Nigeria is increasingly weighed down by a troubling culture of waste, misaligned priorities, and performative governance. At a time when millions of citizens are battling inflation, unemployment, failing infrastructure, and declining public services, the spectacle of public officials spending scarce resources on self-serving activities is both insensitive and indefensible.
The recent tour of local government areas in Rivers State by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike reportedly organised to “thank” the people raises serious questions about fiscal responsibility and the ethical use of public funds. Money spent on logistics, mobilisation, entertainment, media coverage, and crowd management for such tours could have been far better invested in schools, healthcare, roads, and social services that directly improve people’s lives.
Even more disturbing is the choreographed nature of these events. Crowds are assembled, music is played, praises are sung, and dances are performed often by individuals mobilised or incentivised to create an artificial display of approval. What is presented as popular gratitude is, in reality, a carefully staged performance designed to project political relevance. This not only wastes public resources but also undermines democratic accountability by replacing genuine public engagement with political theatre.
In serious democracies, public officials are not applauded for showing up; they are judged by what they deliver. Leadership is measured by tangible outcomes jobs created, roads built, hospitals equipped, communities secured not by rallies and pageantry funded by the taxpayers. Public office is not a stage for personal glorification; it is a platform for service.
Nigeria must urgently confront this culture of self-congratulation in governance. Fiscal discipline, transparency, and service to the public must replace spectacle and propaganda. When officials prioritise image over impact, they deepen public frustration and reinforce the belief that government exists more to serve politicians than citizens.
Until public office holders are held strictly accountable for how they deploy public resources, these wasteful displays will continue to mock the suffering of ordinary Nigerians and further erode confidence in leadership. That, more than anything, is the real tragedy.
Written by Festus Edovia, ANIPR, FICM