We’ve gotten used to keeping things in separate corners of our minds. What we believe, what we know, what we tolerate, and what we do—they all live side by side, and we act like they’re not related.
You want good roads, but you praise the same politician who hasn’t fixed any. You talk about how bad things are, but you retweet statements defending the people responsible. You complain about food prices, but you still support those whose policies made those prices worse. And when someone calls it out, you say, “It’s not that simple.”
But it is. Things are hard. And we know why. We just don’t want to face it.
This is what we’ve learned to do. We separate our pain from our politics. We live with hardship, but defend the people who made it worse because we know someone who knows someone who got lucky. Because one person from our village got appointed. Because our cousin is now in Abuja. So we ignore our own reality and repeat what they say.
People are clearly worse off. Yet they go online to defend policies that have made basic living unaffordable. Not because those policies helped them, but because someone they know is benefiting.
That’s the truth.
But the most important question still stands. Is your life better than it was before those people took office?
If it isn’t, why are you defending them?
Why are you keeping quiet when it matters?
This habit of separating truth from responsibility is what’s holding everything back. We’ve made a lifestyle out of looking away. We’ve normalized saying one thing and doing another. People complain about corruption, but celebrate those who cheat the system if they come from their community. People want accountability, but refuse to demand it from their friends in power.
We speak up only when it doesn’t cost us anything.
But this kind of thinking is dangerous. A country can’t move forward if people keep excusing the very things they claim to hate. If you want good leadership, you can’t keep defending bad decisions. If you want change, you can’t keep looking away when your side does wrong.
It’s not just about who is in office. It’s about what we choose to ignore. It’s about how we explain things away just to feel like we’re close to power, or part of something important. It’s about how we let relationships or affiliations override facts.
We can’t keep living like this.
The country is not getting better on its own. Everyone has to take responsibility—not just for what they say, but for what they accept.
We need to start being honest. If the policies aren’t working, say so. If the leaders have failed, stop pretending they haven’t. If you’re suffering, stop praising those who caused it.
We’ve spent too long keeping quiet when we should be speaking. Too long making excuses for things that need to be challenged. Too long separating our reality from the decisions that shape it.
The longer we keep pretending, the worse things get.
It’s time to stop defending what’s hurting us.
It’s time to stop choosing silence because it’s easier.
It’s time to stop separating our beliefs from our actions.
You can’t build anything meaningful that way.
Abidemi is the Managing Editor @ Newspot Nigeria
