In Nigerian politics today, coalitions are less about shared values and more about shared enemies. Parties running out of steam form alliances not for reform, but for survival. And each coalition brings with it a predictable partner: propaganda.
These alliances are rarely rooted in principle. Former rivals become sudden “brothers in the struggle” as 2027 approaches. They’re not marriages of vision, but of desperation—held together by fear of political extinction. Once the handshake happens, the spin begins.
Propaganda becomes the tool for selling these shaky unions. Social media is flooded with hashtags and soundbites. Defectors are praised as patriots; principled voices labeled traitors. Facts are buried. Optics reign. The goal isn’t clarity but confusion.
Back in the pre-2015 era, Nigeria’s political space was expanding. Civic participation was alive. People could organize, speak up, and protest. In that openness, the APC was born—built on promises of reform, inclusion, and accountability. But fast forward to today, the same champions of coalition politics now brand similar efforts as threats to national security.
Peaceful protests meet teargas. Activists like Omoyele Sowore face repeated arrests. Peter Obi’s supporters were harassed during the 2023 elections. Media houses like Arise TV and TheCable are labeled “hostile” for asking hard questions. Opposition rallies are policed; ruling party events get protection.
The hypocrisy is stark. Yesterday’s “patriots” now suppress what once brought them to power. Propaganda is used not to inform but to drown dissent. Ideas are no longer debated—opponents are smeared. Truth is twisted until it sounds like rebellion, while lies are dressed as patriotism.
And all this while the nation bleeds. Inflation is rising. Insecurity is worsening. Jobs are scarce. Yet official briefings overflow with infographics and slogans. But Nigerians can’t eat hashtags. Media spin won’t fix roads or stop kidnappers. Propaganda may dominate headlines, but it can’t win hearts—or solve problems.
Coalitions aren’t the enemy—their intentions are. If they’re rooted in purpose, they can chart a new course. But when driven by vendetta and ambition, they only recycle the same failures in new packaging.
Nigerians must ask the hard questions: Why these alliances? What do they stand for? Where were these actors before—and where will they be when it matters?
Let today’s coalition builders remember: what you weaponize today may turn on you tomorrow. Power rotates. Truth doesn’t. If you hailed coalition politics in 2015 and now criminalize it in 2025, history is watching.
Let coalitions happen—but let them be purposeful, not paranoid. Let media speak truth, not propaganda. And let the people organize freely, not fearfully.
What Nigeria needs isn’t more noise.
We need leaders, not loudspeakers.
Policy, not propaganda.
And above all, truth—not theatre.
