Democracy Day: The Price of Speaking Truth in Nigeria

Today is Democracy Day in Nigeria, and I have been thinking about the real cost of using your voice in this country. We celebrate the restoration of democracy on June 12, but the truth is that many Nigerians who dared to speak up paid a heavy price for it. From Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti who was arrested for refusing to pay an unjust tax imposed by the colonial administration, to Ken Saro-Wiwa who was executed in 1995 for speaking out against environmental degradation in Delta State, the pattern is clear.

Look at what happened to people in our own time. Debo Adebayo, known as Mr Macaroni, was arrested and assaulted by police during the #EndSars protests. DJ Switch had to flee the country after she made a live video documenting the horrific events of October 20, 2020. Charly Boy was tear-gassed, tortured, and detained by the Nigerian police and military for standing up for citizens. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was imprisoned over 100 times for using his music to criticize the government and military rule. These are not stories from textbooks, they are real lives that were disrupted, damaged, or ended because these people refused to be silent.

And here is the uncomfortable question I keep asking myself today. If we know what happened to them, what does that say about us who choose to stay quiet? I am not saying everyone must be an activist, but I am saying we should stop pretending that democracy in Nigeria comes free. It does not. It costs people their freedom, their safety, and sometimes their lives. So on this Democracy Day, be honest with yourself. Would you have stood with them, or would you have looked the other way?