City Crime
Sycophance As Mischief Weapon
Not many African leaders would know or recall some of the last groans and admonitions of late Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, on his death-bed, far away from his country. Though inaudible and made in a state of delirium, one of the statements was interpreted to mean: “Don’t listen to praise singers…” the praise singers meant here included local and foreign advisers, contractors, consultants, witchdoctors and other meddlers in the seat of power.
One clever form which mischief takes in any society is the flattery of rich, powerful and successful individuals. Such flatterers may be full of venom and envy within but often have some bitterness hidden under praises. The culture of sycophancy is not confined to individuals alone, because nations and organisations indulge in it for various purposes. Praise singing is a most powerful weapon for paving the way towards eventual fall of leaders, especially those who fall prey to the deadening poison of flattery. One General Obregon was quoted as warning that the enemy to fear is not the one that threatens you, but the one that flatters you.
Self-effacement is a distinguishing feature of good leadership, especially leaders who have a strong feeling of shame. Thus praises and flatteries become unbearable injuries to reputable leaders. Like every form of slavish addiction and irresistible propensities, the misleading and deadening effects of flatteries soon drive those who succumb to them into self-destruction. Praise singers and flatterers rarely mean well.
Leaders, especially in developing countries, should learn the lesson that a leader is at his best when people rarely know that he exists. This is usually demonstrated through shunning publicity and the limelight, in spite of achievements made. By the way, leaders are elected to perform and serve and not to listen to or encourage praises and flatteries. It is usually those who have little or nothing to offer the masses while in office, who encourage the activities of professional sycophants as a means of diverting attention away from their deficiencies.
The business of governance is so demanding that the task requires utmost degree of privacy so as to have the right condition for inner guidance. What time or inclination would a serious-minded leader have to carouse with flatterers and money-bags longing for recognition and attention? While a large section of populace languish in agonies and hunger, huge sums of money are often spent deliberately to foster lip-services, flatteries and praises of regimes. Political parties are known to spend huge sums of money for propaganda and image laundering, in which some mischief makers use the mass media as instruments.
Mechanism of mischief making include the practice of carrying along and pampering certain segments of the populace, while containing the masses through intimidation. This practice results in the rise of cult groups and militants who long for recognition and accommodation by engaging in anti-social and mischievous activities. Sycophants who feed leaders with misleading and wrong information are usually the patrons of groups of cultists and militants.
A statement made by General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) when he became a student in a British university after he was overthrown is worth recalling. In a private conversation, he remarked that we overlook the power of vested interests to our own detriment. Therefore, mischief makers operate under various interest groups, with various goals, whose pursuits often involve the use of flatteries as weapons of trade. It is obvious that groups of predators have evolved in Nigeria whose stock-in-trade include the use of various means to subvert whatever that would threaten their agenda. For example, any move towards a genuine restructuring of the polity would be subverted.
The military introduced a culture of “settlement” in the nation’s politics as a means of perpetuation of power. The mechanism of that settlement culture is a part of what is commonly called corruption. A former head of state unwittingly let the cat out of the cage when he said: “If you can’t beat them, join them”. A formidable power structure can be approached by two legitimate means, namely: Willing submission or treachery via praises and flatteries. Appeasement through settlement is a part of the bargaining process, but such palliative measure also involves “selling out”.
Those who sell out their constituencies for private personal gains, remain prey to the fury of embittered masses. The suffering and smiling masses have been known to bring down powers that are insensitive and tyrannical. Such embittered masses are usually the ready instruments used by contending power blocs to cause mischief for leaders and rulers who cherish praises and flatteries.
The axiom that a chain is as strong as its weakest link can mean that the pride and power of any nation do not lie personally in the hands of those who wield state power. Rather, real political power lies with those weakest segments of the nation who are often ignored and downtrodden. No amount of flatteries and sycophance can alter the fact that the difference between cosmetics and reality is always clear. But there are political mischief mongers who would say that fair is foul and foul fair, according to what personal gains they make.
Apart from sycophancy, another disturbing handicap which afflicts governance is when it is perceived as a clever fraud and a cult which caters for only its loyalists and praise singers. This system of exclusion and flatteries in the business of governance have been responsible for some of the lingering challenges in the country. The rate of endless commendations showered on public figures should not continue. Those who do great deeds for the well-being of humanity rarely look for applause or acknowledgement because their works speak for them.
It is a great satisfaction to kindle some light where there is darkness and then leave the scene unrecognised and unsung. How can a nation develop where people are obsessed with praises, vanities and self-adulation? Nigeria should map out dignified directions that can inspire the citizens towards noble deeds in silence, without looking for praises. Those who long for the limelight long for praises, which may not be sincere.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.
A former staff of the Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, publisher of The Tide Newspapers, Idongpee Akwaowo Reuben, has been appointed the Acting Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria (ICCON) by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Akwaowo’s appointment follows the expiration of the second tenure of the former Registrar, Chemist Jwalshik Wilford.
According to a letter released from the office of the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare dated August 5, 2026, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said the appointment was with immediate effect.
The minister had earlier announced Akwaowo’s appointment during a meeting with the Permanent Secretary, Heads of Departments, and Directors in June 10, 2026 in the Minister’s Conference Room.
