Opinion
Poverty: Manipulative Tool Of Oppressive Ruling Class
Poverty has been seriously weaponised to achieve total control of the masses by their rulers. And the poor have been made to believe by state operators, who in the first place rendered them poor and hopeless, that they are the only ones that can change their conditions for good. They get them close, just enough to exercise influence and control, throw chaff and crumbs as to the chicken, in quantities barely enough to keep them from dying, deceive them into keeping the hope alive to remain attached to their apron strings, and then pull them to any direction they wish.
For instance, is there anyone who is busy and self sustaining that would have time to attend all the meetings, rallies and party events by the hypocritical power elite, or go to their homes to spend hours to fawn at them, shouting “Honourable!” “Leader!” Capacity! clap, sing, drink and dance for hours, just for caps, T-shirts or some few cups of rice or packets of noodles? Idleness makes for such availability. That is why they are never serious at creating any mass employment for the youths. That is why you see 60-year old attending without shame party youth meetings. He is idle, jobless, economically impotent, totally with no means to assert anything and a beggar. He is totally hopeless but is made not to realise that who actually is responsible for his situation is the man he vainly looks up to for a change in his fortune. He is thus fooled to develop the strongest type of the Stockholm syndrome for his captors and oppressors that he now sees as his messiah.
For instance, when I first came home to Igbo-Etiti, I saw many who have been under the political ‘boyiboyiship’ of some so-called leaders for decades. Note they exist everywhere and not just my place. They had given their all. And now aged and progressing towards their graves, they have nothing to show for these many years of political servitude and enslavement. Their entire lives are a wreck; arrested and systematically destroyed by some wicked leaders who from the onset never had any real intentions to help them progress beyond the level of the carpet. Why? They need them exactly there to function optimally as minions and ground holders, as they and their children fly far and thrive, enjoying the limitless perks of the various positions they navigate from one to the other.
The most heart-rending part of this is that some who are seen as very useful and effective in some ways in the political activities of these types of leaders, are deliberately made and kept poor. These associates are made to look special but in actual sense are of no real substance. They are given hollow relevance and are left at that level they are neither rich nor poor. Their captors never give them any real job even when they can easily do so beyond the ones that will create a semblance of motion, without movement. Real jobs would lead to being free and possibly independent. And this means the loss of a political tool of high utility.
This has become so annoyingly pervasive that a lot of very wretched people are now friends and associates of these big men of power, they follow around to sing for and hail in shameless shows of public adulation. They look well fed from the continuous food and drinks made available to them all the time, but have nothing to fall back on the moment their political umbilical attachment to their benefactors are severed. As the first to get “palliatives,” they consider themselves highly privileged and lucky to be associated with the big man, never bothering to consider that it was not palliatives that gave the man his mansions and SUVs. This is just as they never bother to pause to ask themselves what those that get palliatives truly are; that the hopelessly poor reduced to near refugees in their own rich homelands and are like the proverbial man in the river that could not wash the soap suds off his eyes.
Fortunately though, more are beginning to ask themselves how they came to this sorry pass. Even while they still keep their attention on the rice and noodles their tormentors occasionally bring, they are now beginning to connect them with their abysmal conditions. That was why the last election was as revolutionary as it was, with many politicians getting the boot from the people who no longer clap as they steal them blind and give them crumbs. The people are gradually realising how they rendered everyone poor and drained of any real zeal to bother about whatever they do in office.
For sure, poverty weakens the people in many ways, to the advantage of their oppressors in power. A poor folk will be too hungry to bother about his patriotic duties and obligations as a citizen.
He would thus easily switch allegiance from the impoverished community to the political crooks who give him ‘surviving palliative’ to just keep him alive and under control. He fights anyone at his behest, including his fellow wretcheds of the earth, to get his attention, hoping to get more patronage. As that never comes to permanently help him, because it would empower the poor folk to gravitate out of his sphere, the eternal trap remains.
So, the typical politician we have in Nigeria, for instance, cannot empower his thug alive to grow above doing that as no one would do the job of thuggery for him when the time comes. But, folks are beginning to understand why their children are never thugs. They are realising it is because, thuggery is more dangerous than it is sustainable as a career.
So, that day the people would fully realise these tricks and manipulations of the political elite would be when their emancipation would come. It is good that the awareness is on the increase. The people are no longer given to the bandwagon followership of every politician as integrity and track records of trust in public service now matter. For sure, many more would still be rejected in the coming polls.
Amaechi, a contributor wrote in from Port-Harcourt.
By: Wordshot Amaechi
The events that unfolded in Abuja on Tuesday November 11, 2025 between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike and a detachment of soldiers guarding a disputed property, led by Adams Yerima, a commissioned Naval Officer, may go down as one of the defining images of Nigeria’s democratic contradictions. It was not merely a quarrel over land. It was a confrontation between civil authority and the military legacy that still hovers over our national life.
Nyesom Wike, fiery and fearless as always, was seen on video exchanging words with a uniformed officer who refused to grant him passage to inspect a parcel of land alleged to have been illegally acquired. The minister’s voice rose, his temper flared, and the soldier, too, stood his ground, insisting on his own authority. Around them, aides, security men, and bystanders watched, stunned, as two embodiments of the Nigerian state clashed in the open.
