WHEN news broke that British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua had been involved in a road accident on the Ogun-Lagos expressway that claimed the lives of two of his friends, the predictable chorus of Nigeria-bashers erupted before the facts were even clear.
It was a tragic incident. Joshua, though born and raised in the United Kingdom, has increasingly embraced his Nigerian roots, spending holidays here and using his platform to identify with the country. His friends died. He was injured. That should have been the story, a sobering reminder of road safety and the fragility of life.
Instead, within hours, the professional demarketers went to work.
“Nigeria happened to him,” they declared, as if accidents don’t occur on British motorways or American highways. Some manufactured quotes they attributed to Joshua, claiming he vowed never to visit Nigeria again. Others circulated false reports that he was immediately airlifted to the UK because “no Nigerian hospital could treat him.” Never mind that he was actually treated in Nigeria and is recovering.
The bash-Nigeria brigade has turned tragedy into propaganda, and frankly, I’ve had enough.This phenomenon didn’t start yesterday. It began creeping in around 2015 and exploded after the 2023 elections when certain people’s preferred candidate lost. Since then, every incident—from potholes to power outages to road accident becomes ammunition in their endless campaign to demarket Nigeria.
There’s a difference between legitimate criticism and pathological hatred. You can dislike a president. You can disagree with policies. You can demand better governance. That’s patriotism. But when you actively celebrate bad news about your country and manufacture negativity where none exists, that’s something else entirely.
These people have made it their life’s mission to ensure Nigeria looks bad at every opportunity. Good news about Nigeria gives them indigestion. When the recent reports showed the number of Nigerians in the diaspora who returned home for Christmas and the money they spent, I’m certain it gave some people sleepless nights.
Let’s apply some basic logic here.A Liverpool player Diogo Jota died in a car crash in Spain in 2025. Nobody blamed Spain or declared that “Spain happened to him.” The world mourned and moved on.
Herbert Wigwe, the Access Bank CEO, died alongside his wife and son in a helicopter crash in California, Even when Fast and Furious actor died in a car crash in America,nobody said “America happened to him.”
Kobe Bryant and his daughter perished in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles. Nobody turned it into an indictment of American aviation or infrastructure.
But when something happens in Nigeria even when it involves human error like excessive speeding suddenly it’s proof that Nigeria is irredeemable?This selective outrage is intellectually dishonest and emotionally exhausting.
Here’s what the bash-Nigeria gang doesn’t understand: their constant demarking has real consequences. When you spend every waking hour telling the world that Nigeria is a hellhole where nothing works, you’re not just criticizing the government, you’re damaging the country’s reputation, discouraging investment, and making it harder for Nigerians abroad to be taken seriously.
Is it a coincidence that Nigeria recently found itself on a partial ban list from the United States? When your own citizens become your loudest critics, spreading exaggerated and sometimes outright false narratives about your country, don’t be surprised when the world starts believing them.
I hope the professional demarketers are satisfied now.Yes, Nigeria has problems—but context matters.Do we have infrastructure challenges? Absolutely. Are our roads in terrible condition in many places? Yes. Do we need massive investment in transportation and safety? Without question.But accidents happen everywhere. People die on American highways, German autobahns, and British motorways every single day.
The difference is that when it happens elsewhere, it’s treated as what it is—a tragic accident. When it happens in Nigeria, it becomes a national referendum.
According to preliminary reports, the vehicle Joshua was traveling in was speeding. That’s not “Nigeria happening to someone.” That’s basic physics happening to someone who was driving too fast. We can discuss road conditions, lighting, and signage all legitimate issues but let’s not pretend that excessive speed isn’t a factor in accidents everywhere in the world.
As expected, some funny politicians couldn’t resist turning this into a political football. Some people rushed to visit Joshua in the hospital, not out of genuine concern, but to grab photo opportunities. Others issued statements criticizing federal road maintenance to score points against the administration.
Not everything has to be politics. A young man lost two friends. Families are mourning. Can we give them space to grieve before we start the political posturing?
I’m not asking anyone to stop criticizing Nigeria’s problems. God knows we have enough of them to criticize from now until next Christmas. What I’m asking for is balance, honesty, and a sense of proportion.
Criticize specific policies. Demand accountability from specific officials. Advocate for better roads, better hospitals, better governance. But stop treating every single incident as proof that Nigeria is uniquely cursed among nations.
We’re not. We’re a developing country with developing-country challenges. Some of our problems are self-inflicted through poor leadership and corruption. Others are the result of years of underinvestment. All of them require solutions, not just endless lamentation.
The constant demarking doesn’t make you sophisticated or worldly it makes you part of the problem. Because while you’re busy convincing the world that nothing good can come out of Nigeria, other countries with worse statistics are out there marketing themselves and attracting investment.
Ghana does it. Rwanda does it. Even countries with recent histories of conflict and instability understand that you don’t build a nation by constantly telling everyone how terrible it is.
May those who lost loved ones in this accident find comfort. May Anthony Joshua and others who were injured find complete healing. May the families mourning their dead find solace. And may those who have made it their life’s work to bash Nigeria at every opportunity find something more productive to do with their time.
Nigeria has enough real problems without manufactured outrage and exaggerated narratives. If you genuinely want to help the country improve, channel your energy into solutions not into being the loudest voice in the demolition choir.
See you next December for another scorecard review. Hopefully with fewer misses and more fuel price surprises. Nigerians could use more of those.
- Nda-Isaiah is a political analyst based in Abuja and can be reached on jonesdryx@gmail.com. His syndicated column appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Saturday.