A PRINCIPAL ingredient of participatory governance is the robustness of views. No government is a monolith of knowledge; hence, a plurality of opinions, thoughts, and criticisms must be welcomed with avid and dispassionate interest.
In fact, democracy by its very conception is a theorem of divergence—divergence of thoughts, beliefs, pursuits, persuasions, and backgrounds. Wholesome debates and criticisms enrich governance; they are the barometers by which the government gauges public sentiment on policies and programmes to chart the best course of action.
President Bola Tinubu himself has been an apostle of disciplined conversation, citizen engagement, and robust dialogue. This is a principle he has stayed consistent with in his public life, and one even more manifest now that he is President.
In his 2026 Democracy Day speech, he famously stated: “Criticise me, disagree with me, but never stop believing in Nigeria.”
No evolved government is averse to public criticism. However, there is a gulf between productive commentary and chronic cynicism induced by self-apparitions.
Mr Chidi Amuta’s article titled ‘Abuja Gangster Chronicles,’ published in THISDAY on July 26, falls into the inglorious receptacle of unproductive and undisciplined commentary acerbic, conjectural, and alarmist.
His article is another in a long line of opinion pieces that substitute insults for ideas and nostalgia for facts.
While everyone is entitled to free speech, Nigerians deserve better than name-calling masquerading as analysis. Democracy thrives when critics engage with policy, not personality.
To label an elected President and his administration as “gangsters” is to trivialise both language and the real work of governance.
President Bola Tinubu came into office in May 2023 and inherited an economy with multiple exchange rates, unsustainable fuel subsidies, and debt service consuming over 90% of revenue.
In 24 months, the administration has unified the FX market to stop arbitrage and restore investor confidence, and removed fuel subsidies and redirected savings to infrastructure, student loans, and social interventions.
The Tinubu Government has attracted over $30 billion in foreign direct investment pledges in oil & gas, manufacturing and technology, and inaugurated key road and rail projects across the country, including Chidi Amuta’s South-East corridors that previous governments abandoned for 16 years.
You may disagree with the speed or style, but to call policy decisions “gangsterism” ignores the difficult trade-offs of reform.
Mr Amuta writes from Abuja but seems to forget that “Abuja” is not a person. It is the seat of government that belongs to all Nigerians.
Under this administration, the South-East is seeing renewed federal presence: work on the Enugu-Onitsha and Enugu-Port Harcourt roads, and commitment to the Eastern Rail Line. That is the opposite of exclusion or gangsterism. That is the politics of inclusion and delivery.
Mr Amuta takes a fatalistic approach to all matters. Reading him, one would think Nigeria is a purgatory where all hope is lost, and doom is inexorably destined.
Being from a background of social criticism myself, I am of the view that due responsibility must be exercised in public commentary. For a man of Mr Amuta’s standing, it is even more imperative.
Mr Amuta made a flurry of wild and spurious claims in his article, alleging wholesale advance vote-buying, bribery, and corruption, and suggesting that gangsters are running Nigeria. What could be more uncharitable, rascally, and indecorous?
Mr Amuta’s innuendo suggesting the complicity of the Presidency in the phantom agency (PFIPC) matter is mischief taken too far. The case is still under investigation; hence, any commentary may be inchoate until the conclusion of the process.
What is established is that the President has directed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
It is also established that the Federal Government never established the fictitious PFIPC and has no basis in any law, presidential instrument, executive approval, or other lawful act of government.
Equally important is that the government is identifying any weaknesses in official and institutional procedures that may have been exploited, to prevent similar abuses in the future.
The integrity of the Presidency remains unsullied. President Tinubu is a fervent democrat and stays committed to providing strong, focused, disciplined, and patriotic leadership.
Mr Amuta must understand that Nigeria is not all gloom and doom. It is not a gangster’s paradise, either. It is a nation led by men of good conscience, conviction, good breeding, and unimpeachable values.
We welcome criticism. Democracy needs it. But criticism must be tethered to truth and solutions. Calling the President names does not create jobs. It does not fix roads. It does not attract investments.
What will help Nigeria is honest debates: Where do we disagree on policy? What alternatives do we propose? How do we support reforms while protecting the vulnerable?
President Tinubu’s mandate is to Renew Hope, not to please columnists. The results may be tough in the short term, but the direction is clear: fiscal discipline, infrastructure renewal, governance inclusion, security and national prosperity.
Nigerians voted in 2023. They will judge again in 2027. Between now and then, let us argue with data, not diatribe.
- Nwabufo is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement.