The Deception By The Nigerian Government On The People

The Nigerian government has successfully weaponized the use of the Constitution, whose verity is questionable, to jeopardize the posterity of Nigerians. It has always been to the gratification of the Nigerian elite, coming at the expense of the unsuspecting average Nigerian. This has been the order of the day for decades!

The deception cuts across religious, ethnic and tribal divides. One would tell Nigeria had been predicated on such lines, given certain occurrences in its history that captured national and international attention. From one issue of tribal sentiments, resulting to clashes, one religious disparity leading to unhealthy divisions among adherents to one unsolved ethnic issue or the other, Nigerians are, for the most part, have their attention carried away or being distracted. This would allow the government through the instrumentality of the willing elites to orchestrate untold misery on the people. Given the prevalence of those, as amplified and parroted by the media, Nigerians become unnecessarily focused on what had been "staged", not realizing what is or are to come upon them in a not-too-distant future. Before eyes would bleak, the masses are confronted with mountainous issues that abrupt caught up with them and continually would have to face. Ironically, the constitution is adjusted to give rationale behind such happenings.

The late former head of state, General Sanni Abacha, once declared that any conflict lasting more than a day has the involvement of the government. There have been days, even weeks of ethnic, religious and tribal clashes. Scores of events as evidenced on several social media platforms underscore how Nigerians are gullibly manipulated to be swayed by what religiosity, ethnicity and tribalism have constituted in their lives while the elites are engaged in making their lives a "pillar to post" situation.

Religious leaders and politicians in Nigeria are one in this affair: to deceive the people through control. Politicians rely on the power of clergy men and women to entrap the consciousness of their subjects towards adhering to mundane and questionable values which cannot answer confronting questions of reality when they leave the premises---churchres, mosques, temples and synagogues. Their adherents are "convinced" to sign up to vote for the man or woman who they are "one" with before the elections while being compensated through  tithes, offerings, donations and other contributions. The devotees are somehow subtly not allowed to think out of the box! It is a Do Not Ask obligation to their perceived "Fathers in the Lord", Islamic Imams/Alfas,”Men of God" or "Mother of Israel". This is not to negate religion. It is to enable Nigerians see beyond the smokescreen of religiosity and comprehend the cynical synergy between their so called clergy men and women and their political counterparts. They are all in the same page of deception! The warring religious sects, Sunni and Shiites in the Northern part of the country was a distraction to enable the government carry out a sinister agenda to look into the resources found there and or other ventures that would be of immense profit to them. Under the Buhari-led government, between 2015 to 2023, it was evident. The religious issue between the Christian and Islamic followers in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, Balkanized the recognition into Northern and Southern Kaduna regions. Through such division, the El-Rufai-headed adminstration took easy control of the state without opposition or eyebrows being raised to look his agendas. That took place between the eight-year period of Buhari's regime.

Age-old traditional practices, unique and peculiar to the all tribes in present-day Nigeria, are frowned. The Nigerian government understand the "quick-to-justice" effect of such identities to correct any misdemeanor or shift from assigned ethical dictates. As a result, it has over time ensured Nigerians held on tenaciously to Christianity and Islam to avoid being exposed for its deceits. It becomes an easy feat for Nigerian leaders to swear by the Bible or Quran as against swearing at their indigenous shrines. The Late president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, once suggested leaders should swear using the shrines, not necessarily the Bible or Quran to ensure their words of promise and subsequent commitments to serve the people are enforced. He knew the efficacy of indigenous traditional practices in that regard. However, it went from the deaf ears of leaders in Ghana into the thin air of oblivion.  The Nigerian political leaders, representative of the shady Nigerian government, know this but chose to stick to and make Nigerians prioritize greatly Christianity and Islam to carry out what is has always been known for: deception.

Ethnicity is one weapon of control exercised by the Nigerian government to avoid being opposed by the people. At grassroot level, people are programmed or indoctrinated to follow a narrative, particularly when the said candidate is from their ethnic group. They usually would vote for "their man" as they would say against competence and transparency. The divide and rule tactic devised by the Nigerian government would make possible the emergence of a leader, even at the local level, to do the bidding of his "god father", a microcosmic representation of the larger face of government against what the people should yearn... service. From the country's six geopolitical zones, that is, the North-East, North- west, North-Central, South-West, South-South and South-Esst, ethnicity in terms of chosing their leaders from local government chairman to the state level, including getting elected to the House of Representatives and Senate, the ethnic biases of the people are reflected. No thanks to the ethnic leaning they are identified with, as anticipated by the government. Nigerians haven't, in their numbers, realized they are being programmed deliberately to chose what's ethnic to them than being served and their favorite candidate, picked out of ethnic sentiment, was a calculated design to select such person to do what is necessary instructed, usually against the interest of the people, for four years, at least.  In the South-Western part, the Ife-Modakeke crisis during the era of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was a lingering matter that made bold headlines in all newspaper dailies at the time. The government of the day took control of the lands, and as a consequence, the total and unopposed control of the people. There were several ethnic clashes in the South-East. The government excercised sinister control of that land 

The Endsars protest of 2020 that saw the shooting of innocent protesters who exercised their rights to oppose societal ills rampant at the time was  a striking of instance of what the government of the day did to avoid getting to the next phase of concern---a possible revolution. The use of tribalism tactics like  "the Igbos are responsible for the unrest in Nigeria. They want to make the government ungovernable!", "Yorubas are peaceful people. They are not like the Igbos who want violence", "Hausas don't want anything to do with the protest" were implored to weaken the mental resolve of Nigerian youths to bring the government to book. The use of religion was also devised. It was alleged Christians want to cause war. Christians bragged on how more peaceful it is than Islam. Eventually, there was no significant progress made and after the killings of peaceful protesters, the constitution protected the action by the government from alleged murder of citizens who were seen waving the national flag without being armed! 

In a nutshell, Nigeria is not a country but a manifestation of how injustice is constitutionally fashioned to defend anomalies of the government against the people while using the divide and rule tactic which cuts across the lines of tribalism, religion and ethnicity to sow seeds of deceit in their lives to further control them, their lands and future. The Nigerian constitution is twisted that the reviews being advocated for and  amendments  anticipated to commensurate with vital democratic identities---government of the people, by the people and for the people---for decades--are yet to come true. Hence, the deception of asserting the current Nigerian constitution as democracy-based which is essentially a law-binding document made, construed  and executed as disguised dictatorship, after several decades of military rule.