As 2025 steadily ticks away, Nigerians are counting more than days and months. We are counting losses—of lives, of communities, of trust, and of faith in leadership. In a democracy, time is not merely chronological; it is political. Every unanswered question compounds public suspicion, and every silence from those in power deepens the chasm between government and the governed.
Across Nigeria, citizens are not demanding miracles. They are asking for clarity. They want honesty. They want to know whether the state still recognizes them as stakeholders rather than spectators. From Abuja to the most remote communities, the same unease hangs in the air: critical national issues are being whispered about, deflected, or buried under ceremonial distractions, while the foundations of governance—security, transparency, accountability—continue to wobble.
Below are five urgent questions confronting Nigeria’s leadership today. These are not rumors manufactured by social media cynics. They are concerns raised by citizens, echoed by civil society, discussed in traditional media, and fueled by the government’s persistent failure to communicate clearly. In a functioning democracy, none of these questions should remain unanswered.
1. Was There an Attempted Coup, and Why Has the Public Not Been Properly Briefed?
One of the gravest issues any nation can face is a threat to constitutional order. Reports, counter-reports, and unofficial briefings have circulated suggesting that elements within or around the military may have attempted, planned, or discussed actions inconsistent with democratic norms. Yet, there has been no comprehensive, transparent briefing to the Nigerian public.
If there was indeed an attempted coup—or even credible intelligence pointing in that direction—citizens deserve to know. Not the operational details that compromise national security, but the facts:
What happened?
Who was involved?
What institutions responded?
What safeguards are now in place to prevent recurrence?
Civil-military relations thrive on trust, and trust collapses in the absence of information. When governments choose opacity over communication, they unintentionally legitimize speculation. Worse still, they create an environment where punishment becomes questionable. How can alleged culprits be held accountable in a system where the public is not even certain an offense occurred?
Nigeria’s constitution vests sovereignty in the people. That sovereignty is hollow if citizens are expected to accept “classified silence” on matters that strike at the heart of democratic stability. A coup—attempted or otherwise—is not merely a military affair. It is a national crisis, and crises demand public accountability.
2. Did a Nigerian Military Aircraft Crash-Land in Burkina Faso, and What Was Its Mission?
Another troubling issue that has refused to go away is the reported crash-landing of a Nigerian aircraft at Bobo Dioulasso airport in Burkina Faso. Questions abound, yet official clarity remains scarce.
What was the mission of the aircraft?
How many Nigerian soldiers were onboard?
Were they on a bilateral operation, a covert mission, or a regional security assignment?
If personnel were detained or held temporarily, what diplomatic or military steps were taken to secure their release?
In a volatile Sahel region marked by coups, insurgencies, and strained regional alliances, any cross-border military incident is serious. Nigeria is a leading power in West Africa, a key player in ECOWAS, and a nation with historic commitments to regional stability. Silence on such an incident not only alarms citizens at home but also weakens Nigeria’s standing abroad.
Families of military personnel deserve to know the fate of their loved ones. Citizens deserve reassurance that national assets are not being deployed recklessly or secretly. In democracies around the world, governments routinely brief citizens on foreign military incidents—carefully, responsibly, but clearly. Nigeria should not be an exception.
3. Why Is the Insurgency Overwhelming Communities While Vigilantes Remain Legally Handicapped?
Perhaps the most painful question is the one written in blood across Nigeria’s rural communities. Insurgency, banditry, and violent criminality have proven devastatingly resilient. Despite repeated assurances, many Nigerians now openly admit that the crisis appears beyond the current capacity of the country’s uniformed services.
In communities like Okeagi and Ilai—among countless others—terror arrived not as headlines but as gunfire at dawn. People were killed, others kidnapped, and many injured. These are not abstract statistics. They are fathers, mothers, children, and breadwinners.
In the absence of nearby military formations, vigilante groups have stepped in. Often armed with little more than courage and local knowledge, they defend territories the state has failed to secure. Yet these same vigilantes operate in a legal grey zone.
The question is simple but profound:
What exactly are vigilantes permitted to do?
If a vigilante confronts a bandit in the act of violence, do they have the legal authority to use lethal force? Or will they later be charged with manslaughter for defending their community? No society can expect civilians to confront heavily armed criminals while denying them legal protection.
The absence of a clear, national policy on community defense is demoralizing and dangerous. It discourages legitimate self-defense while emboldening criminals who understand that legal ambiguity often favors them. Nigeria needs a coherent framework that defines the role, limits, and protections of vigilante and community security groups—integrated into, not abandoned by, the broader security architecture.
4. What Is the True State of Health of Nigeria’s Top Political Leaders?
Another issue that continues to generate controversy is the reported collapse and hospitalization abroad of a senior government official, Senate President Godswill Akpabio. Official denials and evasions have done little to quell speculation.
This is not about voyeurism or malice. In democracies, the health of top leaders is a legitimate public concern. These individuals wield enormous power over national budgets, laws, and security decisions. If their health significantly impairs their ability to function, citizens have a right to know.
Around the world, from the United States to Europe, the health status of presidents and key officials is periodically disclosed—sometimes minimally, but honestly. Nigeria’s culture of secrecy around leaders’ health only fuels rumors and mistrust.
Ironically, while many Nigerians struggle with a collapsed healthcare system, political elites routinely seek treatment abroad. This double standard further alienates citizens. Transparency about leaders’ health would not weaken governance; it would humanize it and restore a measure of trust.
5. Is Security a Right for All Nigerians or a Privilege for the Powerful?
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has publicly stated his intention to withdraw police orderlies from public officials and wealthy private individuals who can “pay their way” to personal security. On paper, this policy aligns with democratic principles. In practice, however, it has been widely mocked as symbolic rather than substantive.
The irony is glaring. While ordinary Nigerians navigate daily life with minimal protection, it is now common knowledge that powerful individuals—including unelected relatives of top officials—move with convoys resembling military battalions. This contradiction undermines the credibility of any reform.
Replacing police orderlies with Civil Defence personnel does not solve the underlying issue. The real question is philosophical and moral:
Is security a fundamental right of citizenship or a commodity reserved for the elite?
In genuine democracies, security is centralized, standardized, and equitable. Leaders rely on the same institutions as citizens, not parallel systems of private protection. Until Nigeria dismantles its two-tier security structure—one for the powerful and another for everyone else—any talk of reform will remain hollow.
Conclusion: Democracy Cannot Survive on Silence and Distraction
Appointments, book launches, and ceremonial events cannot substitute for governance. They cannot distract indefinitely from unanswered questions about security, transparency, and leadership accountability.
Democracy is not run on opacity. Subterfuge and deflection are tools of dictatorships and lootocracies, not constitutional republics. Nigerians are not asking for perfection. They are asking for honesty.
Until these five questions are addressed clearly and credibly, the trust deficit between the state and its citizens will continue to widen. And when trust collapses, no amount of propaganda, pageantry, or political trivia can hold a nation together.
The clock is ticking—not just on 2025, but on the patience of a people who still believe that leadership should answer to them.
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