He said the appointment was automatic and effective 1st June, 2026 following the satisfactory handover that followed the succession procedure.
The Minister nullified the earlier process put in place for a substantive appointment, citing it as a contravention of the provision of the ICCON Act.
He further directed that the appointment letter be issued without further delay.
The Minister admonished the new ICCON Chief Executive to take charge and ensure that the Institute is on the path of peace and progress to deliver her mandates.
In his response, Akwaowo thanked the the Federal Government for the appointment which, he said, has laid every uncertainty surrounding the leadership of the Institute to rest.
He pledged his unalloyed loyalty to the Federal Government and the Minister and promised to work with his Management Team to align with the policy directives of the Ministry as well as the renewed hope agenda of the Federal Government.
Akwaowo joined ICCON in 2005 as a pioneer staff, rose through the ranks and served in many capacities transcending virtually all the departments in the Institute including HOD, Administration/Accounts & Finance.
Most recently, he served as the pioneer Team Lead and the Registrar/CEO Representative in the National Chemical Personnel Audit excercise to Chemical companies and Chemistry Departments in Tertiary Institutions as part of the Institute’s regulatory mandates.
He has attended several courses and workshops and represented the Institute at various conferences and fora.
Akwaowo is a Chartered Chemist and also a member of a number of professional bodies.
He rose to the rank of Director, Scientific in 2025, and was until his appointment, the Coordinator, Zonal Offices of ICCON.
City Crime
Bayelsa Water Coys Raise Alarm Over Business Threats …Set To Resist Multiple Levies Amid High Production Cost
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has asked the National Assembly to immediately withdraw the proposed Nigeria Data Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2026, describing it as a backdoor attempt to regulate social media and expand government control over online expression.
SERAP warned that it would institute legal action if the bill is passed in its current or substantially similar form.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), seeks to compel social media platforms, data controllers and data processors operating in Nigeria to establish physical offices in the country.
It also empowers the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to shut down or prohibit the operations of any entity that fails to comply within 30 days.
In a letter dated July 18, 2026, and addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, SERAP said the proposed amendment posed a threat to constitutionally guaranteed rights.
The letter, signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare and issued on Sunday, read in part, “Requirements compelling technology companies to establish local offices would increase government leverage over platforms, facilitate political pressure, make censorship demands easier and expose local employees to retaliation.
“The Bill would create sweeping powers capable of shutting down or excluding social media platforms from the Nigerian market and expose millions of Nigerians to serious violations of their constitutionally and internationally guaranteed human rights.”
SERAP argued that the bill revives previous attempts to regulate social media that attracted widespread public opposition.
“The current Bill revives substantially similar proposals previously introduced by Senator Nwoko, raising renewed concerns that localisation requirements are being used as a vehicle for expanding governmental control over digital platforms and online expression,” it said.
The organisation warned that it would challenge the legislation in court if enacted.
“Should the Bill be enacted into law in its current or substantially similar form, SERAP shall promptly take all appropriate legal actions to challenge its legality in the public interest and to ensure that Nigerians’ fundamental rights are fully protected,” the letter stated.
According to SERAP, the proposed legislation would give the Nigeria Data Protection Commission excessive powers to block digital platforms without adequate procedural safeguards.
“The Bill constitutes a backdoor attempt to regulate social media and increase governmental control over online expression through corporate localisation requirements rather than through transparent and constitutionally permissible regulation,” it said.
The group argued that the bill lacks provisions for prior judicial authorisation, meaningful opportunities for compliance beyond the proposed 30-day period, and safeguards to protect the rights of millions of Nigerians who rely on digital platforms.
SERAP also cited the judgment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice on Nigeria’s suspension of Twitter, arguing that the proposed amendment could produce similar consequences by indirectly excluding social media platforms from operating in the country.
“The Bill also risks recreating the very dangers previously condemned by the ECOWAS Court of Justice. In SERAP and Others v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Court held that the suspension of Twitter violated the rights to freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom protected under the African Charter.
“Although the present Bill differs from the Twitter suspension in form, it creates the possibility of achieving the same result indirectly by empowering regulators to prohibit digital platforms from operating in Nigeria.
“The National Assembly should not enact legislation capable of producing, through indirect regulatory means, the very restrictions on fundamental rights that regional human rights law prohibits,” the organisation said.
It maintained that while governments have a legitimate interest in regulating digital platforms, such measures must comply with constitutional guarantees and international human rights standards.
The organisation further warned that mandatory localisation requirements would increase compliance costs for technology companies, startups, educational institutions and artificial intelligence developers.
“The proposed amendment conflicts directly with the objectives of the Nigeria Startup Act 2022 and the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy.
“Mandatory localisation requirements substantially increase compliance costs, particularly for startups, open-source projects, educational institutions, research organisations, AI developers and smaller technology companies, while reducing Nigeria’s attractiveness as a destination for innovation and investment.
“No major democratic jurisdiction requires every social media platform to establish a physical office as a blanket precondition for providing services.”
SERAP added, “The National Assembly should immediately reject and withdraw the Bill, as it is manifestly incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution and Nigeria’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”