Today, history was made in Asaba — not one that will be recorded in glory, but in disgrace. Thousands of Deltans, battered by poverty, injustice, and betrayal, gathered in their numbers, not to protest their suffering, not to demand accountability, but to dance and sing in celebration of their own humiliation. It was a scene so surreal, so heartbreaking, that it could only happen in a society that has forgotten what dignity feels like.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, the same man elected under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) less than two years ago, led the shameful parade. Alongside him stood former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa — the architect of promises unfulfilled — and a host of political juggernauts who only yesterday swore allegiance to a different creed. Today, with no shame and no apology, they wore the colours of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and expected gratitude for their treachery.
No consultation with the people who entrusted them with mandates. No referendum. No justification. Just a crude, self-serving migration driven by desperation for political survival and access to federal power. And instead of anger, the masses who suffer under their policies clapped and ululated. Instead of demanding answers for the collapse of their schools, hospitals, and roads, they spread red carpets for men who have fed fat on their future.
Where is the outrage over the fact that under these same leaders, Delta State consistently ranks among the worst-hit by unemployment and poverty? According to the National Bureau of Statistics, youth unemployment in Delta stands at a staggering 37.6%. Hospitals in rural areas have become mortuaries. Roads are washed away with every rainy season. Public education is gasping under neglect. Salaries remain unpaid. Hope, for many young Deltans, is a currency more scarce than dollars. Yet, here we are, celebrating betrayal with fanfare, cheering chains like prized trophies.
Today’s rally in Asaba did not merely expose the rotten core of Nigerian politics; it laid bare the far greater tragedy — a people so broken by hardship that they have normalized abuse. Citizens who should be breathing fire on the streets, who should be picketing government houses, have instead accepted their status as pawns in an endless political chess game. They have accepted crumbs while their commonwealth is plundered before their very eyes.
This is not politics. This is not democracy. This is mass Stockholm Syndrome. When a people become so used to oppression that they celebrate their oppressors, freedom becomes a distant, unattainable dream.
The truth must be said plainly: Nigeria’s problem is no longer just bad leadership. It is also bad followership. Leaders betray because they know the people will forgive and even applaud. Politicians loot because they know no matter how grievous their sins, a crowd will still gather to sing their praises when the next election approaches.
Today, Asaba was not a rally ground. It was a cemetery. The death of political conscience was mourned with drums and dancing. The citizens of Delta buried their dignity with their own hands, in full public view, witnessed by a nation already weary of betrayal.
The politicians who jumped ship will face their judgment in history. But the greater shame lies with the people who cheered as their future was sold once again for a bag of rice, a T-shirt, and the hollow sound of empty slogans.
Today is a dark reminder that in a land where slaves celebrate their chains, freedom will always be a mirage.
Shame!!!