The Architects of a Nation’s Downfall: Nigeria’s Hall of Shame and the Collapse of Conscience

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

As Nigeria convulses under the weight of insecurity, economic collapse, institutional decay and moral bankruptcy, it becomes not only appropriate but necessary to name and shame those who knowingly led this nation into the wilderness. We are not victims of chance but of calculated betrayal, engineered by those who claimed intellectual and spiritual superiority; pastors, professors, politicians, media moguls and public figures who handed the keys of the nation to a man whose history was soaked in authoritarianism, ethnic chauvinism and glaring incompetence: General Muhammadu Buhari.

To begin this autopsy of conscience, we must establish the premise: these people knew better. They were not ignorant. They were not uninformed. They were not misled. They were collaborators.

The Collusion of the Educated Elite
Names like Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Charles Soludo, Pat Utomi, Oby Ezekwesili, Tunde Bakare and Wole Soyinka were not just bystanders in this national catastrophe but they were enablers. These are individuals trained in some of the world’s best institutions, purveyors of public thought and torchbearers of “truth”, yet they sold Nigeria to a man who not only lacked a West African School Certificate but also had a documented past of economic mismanagement, human rights abuse and ethnic bigotry.

Soyinka, for instance, famously campaigned against Goodluck Jonathan and threw his moral weight behind a former dictator. In 2015, he called Buhari “a born-again democrat.” How does one become a “born-again democrat” without a single interview on economic reform, education or healthcare? What happened to the intellectual curiosity of these so-called public thinkers?

Religious Betrayal and Prophetic Failure
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Deeper Life, Winners Chapel and other spiritual institutions, particularly through their pastors, either passively watched or directly endorsed Buhari. Pastor E.A. Adeboye, Pastor Kumuyi, Tunde Bakare, Sunday Adelaja, Father Ejike Mbaka all lent Buhari religious credibility despite glaring warnings from history. Bakare even shared a ticket with Buhari in 2011 and prophesied that Buhari would bring “divine order.” Instead, Nigeria witnessed divine disorder.

Where were these prophecies when innocent Christians and Muslims alike were slaughtered by insurgents? Where were these prophets when the naira lost over 70% of its value and more than 133 million Nigerians plunged into multidimensional poverty (National Bureau of Statistics, 2022)? Their silence is an indictment. Their endorsements are complicity.

Media, Pop Culture and the Celebration of Deception
Journalists and media figures such as Dele Momodu, John Momoh, Maupe Ogun and Chamberlain Usoh provided a platform for propaganda. The media failed in its duty to interrogate Buhari’s record and instead became echo chambers of a fraudulent messiah complex. The Nigerian media didn’t just report the news, they manufactured consent.

Musicians like 9ice and entertainers like Desmond Elliot crossed from art into propaganda, using their influence to support the very institutions and individuals undermining democracy. These celebrities became accomplices in the sanitization of tyranny.

Political Charlatans and Economic Saboteurs
The most odious names in this hall of shame are undoubtedly the politicians: Bola Tinubu, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, Raji Fashola, Bukola Saraki, Adams Oshiomhole, Chris Ngige, Rabiu Kwankwaso and others who orchestrated the Return of the Tyrant.

They knew Buhari’s history:

In 1984, he jailed journalists and promulgated Decree 4, Nigeria’s most anti-press law.

Under his regime, Nigeria’s economy shrank, imports dried up and debt rose sharply.

He participated in Abacha’s murderous junta as PTF Chairman, overseeing funds shrouded in opacity.

In 2001, Buhari led protests against Nigeria’s secular status, demanding Sharia law across the nation.

In 2011, after losing the election, his supporters killed over 800 people in Northern Nigeria and yet no apology ever came.

Despite this public record, these political jobbers dusted him up, dressed him in agbada and marketed him as “CHANGE.”

Why They Did It: The Unholy Hatred for Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was far from perfect, but no leader in recent history showed more potential for true national rebirth. Under him:

Nigeria had 6% GDP growth (World Bank, 2013).

The Niger Delta amnesty brought peace.

Over 12 new federal universities were established.

Agriculture grew with the e-wallet fertilizer scheme.

And above all, Jonathan handed over power peacefully in 2015—a first in Nigerian history.

But Jonathan committed an unpardonable sin: He was Ijaw. He came from a minority group and dared to lead. The Northern oligarchy and their Southern errand boys could not stomach it. The propaganda was built not on policy, but on tribal resentment and manufactured outrage.

Tinubu, El-Rufai and their army of Twitter warriors painted Jonathan as the embodiment of corruption while sponsoring the most corrupt, divisive and underqualified man to ever hold the office. As Bishop Matthew Kukah put it in 2022:

“Buhari has divided Nigeria more than any other leader in our history.”

The Aftermath: National Collapse and International Shame
Nigeria under Buhari became a failed state by every measurable index:

Over 3.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs) as of 2024.

Over 1,200 schoolchildren kidnapped during his tenure.

The naira fell from ₦199/$1 in 2015 to ₦1,500/$1 by 2024.

Inflation reached 34%, and food insecurity hit crisis levels.

Universities were shut for over 9 months due to ASUU strikes.

Today, President Tinubu, a product of that same toxic political ecosystem, presides over a nation that’s barely breathing.

Posterity Will Judge Us All
Those who still defend these figures (whether for tribal, religious or personal reasons) are not just morally compromised, they are dangerously dishonest. Evil thrives not just because of wicked people, but because of the cowards who choose silence when truth must be spoken.

As Chinua Achebe once said, “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.”

We must now add: a failure of intellect, conscience and spirituality.

This is not just a list of names. It is a catalogue of betrayal. It is a Hall of Shame, where the educated, the anointed, and the self-proclaimed saints traded our collective future for crumbs of political favour or false prophecy.

Let it be known to all who read this: History has recorded your names. Posterity will remember your roles. And your children’s children will ask what you did when Nigeria bled.

If you are silent, then you too are guilty.

Share. Discuss. Debate. But do not forget.
Let this Hall of Shame echo through time.