16/08/2025
Nigeria: When Criminality Pays and Integrity Suffers.
Are We Normal?
Every day I look at what is happening in Nigeria and I ask myself: are we normal? Is this normal? Because more often than not, it seems that only criminality pays, while ordinary, law-abiding citizens are left to suffer.
Leaders Without Consequence
We clap for leaders who should be facing trial. The recent airport scandal is an example—those involved walked away untouched. No shame, no consequences.
K1, despite all the controversies around him, was rewarded with an ambassadorial post. Comfort Emmanson, after her own scandal, is cashing in on brand deals.
This is the new normal.
The Precedent We Set
But let’s not deceive ourselves—this didn’t start today.
When Niger Delta militants were settled and rewarded, the signal was clear: rascality works. The cause may have been genuine, but the method became a template for future lawlessness.
Then came Boko Haram. Instead of punishment or justice for their crimes, we saw “rehabilitation” camps and reintegration. Killers and destroyers were clothed, fed, and pardoned, while their victims still suffer in IDP camps with no compensation. What lesson did that teach? That violence and bloodshed open doors to rewards.
Celebrating Fraud Over Hard Work
Today, Yahoo boys live like celebrities. They flaunt wealth online, spray money in clubs, and are hailed as “big boys.” Meanwhile, first-class graduates roam the streets jobless and invisible.
Ballot box snatchers are now called “honourables.” Vandals who destroyed public property during protests are living large, some even holding appointments.
The message is consistent: in Nigeria, honesty is weakness, but corruption is opportunity.
Harvesting Rotten Seeds
And then we ask why the country is rotten. Why insecurity worsens. Why young people are losing faith in hard work. The truth is simple: Nigeria doesn’t reward merit, it rewards scandal, fraud, and shamelessness.
This is the harvest of the seeds we planted long ago.
A Call for Real Change
Nigeria cannot continue like this. Leaders must be held accountable, not celebrated in disgrace. Criminals should face justice, not rehabilitation packages. Our society must stop clapping for fraudsters and start honouring honest work.
We need a reset—one where integrity is respected, where competence is rewarded, and where shamelessness is not a badge of honour.
If nothing changes, the future we are heading into will be worse than the present we complain about. And then the question will no longer be “are we normal?” but “how much longer before the country completely collapses?”
