By Johnson Somadina.
Late Tuesday evening, 9th September 2025, something happened that reinforced what I’ve always suspected the real problem in Nigeria is not just our leaders, but we the citizens.
That day, news filtered that fuel stations shut down. Understandably, people were angry, frustrated. But what happened on the streets that day painted a deeper picture of our reality.
While going back home that faithful evening, the bike man stopped to purchase fuel from roadside sellers commonly known as “Black market”. I overheard the Lady tell the bike man, “Oga, na ₦1,500 per liter now instead of ₦1,100.
Just hours after the shutdown of fuel stations, these so-called “businessmen” were exploiting their fellow Nigerians. It wasn’t the government at the roadside, It wasn’t the president or any senator forcing us to do this to ourselves. It was us, Nigerians, preying on each other.
This is the sad irony: the same people shouting “bad government” are the ones inflicting pain on others when given the slightest opportunity. We criticize corruption in high places, yet practice it in our little corners.
I’m reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:5: “You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
We complain about the leadership, yet we sell water to the thirsty at outrageous prices during scarcity. We inflate transport fares during festive periods. We sabotage queues at filling stations. We lie, cheat, and hustle others under the excuse of survival.
If we truly want a better Nigeria, the change must begin with us, not in hashtags, not in protests alone, but in how we treat one another daily. The government has its failures, no doubt. But we must stop pretending that the rot starts only at the top. Change doesn’t starts from Aso Rock, but from us the citizens.
Let us fix ourselves. Let us be honest in our dealings. Let us treat one another with fairness. Only then will we have the moral right to demand change from those in power.
Because a corrupt people will always reproduce a corrupt leadership.
