Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong has warned that Nigeria’s persistent support for criminal leaders is the reason the country continues to fail, insisting that no amount of prayers or fasting can remedy such choices.
Effiong, in a post on his official X handle on Sunday, said, “Voting and supporting known criminals is the surest way to destroy one’s country. No amount of prayers or fasting can remedy this.”
His comments quickly sparked reactions from Nigerians who shared similar frustrations about the country’s leadership. A user, @onyokpo, said, “Those supporting known criminals and the worst among us leading the country are not only unpatriotic but people with a poor sense of judgment. Sadly, most of them do that for what they stand to gain.”
Another, @ObiYhwh, questioned Bola Tinubu’s leadership, “Just how a man without a biography supported by empirical evidence can lead a nation aright? That is, even with forgoing the heroin trafficking $ saga, AlphaBeta corruption, govt properties grabbing. Just how? @ruffydfire abeg?”
Similarly, @felixherbt lamented the quality of voters’ decisions, writing, “When it’s time to vote, they end up electing thieves and expect the thieves to behave like angels. When the people don’t know what they want, the government they create is nothing but a group of ediots!”
Some commenters also faulted religious leaders who continue to call for prayers while ignoring bad governance. “Very true, the reason why I see anyone saying we should pray for the country as a criminal too. For example, all these men of God that keep saying pray or fast for the country,” wrote @Im_InvestorHJ.
Another user, @jofra_sino, noted, “After supporting the APC terrorist party, they still go to church to deceive thier self and ask God to save the country and to take them out of poverty.”
Echoing Effiong’s view, @MysteryMahn said, “Praying and fasting after voting corrűpt leaders and fighting for them is the peak of insanity. God does not answer such prayers because he knows that it’s a man-made problem; therefore, let them be the ones to provide their own solution.”
Effiong’s post comes at a time of growing anger over Tinubu’s administration, with many Nigerians insisting that the country’s crisis is rooted in leadership failures rather than divine intervention.
