CULTURE OF HONOUR: THE VINDICATION OF A THESIS
by Moses Oludele Idowu
What ails Nigeria? What is the trouble, the real trouble with Nigeria? Let us be clear. It is not corruption as many have repeatedly stated. It is not leadership as many including scholars have continually canvassed. And it is not the Sharia or Islam-leaning Constitution that mentions Muslim, Islam 77 times but silent on other Faith Traditions. It is not the Amalgamation of 1914 or Colonial intrusion or enslavement.
What then is the trouble afflicting this nation – this wobbling and fumbling nation dying on its legs, a plaything of kidnappers, terrorists, scoundrels, murderous rogues and corrupt politicians?
It is the absence of a *Culture of Honour.* Honour is the trouble with Nigerians and Nigerians are the trouble with Nigeria.
Nigeria does not have an economic crisis, and it does not have a political crisis. In point of fact let me shock you: Nigeria does not have a security crisis or even a leadership crisis. _It has a Culture of Honour crisis._ This is the root of all and every other crisis bedeviling Nigeria. It is the taproot of the leadership crisis that makes it possible for anyone no matter his criminal past or record to gatecrashed into power to rule; it is the reason why you have some of the most insane people, corrupt and arrogant, cranks, wife beaters, women molesters, sexual- harassment perpetrators as leaders of Government.
It is the reason why our Government and its agents secretly pays billions of naira to killers, jihadist gangs and murderous Islamic mobs in secret deals; it is why they with their Jezebels and children live in majestic splendour, wear expensive trinkets, wrist watches while at the same time telling the masses to endure for reforms to work out for.their benefits.
The absence of a Culture of Honour is the reason your National Assembly has become a rubber stamp, to merely append legislative authority on what the Executive has settled as mere formality. Today there is not much difference between Executive and Legislature except in name because we don’t know about Honour and a Culture of Honour.
It is why our policemen regularly ask for bribes from foreign visitors and strangers coming to Nigeria because Mammon is the god that Nigerians worship. A recent visitor to Nigeria from abroad complained why Nigerian women are always asking for money! Well, in a land where honour does not exist money is the only thing left for people to show they belong.
The lack of a Culture of Honour is the reason that your pastors leave the Bible that has enough power to change lives, hearts and souls and turn it to an instrument of financial accumulation and material acquisitions and turn the Gospel to a tool of building a personal kingdom and empire on Earth. The same Bible that Luther took in his hands to shake Europe out of stupor and age-old superstition; the same Bible that Calvin uswd to turn Geneva to a paradise; that Wesley used to stop bloody Revolution in England; the same Bible that John Knox employed and drove a corrupt bloody Queen into abdication; the same Bible that Crowther engaged and turned a Niger Delta region from animal worship to the Living God, turned Onitsha from human sacrifice to the true God; the same Bible that Babalola got a hold on and for 50 days in Ilesha arrested the attention of a whole nation including the Colonial Government, yes the same Bible.
But when your corrupt occult pastors, bishops and G.Os take the same Bible today what do they see? Money, silver, gold, personal empire and personal glory. The Pharisees made the Law of God of none effect by their traditions; the modern occult pastors and prosperity preachers have made the Cross, the Gospel of power of none effect by their vain ambition, desire for earthly riches, personal kingdom and empires. (Woe, woe, woe unto you for all your crimes against this nation and her people!)
Why? Because Nigerians are not a people of honour. Because Nigerians have a Culture of Honour crisis. Nigerians have a honour deficit, integrity- challenged
It is why your Army was described by its own retiring Chief of Staff as “an army of anything goes” – an army where anything can happen.
It is why your justice system is criminal and most of your lawyers are rogues. It is why a man who was cleared from all the courts in Nigeria to the Supreme Court quickly pleaded guilty in a saner jurisdiction in Britain before the judge where honour reigns.
The lack of a culture of Honour is why you can’t trust any statements released from Government or its agents. In point of fact, it is now established that if a Nigerian Government or its agents deny something it is proof that thing is true or there is so much truth in it. When Nasir El- Rufai made the allegations that the present administration is feeding terrorists and paying them and even arming them did the Government not immediately deny it? But this last week AFP of France came out with details of how your Government flew a helicopter with cash and paid Boko Haram billions of naira for release of hostages, paying as.much as 40 million naira per person.
Have you noticed that insecurity has worsened of late because the stakes are now higher and the rewards for criminality in Nigeria is much higher than the risks. Criminality is now lucrative in APC Nigeria.
