The Tragedy of Popular Folly”A Reflection by William Z. Bozimo

There comes a time in every nation’s journey when ballot boxes become confessionals; not of what we’ve become, but of what we hope to be. We gather at polling stations with trembling fingers, marking dreams into the paper and hoping they survive reality’s furnace. The tragedy was not in our yearning, but in our surrender to a system we refused to fix. Since a structure is not built on charisma, therefore, movement must have muscle and not just meaning. Sometimes, our sad reality feels as though we simply built a kite and flung it into a storm, then wept when it fell.

In 2023, the ballots we cast were not just votes, they were protests, prayers, and pent-up pain in transit. Peter Obi became the emblem of a cry. A clean whisper in a foul room. But was the cry loud enough to unseat the old orchestra? Obi may have won the hearts; perhaps even the numbers, but democracy as we practice it, is not always arithmetic. It is a theatre where even the loudest applause can be muffled by a well-oiled backstage crew. A quick question though, Did we mistake catharsis for capacity?

Atiku, too, was in the fray. A recurring decimal in our electoral math. But what new melody can an old flute play, When the tune is tired and the dance floor weary? Nigeria needs renewal, not nostalgia. As new coalitions sprout like eager weeds before 2027, we must ask: Are we planting another garden of illusions? Who will water these alliances, the people or the godfathers? Who will reap the harvest, the nation or the cabal? Let us not forget that Popular support without an institutional spine is still a limp handshake.

We say we want change, but we vote for drama. We want hospitals, but worship stadiums. We hate corruption, yet celebrate those who mastered it. A democracy that mirrors our contradictions is only signing its slow obituary. There are some injections the country needs, though bitter but healing. But our democracy seems like a frightened child running from needles. So we vote for sugar, not medicine. The bitter truth is that sometimes, the majority can be wrong, especially when desire outpaces discernment.

True democracy demands informed consent and not just emotion, crowd and thunder. We must vote with conscience sharpened by understanding because “Not every loud movement is a revolution and not every underdog is David against Goliath”. So let us prepare for 2027. Not with chants and recycled messiahs, but with charts, checklists and rebuilt institutions. Let our next vote not just be loud, but wise because that is the only way that a nation can rewrite the tragedy of popular folly.

In conclusion, “The Tragedy of Popular Folly” is more than just a political commentary. It is a civic manifesto, urging both citizens and leaders to recalibrate the terms of engagement in Nigeria’s political landscape. It challenges us to reflect not only on who we elect, but why we elect them, and to ensure that the pursuit of democracy is not just anchored on illusion, but in critical consciousness, policy-driven participation, and institutional resilience.

✍🏽 William Z. Bozimo 

Veteran Journalist | Columnist | National Memory Keeper