Sycophancy as Strategy: The Death of Integrity in Nigerian Politics

Today, he is being considered for an ambassadorial post by the same Chief Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu he once vilified with reckless abandon. Just a few political seasons ago, he was relentless in his attacks, calling Tinubu names, questioning his credentials, and mocking his ambitions. But now, with a quiet nod and a public smile, he’s being rewarded with a plum diplomatic post. In any decent political environment, this would spark public outrage. In Nigeria, it’s business as usual.

This is not an isolated incident. It is symptomatic of a political culture where integrity is expendable, and shameless opportunism is a badge of survival. We live in a system where consistency is weakness, sincerity is suspicion, and intelligence is seen as a threat.

To gain access to power in Nigeria, you must be crafty, not credible. The more objective, principled, and intellectually grounded you are, the more likely you are to be pushed to the margins. The gatekeepers of political appointments are not looking for integrity—they’re looking for compliance.

Our politics has become a marketplace of betrayals, where former critics become overnight converts, and yesterday’s enemies are today’s strategic allies. And in this marketplace, those who refuse to sell their conscience are deemed "unserious" or "not politically mature."

Let’s not pretend this is about reconciliation or national unity. This is about rewarding sycophancy, punishing dissent, and sustaining a political elite that thrives on loyalty to individuals—not to ideals or institutions.

This dangerous normalisation of hypocrisy is why Nigeria continues to recycle the same political failures. We cannot build a credible democracy on a foundation of moral bankruptcy. Leadership should not just be about who has the numbers or who can strike the loudest deal, but about who carries the courage to lead with conviction.

Until Nigerians demand more—until we reward truth, not timidity; vision, not vanity—we will remain trapped in a cycle where power is pursued for its own sake, and public service is just a stepping stone for personal gain.

The tragedy isn’t just in the betrayal. It’s in the fact that we’ve come to expect it.

April 25, 2025