. Every country that rose had a generation that refused to rehearse hopelessness. They built anyway. Tunnel vision is the silent killer of nations. When all you consume is bad news, you become psychologically addicted to negativity. Your expectations bend. Your decisions shrink. Your outcomes mirror what you magnify. A man conditioned to see only darkness will miss the sunrise when it comes. A people trained to expect only failure will fumble the keys to success when they’re handed over.
Yes, acknowledge what is broken. No serious person will pretend all is well. But do not become addicted to the brokenness. Negativity is cheap. Building is expensive. Only one pays dividends for the next generation. The question is no longer “What is wrong with Nigeria?” The real question is: “What am I doing with what is still working, and what am I building while others are arguing?” There are Nigerians building wealth in silence. There are young people innovating with fury. There are industries expanding beyond headlines. There are opportunities hiding in plain sight. There are citizens solving problems while others rehearse despair. If you are not in those rooms, you will swear those rooms don’t exist. A call to the rebuilding generation to those who have turned the spread of evil reports into a daily duty, especially in this political season: Stop. Be careful what you pray for. The instability you summon will not skip your address. Be careful what you consume. A diet of doom destroys your capacity to create. Position yourself where solutions breathe. Your environment will either enlarge your vision or bury it. Become part of the rebuilding generation. Nations rise because a remnant decides to stop cursing the darkness and start laying bricks.
Nigeria is not perfect. No nation is. But history and life have a strange habit: they reward those who can still see possibilities in the middle of chaos. May this land produce an incredible harvest for all of us who choose to build rather than to burn.
Let us all strive to build a nation out of these many nations. This we can do by renewing our pledge to build a new nation and to refrain from the current actions, activities and utterances that are tearing rather than building. Therefore as a Patriot I am inviting other patriots to join hands with me wherever they are in making a new pledge that is different from the one we merely recited as tradition or as a mere ceremony. Now let’s dedicate ourselves to the Nigerians Co-Existence Pledge-a one-page commitment for every Nigerian
I am a Nigerian, my ethnicity is my heritage, my citizenship is my bond, Nigeria is stronger because of our 250+ ethnic groups, not in spite of them. I pledge to put Nigeria first. I will judge people by character and competence, not by tribe, religion, or state of origin. I will treat every Nigerian as a citizen with equal rights, anywhere in this country. I demand fairness and accountability at all levels of governance, groups, personal and inter-personal relationship.
I will support leaders who serve all Nigerians, not just their own. I will reject corruption, impunity, and divisive politics. I will hold my local, state, and federal representatives accountable for results. I will promote and protect peace where I am. I will not share hate, fear, or divisive content.
If conflict starts, I will de-escalate. I will defend the rights of every Nigerian to live, work, and own property safely anywhere in Nigeria. I will build shared prosperity. I will support projects and policies that connect Nigerians across regions. I will trade, learn, and work beyond ethnic and religious lines, learn and teach honest history, without distortion. I will remember the past without being imprisoned by it. I will teach my children that diversity is our advantage when we manage it well.
Why does this renewed pledge matter?: It matters because a nation of over 220 million cannot be glued together by force. It holds together when citizens believes they have a stake in its survival, wellbeing, dignity, prosperity and future. Therefore, this renewed pledge is my stake, I will live it, I will teach it and I will defend it.
Alabi, a senior lawyer, business consultant and a statesman, is the national Chairman, Ondo State Eminent Persons Group.
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