It is becoming painfully obvious that critical elements of Nigeria’s strategic state infrastructure are either asleep, compromised, or grossly inadequate for the responsibilities of a sovereign nation. There is no serious country on earth that would casually tolerate the spectacle of its own citizens, particularly individuals seeking the nation’s highest office, roaming foreign capitals attempting to weaponize foreign institutions against their own country and its elected leadership over allegations, rumours, and recycled narratives that have been in the public domain for over three decades.
This is not opposition. It is not patriotism. It is not democratic engagement. It is the elevation of personal political ambition above national interest.
What exactly is the objective? To persuade foreign governments that Nigeria’s President is illegitimate? To encourage external interference in Nigeria’s domestic affairs? To reduce Africa’s largest nation to a subject of endless international ridicule because some politicians cannot win the confidence of their own people at home?
No nation worthy of the name behaves this way. Americans do not travel abroad seeking foreign intervention against their country. The Chinese do not. The Indians do not. The Russians do not. Even nations with far deeper political divisions understand that there is a line beyond which domestic politics becomes national sabotage.
The most disturbing aspect is not even the conduct of these political actors. It is the weakness of the Nigerian state in responding to it. A nation that cannot defend its reputation, protect its institutions, and aggressively counter hostile narratives against its leadership projects weakness to the world. It invites further attacks. It signals that there are no consequences for conduct that diminishes national prestige.
Whether one likes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or not is completely irrelevant. Tomorrow it may be another President. The principle remains the same. Once foreign actors begin to believe they can be recruited into Nigeria’s domestic political battles, the sovereignty of the nation itself becomes the casualty.
The damage from these reckless campaigns extends far beyond politics. Investors watch. Diplomatic partners watch. International institutions watch. Global media watches. Long after the political actors have moved on to their next conspiracy theory, the stain on Nigeria’s image remains. It affects confidence, perception, influence, and ultimately national interest.
The Nigerian state must therefore undertake a complete overhaul of its intelligence, diplomatic, strategic communications, and reputation-management architecture. The era of treating these matters as harmless political drama must end. Nations that survive and prosper are those that understand that information warfare, reputation warfare, and political warfare are real.
Most importantly, there must be a clear national understanding that patriotism has limits on disagreement but no limits on loyalty to country. Citizens are free to oppose governments. They are free to criticize policies. They are free to seek power through democratic means. What they should never be free to do is deliberately drag their nation through the mud before foreign audiences in pursuit of personal political objectives.
Nigeria is not a conquered territory. It is not a protectorate. It is not a playground for disgruntled politicians seeking validation from foreign powers. It is a sovereign republic, and it is long overdue for the state to demonstrate that it possesses both the will and the capacity to defend its dignity.
History is unforgiving toward nations that fail to distinguish between opposition and sabotage. Equally, history is unforgiving toward states that lack the courage to protect themselves from those who mistake national tolerance for national weakness.
This nonsense must be punished in due season.
Otunba Segun Showunmi
The Alternative.
