A CALL TO CONSCIENCE: NIGERIA MUST RISE ABOVE ITSELF

Picture of Hajiya Baheejah Mahmood Abdullahi and Logo ArDA

Nigeria is at a defining moment. Not because of what outsiders are doing, but because of what we are allowing within ourselves. The truth is often bitter, heavy, and uncomfortable—but it remains the only path to survival, unity, and progress. As the saying goes, “Truth may be bitter, but it is the medicine that heals.”

We must begin by speaking honestly to ourselves.

Across ethnic lines, across religious divides—from the North to the South, from the East to the West—we are one people tied to one destiny. Yet, we behave as though we are strangers competing for destruction rather than partners striving for development.

Today, many Nigerians see the problems, speak loudly about them, but refuse to truly understand or act. Noise has replaced wisdom. Emotions have replaced reason. Division has replaced unity. We risk becoming a nation where people see clearly but choose blindness, hear clearly but embrace deafness, and know the truth but reject it. Indeed, “He who closes his eyes to the truth will wake up in darkness.”

A country cannot survive like this.

Religion, which should guide morality and discipline, is too often misused as a tool of division—especially in parts of Northern Nigeria. Ethnicity, which should be a source of cultural richness, has become a weapon of suspicion. Education, which should open minds, is sometimes reduced to mere certificates without understanding or responsibility.

We must ask ourselves:

How can two people with the same eyes look at the same nation—one sees opportunity, the other sees nothing?

How can we claim knowledge without wisdom, and education without impact?

Nigeria was not built to fail. It is being weakened by our collective refusal to face the truth and act on it. Because no matter how long falsehood prevails, “No matter how long a lie travels, the truth will one day catch up.”

Let it be clear: no nation rises by blaming outsiders alone. While global politics and foreign interests exist, the greater danger lies within—our attitudes, our silence, our divisions, and our willingness to tolerate what is wrong. For “a single truth can shatter a thousand illusions,” if only we are brave enough to confront it.

Leadership is a trust, not ownership. Any leader! including Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is entrusted temporarily with the responsibility to serve the people and protect the nation’s future. But the destiny of Nigeria does not rest on one individual alone. It rests on all Nigerians.

If we believe that any leader is acting only for personal or narrow interests, then the question is not just about leadership, it is about citizenship.

What are we, the people, prepared to do-lawfully, peacefully, and collectively to protect our future?

Because at the end of the day, every Nigerian must live with the consequences of Nigeria, there is no alternative homeland waiting for the majority of us.

The time has come for awakening.

We must defeat the “demons within”:

Ignorance

Blind loyalty

Religious manipulation

Ethnic hatred

Silence in the face of injustice

And also resist negative external influences—but with wisdom, not fear, and with unity, not division.

Let the truth guide us, not fear. Let it stand firm, because “the truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it—let it loose, it will defend itself.”

A Final Word

Nigeria can still rise—but not through noise, not through blame, and not through division.

It will rise when Nigerians—Muslim and Christian, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and every other group—choose truth over comfort, unity over division, and responsibility over indifference.

The question is no longer what Nigeria will become.

The question is: what will Nigerians choose to become?

...Baheejah Mahmood

Chairperson

Arewa Dignity Advancement Initiative (ArDA)