There is no nation on earth where citizens speak so harshly, so hopelessly, and so carelessly about their own country, their president, and their government as Nigerians do. From the beer parlour to the boardroom, from social media to street corners, on television and in newspapers, the default national language has become complaint.
We insult our leaders, curse the system, ridicule our institutions, and glorify everything foreign. We wear cynicism as a badge of sophistication. To say, Nigeria will never work ! has become a form of intellectual swagger. Yet no nation ever rose through self denigration. While dissent is vital, Nigeria’s culture of self derision has become an obstacle to progress.
Constructive criticism is the duty of every citizen, but destructive pessimism has become a national disease. Many Nigerians have mistaken bitterness for patriotism. They attack every policy before understanding it, condemn every reform before studying it, and magnify every failure while ignoring quiet progress.
When a road is built, they call it Photoshop. When a policy bites, they call it wickedness. When a reform begins to yield fruit, they credit luck. We have created a psychological war against our own country, and the damage runs deep.
Foreign investors read our posts and headlines. Tourists and partners hear our angry broadcasts. Diaspora youths inherit our despair. Every careless statement, every exaggerated insult, becomes another brick in the wall of global skepticism about Nigeria.
No people can attract respect abroad while despising themselves at home. Nations are built not only by policies but by perception. Even countries with worse challenges defend their image fiercely because they understand that positive confessions and confidence is a national asset.
Loving one’s country and president does not mean blind loyalty. It means believing that no problem is bigger than collective will.
The Americans say – God bless America. The Chinese speak of – the motherland. The British say – God save the King.
Nigerians say – This country can never work. Nigeria is finished. That is our tragedy.
We forget that Japan rebuilt from atomic ruin, that Rwanda rose from genocide, that Singapore was once poorer than Nigeria. None of these nations achieved greatness by constantly insulting their leaders or their country. They worked, believed, and persisted.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reforms have demanded sacrifice, in fuel, exchange rates, and daily costs, but they are steps toward rebuilding a damaged economy. True patriots can question methods without destroying morale. Democracy allows dissent, but development requires faith.
Let us replace endless lamentation with responsible conversation. Let us correct without cursing, demand accountability without destroying hope, and challenge leadership without desecrating the nation.
Nigeria is not a hopeless land; it is an unfinished project. Every generation has a duty to build, not to break. Words shape destiny. The more we speak despair, the deeper we sink into it.
If we must heal, we must begin by speaking life into our country again. No people on earth talk down on their nation and leaders the way Nigerians do and no people who do so ever rise.
Musa Asiru Bakare member of APC,
Political Analyst; writes from Lokoja, Kogi State
November 10, 2025