By Ibrahim Bunu
ibrahimbunu2520@gmail.com
A government that fears criticism is often a government that has begun to fear its own people.
The reported arrest of Jonah Bonnet, popularly known as Pompo, has once again raised troubling questions about the state of democratic freedoms in Kaduna State and, indeed, across parts of Northern Nigeria. While the full facts surrounding the matter remain subject to official clarification and due process, the public reaction speaks to a deeper anxiety that has been growing among citizens for years.
Democracy was never designed to be comfortable for those in power.
It is noisy.
It is argumentative.
It is often unfair.
It allows citizens to question leaders, challenge policies, mock politicians, and criticize governments. That is the price elected officials pay for the privilege of exercising public authority.
Every day in Nigeria, the President of the Federal Republic is criticized, insulted, ridiculed, caricatured, and condemned on social media platforms, in newspapers, on radio stations, and at political gatherings. Millions of Nigerians with access to a smartphone and data subscription freely express their opinions, sometimes responsibly and sometimes recklessly.
Yet the Republic survives.
The Presidency survives.
The Constitution survives.
Why then should criticism of a governor be treated as a threat to the state itself?
Why should political disagreement create an atmosphere of fear?
Why should opposition voices become subjects of security concerns rather than participants in democratic discourse?
These are questions that deserve answers.
History teaches us a painful lesson: political power is strongest when it tolerates dissent and weakest when it attempts to silence it.
The temptation to suppress criticism often appears attractive in the short term. It creates the illusion of control. It produces temporary silence. It may even intimidate opponents for a while.
But history shows that silence is not loyalty.
Fear is not support.
And intimidation is not legitimacy.
Across the world, governments that attempted to criminalize criticism ultimately discovered that ideas cannot be handcuffed and opinions cannot be detained indefinitely.
The more a government appears hostile to criticism, the more suspicion it creates among the people.
The more citizens feel unheard, the louder their grievances become.
The more political space shrinks, the more resentment grows beneath the surface.
This is precisely why Kaduna’s political leadership must tread carefully.
Many citizens in Southern Kaduna still carry memories of previous periods marked by deep mistrust, political tensions, and feelings of exclusion. Whether those perceptions were entirely justified or not, they remain part of the region’s political consciousness.
Politics is not only about what leaders do.
It is also about what people believe leaders are doing.
Perception matters.
Trust matters.
Political goodwill matters.
That is why every action taken by those in authority must be measured not only against the law but also against its impact on public confidence.
Arrests will not determine the political future of Kaduna.
It will not be determined by intimidation.
It will not be determined by how many critics are silenced.
It will be determined by how many citizens genuinely believe that their voices matter.
Governor Uba Sani still has an opportunity to strengthen democratic confidence by demonstrating tolerance, openness, and respect for political disagreement.
Strong leaders do not fear criticism.
Strong leaders defeat criticism through performance.
They answer accusations with results.
They respond to opponents with policies.
They silence doubters through achievements.
That is the democratic way.
As the next electoral cycle approaches, every decision taken today will become part of tomorrow’s political judgment.
Small political miscalculations have a habit of becoming major political crises.
Small grievances accumulate.
Small controversies multiply.
Small warnings ignored today often become major regrets tomorrow.
The lesson for every elected official is simple:
Do not mistake power for permanence.
Governors come and go.
Administrations rise and fall.
Political alliances change.
But the people’s memory remains.
Democracy flourishes when leaders tolerate criticism, protect dissent, and respect citizens’ right to speak freely.
The true test of leadership is not how a government treats its supporters.
The true test is how it treats its critics.
Because the day criticism becomes a crime is the day democracy begins to bleed.
And no society can prosper while its democracy is bleeding.
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