LESSONS ON PATRIOTISM AND A LOST CAUSE

JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA contends that Nigerians could do more for their country

Espionage has been a tool of geopolitical battles for centuries. Some countries go as far as deploying sleeper agents; secret agents that remain inactive for a long period of time, all along setting themselves up in a secure position. At times, such agents, whilst of one nationality are raised from childhood to be of another nationality. That way when they eventually get deployed as assets in such a country, they’d fit in like one of the citizens. Have you ever thought of it? That were a country in a desperate need to deploy agents in Nigeria, would they need to raise sleeper agents who are raised to be Nigerian, so they’d fit in when deployed or could such an agent be selected amidst a myriad of Nigerians who’d be ready to sell their country for a few bucks?

Nigeria does not seem to stand a chance at times. I once heard the historian Max Siollun say via X Space that there is no other country where the people are more self-deprecating like Nigerians. It is hard to argue against this as a Nigerian. We can debate the how it arrived here, but the outcomes are not palatable; quite a lot of Nigerians would rather root for the enemy than their country. Nigeria has a lot of re-orientation and orientation to do to align its citizens with its objectives as a nation. This lack of patriotism often reflects in the way citizens miss out on good government policies, because of their cynicism. Take the opportunities offered by the students loan scheme, Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), for instance. We also miss out on what matters, because we are often distracted by what doesn’t.

The United States Government led an operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro, the president of the country at the time. Some American journalists were privy to the military action, but they elevated their love for their country over their commitment to report the news, by keeping the information to themselves in order not to jeopardize it. There are many ways to look at that operation and many positions to take on the legality or illegality of one country arresting another country’s leader and whether this was within the ambit of the rules based global order. What cannot be debated in this case is the love and sense of duty of the United States’ journalists to their country. There are many reasons the U.S. often wins on many fronts, this is one of why.

President Bola Tinubu’s state visit to Turkey has been centered around the video clip of him tripping after a wandering cameraman appeared to hit him from behind. Interestingly, the producer of the broadcast immediately picked a different camera view. It takes some sense of awareness and judgment to decide that a clip that’d have gotten the Turkiye state visit a lot more millions of views if allowed to run was cut short to save the government of being seen to embarrass its guest. That producer was not in view, and we may never know who, but they stepped up when it mattered most. We could speak to the security lapses that led to that moment, and I do hope those responsible get to learn why such breaches are unacceptable but amidst such an accident, if you were not paying attention, you would have missed out on the person who saved the day.

If both President Bola Tinubu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan get their wish, then Nigeria and Turkiye could raise trade between the countries from about $700m to $5b. This deal was signed moments after the distraction that’d help many miss one of the essences of the visit. What matters will not trend whilst what doesn’t did and we wonder why success is never the norm for most populations.

You may not know Michel Nkuka Mboladinga but you ought to know the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. During the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), Mboladinga made a statuesque tribute to the legendary Congolese leader. He became a symbol of pride, history and nostalgia for Congolese fans and indeed some other Africans who felt a shared sense of respect for the late leader. After the DRC was knocked out of the tournament, Mboladinga was reportedly offered some money by the host country, Morocco, to stay for the rest of the tournament but he declined. Here, he was making it clear he wasn’t a statue for hire; he stood for his country and that was it. In this case, literally as it was a figurative stand.

There is a lot to be said about Nigeria and how it hasn’t shown up enough for its citizens through the years. Upon reflection, some could argue Nigeria has done a lot amidst all its challenges and its limited resources. The truth lies somewhere in-between. You can always argue it could do more.

As the 2027 elections arrive on the horizon, the country will become even more divided than ever before. Politicians will choose their ambition over anything else. Our fault lines will get pounded harder than ever and the fissures will expand. In these moments, the country will need leaders who will act as moderating voices to keep everyone in check. To remind us that after all said and done, they will remain a country to be run and one in which, whilst it stays as it is, we will either live together in peace whilst aspiring and working for justice and prosperity or we’ll continue to wallow in the unwholesome outcomes of all the bad decisions we have taken to this point.

Contrary to insinuations in some quarters, ours is not a lost cause. There is nothing wrong with this country today that is irreversible. To fix us though, we must start by admitting that we could do with a more patriotic front and that if we remain one country, we’d have to find a way to make this work.

Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/BGX Publishing