The images spread fast, igniting debates across drawing rooms, beer parlours, and social media platforms. Some hailed Wike for standing up to military arrogance; others scolded him for perceived disrespect to the armed forces. Yet beneath the noise lies a deeper question about what sort of society we are building and whether power in Nigeria truly understands the limits of its own reach.
It is tragic that, more than two decades into civil rule, the relationship between the civilian arm of government and the military remains fragile and poorly understood. The presence of soldiers in a land dispute between private individuals and the city administration is, by all civic standards, an aberration. It recalls a dark era when might was right, and uniforms conferred immunity against accountability.
Wike’s anger, even if fiery, was rooted in a legitimate concern: that no individual, however connected or retired, should deploy the military to protect personal interests. That sentiment echoes the fundamental democratic creed that the law is supreme, not personalities. If his passion overshot decorum, it was perhaps a reflection of a nation weary of impunity.
On the other hand, the soldier in question is a symbol of another truth: that discipline, respect for order, and duty to hierarchy are ingrained in our armed forces. He may have been caught between conflicting instructions one from his superiors, another from a civilian minister exercising his lawful authority. The confusion points not to personal failure but to institutional dysfunction.
It is, therefore, simplistic to turn the incident into a morality play of good versus evil.
*********”**** What happened was an institutional embarrassment. Both men represented facets of the same failing system a polity still learning how to reconcile authority with civility, law with loyalty, and service with restraint.
In fairness, Wike has shown himself as a man of uncommon courage. Whether in Rivers State or at the FCTA, he does not shy away from confrontation. Yet courage without composure often feeds misunderstanding. A public officer must always be the cooler head, even when provoked, because the power of example outweighs the satisfaction of winning an argument.
Conversely, soldiers, too, must be reminded that their uniforms do not place them above civilian oversight. The military exists to defend the nation, not to enforce property claims or intimidate lawful authorities. Their participation in purely civil matters corrodes the image of the institution and erodes public trust.
One cannot overlook the irony: in a country where kidnappers roam highways and bandits sack villages, armed men are posted to guard contested land in the capital. It reflects misplaced priorities and distorted values. The Nigerian soldier, trained to defend sovereignty, should not be drawn into private or bureaucratic tussles.
Sycophancy remains the greatest ailment of our political culture. Many of those who now cheer one side or the other do so not out of conviction but out of convenience. Tomorrow they will switch allegiance. True patriotism lies not in defending personalities but in defending principles. A people enslaved by flattery cannot nurture a culture of justice.
The Nigerian elite must learn to submit to the same laws that govern the poor. When big men fence off public land and use connections to shield their interests, they mock the very constitution they swore to uphold. The FCT, as the mirror of national order, must not become a jungle where only the powerful can build.
The lesson for Wike himself is also clear: power is best exercised with calmness. The weight of his office demands more than bravery; it demands statesmanship. To lead is not merely to command, but to persuade — even those who resist your authority.
Equally, the lesson for the armed forces is that professionalism shines brightest in restraint. Obedience to illegal orders is not loyalty; it is complicity. The soldier who stands on the side of justice protects both his honour and the dignity of his uniform.
The Presidency, too, must see this episode as a wake-up call to clarify institutional boundaries. If soldiers can be drawn into civil enforcement without authorization, then our democracy remains at risk of subtle militarization. The constitution must speak louder than confusion.
The Nigerian public deserves better than spectacles of ego. We crave leaders who rise above emotion and officers who respect civilian supremacy. Our children must not inherit a nation where authority means shouting matches and intimidation in public glare.
Every democracy matures through such tests. What matters is whether we learn the right lessons. The British once had generals who defied parliament; the Americans once fought over states’ rights; Nigeria, too, must pass through her own growing pains but with humility, not hubris.
If the confrontation has stirred discomfort, then perhaps it has done the nation some good. It forces a conversation long overdue: Who truly owns the state — the citizen or the powerful? Can we build a Nigeria where institutions, not individuals, define our destiny?
As the dust settles, both the FCTA and the military hierarchy must conduct impartial investigations. The truth must be established — not to shame anyone, but to restore order. Where laws were broken, consequences must follow. Where misunderstandings occurred, apologies must be offered.
Let the rule of law triumph over the rule of impulse. Let civility triumph over confrontation. Let governance return to the path of dialogue and procedure.
Nigeria cannot continue to oscillate between civilian bravado and military arrogance. Both impulses spring from the same insecurity — the fear of losing control. True leadership lies in the ability to trust institutions to do their work without coercion.
Those who witnessed the clash saw a drama of two gladiators. One in starched khaki, one in well-cut suit. Both proud, both unyielding. But a nation cannot be built on stubbornness; it must be built on understanding. Power, when it meets power, should produce order, not chaos.
We must resist the temptation to glorify temper. Governance is not warfare; it is stewardship. The citizen watches, the world observes, and history records. How we handle moments like this will define our collective maturity.
The confrontation may have ended without violence, but it left deep questions in the national conscience. When men of authority quarrel in the open, institutions tremble. The people, once again, become spectators in a theatre of misplaced pride.
It is time for all who hold office — civilian or military — to remember that they serve under the same flag. That flag is neither khaki nor political colour; it is green-white-green, and it demands humility.
No victor, no vanquish only a lesson for a nation still learning to govern itself with dignity.
By; King Onunwor