We have emphasized leadership as problem of Nigeria for too long but it is not. We have mouthed corruption as the problem, it is not. These are the effects not the problem. The real trouble and problem, the real cancer that is eating Nigeria raw to the bones is lack of a Culture of Honour. And you can see this in every section and sector of Nigeria. It is why today the worst of us rule the best of us. In a nation where people have no honour anything is possible. It is why ammunition bought with public money ends up in the hands of enemies of the State and the people. In a nation where people see money as god and as the ultimate and would do anything for it no good is possible. None. Even a true election is not possible. This is why Nigeria has been wasting billions on elections that will produce the worst for the best.
Just this last week this thesis was vindicated right here before us.
In the Abuja FCT election even with all the financial inducement and harassment and rigging one council still managed to elect a candidate of the Opposition party. Gwagwadala was the only one council that elected a candidate of the Opposition. Then the drama begins. The same man who was elected by the people immediately betrayed the people who elected him by decamping to the party, the same party that the electorate rejected to elect him. How about that?
This kind of thing will happen in a nation where honour does not exist, where politicians do not know the meaning of honour or Culture of Honour.
In the same week 15 lawmakers elected on the ticket of PDP crossed over to the ruling party betraying the people who elected them. Not that there was a crisis in the state branch or anything forcing them other than their own greed and avarice. We now have 30 states queuing behind the ruling party. Nigeria is becoming a one- party state by default. Not that the people wished for it, not because of the superlative performance of a ruling party but out of personal greed, and lack of honour.
According to the Zamfara governor every decamping governor was given N500b and he too was approached but he would not betray the party that fielded him in office. That is not libel, it is documented and he said it publicly and it has not been denied. So, if this is true, the cross- carpeting governors decided to trade their people’s mandates for money? Do you see why Nigeria has one of the highest voter apathy in the world? Why would you waste your time putting into office the same people who are so obscene and so devoid of honour that they will ultimately cross over to the party you rejected for their sake? This is why I have refused to be part of this coupon politics or “politics of coupon.” In a nation where this happens anything is possible. We are dealing with a leadership that is devoid of even the modicum of integrity, even the scintilla of culture of Honour – men who can sell a whole nation if possible for the sake of personal ambition. No progress will come this way.
Two women have made a charge of sexual harassment against a serving minister of Government. The stories are similar. They worked for him and he would not pay because other than contract he also wants the flesh of the women which they are not willing to give.
You will remember the Natasha- Akpabio running battle over the same allegation. Senator Iyabo Anisulowo of Ogun State also accused leaders of PDP of sexually harassing her and when she would not budge she was disallowed from returning to Senate. Can all these women be lying? What is it about a woman’s skirts that make Nigerian politicians lose their heads easily and forget about honour? Where is honour when you pursue another man’s wife to give what is not only unethical, but also dishonorable? Is it really true that most Nigerian politicians serve Satan? This is unusual and unnatural.
We must recover the culture of Honour and reinstitute integrity in public service.
The answer is not breakup of Nigeria into manageable ethnic cocoon and nations. A Yoruba nation or Biafra nation will face similar integrity deficit and honour crisis. It is about honour not tribe. In what way has Yoruba or Igbo senators or ministers better than their peers from other tribes? Honour is the issue.
Our journalism has become cash and carry. A senior executive in the Media industry spoke with me yesterday for almost an hour on the sorry state of the media in Nigeria today and you will be sorry. The fish has caught the fisherman. Media men who should hold Government to account, investigative journalists who should lead the way to put public servants on their toes are now the ones organising Award ceremonies, Dinners and Man of the Year/ Woman of the Year Awards just to get some crumbs from the same people whose mismanagement of the economy made it impossible for independent newspaper business to be profitable in Nigeria. Even Maina who was incriminated in Police pension fraud got an Award from NBA. That is the new fraud in Nigeria. Organise an award. Saharareporters and Premium Times now seem to be the only independent news media in Nigeria. That is why the wheel won’t roll.
NIgerian awards mean nothing because both the awardees and the awarding authorities are in the same mess and afflicted with the same disease of honour- deficiency.
Honour is the trouble with Nigeria and this thesis was again validated this last week before all. If this nation, this much- sinned against nation will ever overcome or survive, a Culture of Honour must be instituted. It must form part of the curriculum from Primary education to the University. Public Servants must swear to uphold the Honour Code and live by it and be held up to it. Outside of this there is no hope for Nigeria. The next few years will be worse than the previous years. The same kind of rogue politicians, soldiers of fortune, journalistic vandals and rascals and their acolytes will continue to gatecrash into power and push the nation and its long-suffering multitudes into continuous pain and needless avoidable sorrow.
Follow me:
WhatsApp: 08034697670
Facebook: Moses Oludele Idowu
X:@MosesOludele
Channels: MOI AND FRIENDS UNLIMITED
channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb66fowLikg9wnH4rc29
Have a wonderful weekend
©️ Moses Oludele Idowu
February 28, 2026
All Rights Reserved
Leave a comment