As the world celebrates Father’s Day today, millions are taking a moment to honor the guiding figures in their lives—men of character, compassion, and conviction. But here in Nigeria, may this day invite deeper reflection. Beyond the cake, greetings, and family outings, this should offers us a sobering opportunity to examine our own national “fatherhood” I mean the leadership and political soul of our country.
Today, we must ask: What happened to our nation’s political journey? Once a land with great democratic aspirations and a promise of structured governance, Nigeria now finds itself trapped in a dangerous imbalance. What we have isn’t a party system in the true sense. We are operating under what many have come to term as “political groupism”—an erratic and opportunistic game where loyalty is dictated not by ideology or national interest but by the direction of money and power.
There is no “party.” There is only the group, the “Yes Group,” the side of convenience where people defect not for principle but for profit. Like migrating birds, politicians shift with the seasons of influence. “Come join us where it’s happening,” they say, and one by one, they go.
In this climate, justice is suffocating. Anyone with the courage to stand for truth, equity, or reform is quickly choked out by the system. The few voices of reason are drowned out by the roar of greed and fear. How the mighty have fallen! The heroes of our democracy those who once marched for freedom, spoke truth to power, and dreamt of a better republic have either vanished, been silenced, or worse, joined the same broken wagon they once criticized.
Truth can no longer be found in the streets. What passes as leadership today is a scrambling for survival the politics of the fittest, not the fairest. We cry, not for progress, but for mere endurance. Youths are disillusioned. Institutions are manipulated. The Constitution is treated like an outdated pamphlet—quoted when convenient, ignored when obstructive.
And so we return to today Father’s Day. In a time when our political fatherhood is in crisis, we look up to our number one citizen, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Not just as a leader, but as a father figure of the nation.
Dear Mr. President, the country you lead is in need of healing. It is bleeding. It is confused. And more than ever before, it is calling for a father. One who can rise above factions, pressures, and personal gains to speak to the soul of the nation. A father who can gather his children the North, the South, the rich, the poor, the just, and even the unjust—and say “enough is enough.”
Can you, Mr. President, use your fatherly strength to address this menace? Can you summon the political will to lead us into a rebirth—one where the Constitution is revived, institutions are strengthened, and public office is not seen as a jackpot but a service to the people?
Today, Nigerians are not just calling for economic reforms or infrastructure. They are crying out for integrity. For leadership. For justice. For hope.
This Father’s Day, may it not just be a celebration of individuals, but a call to leadership. May it stir the conscience of those in power. And may our political father, the President, hear the cry of his children, and begin the work of making Nigeria whole again.
