Beyond the well-done handshakes and omo-ọ̀dọ̀-rere courtesies, I believe the Tinubu Government would do well to quickly give Mr. Reno Omokri an official appointment. Perhaps then Nigerians might have a breather from his endless attempt to defend the indefensible. Yesterday, I nearly retched reading his “analysis” of the tragic death of Ms. Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu.

Mr. Reno Omokri claimed he was merely “educating the public” with facts that had not entered public discourse. Among them:

1️⃣ That Somtochukwu’s death was not caused directly by armed robbers but by injuries sustained when she jumped from her flat in fear.

2️⃣That the police indeed took her to Maitama General Hospital, where doctors performed CPR and did their best.

3️⃣That those lamenting her death were guilty of “demarketing Nigeria.”

It is on this third claim I must dwell.

On “Demarketing Nigeria”

When citizens cry out against injustice, insecurity, and systemic decay, they are not demarketing Nigeria, they are describing Nigeria as it is. To say otherwise is to ask a nation to gag itself while bleeding.

Mr. Omokri forgets that the first reports that elicited national outcry were not conjured from thin air. They were consistent with the characteristic failures Nigerians encounter daily in our hospitals, police stations, and government offices. For decades, people have died on hospital benches for lack of ID. For decades, families have wailed over police delay or absence. The outrage was not baseless, it was born of painful memory.

So when new “clarifications” emerge, they must be weighed against an established pattern of systemic dysfunction. To dismiss citizens’ lament as mischief or sabotage is insulting, not enlightening.

Let us be clear: if the police indeed acted swiftly, and if Maitama General Hospital indeed did its duty, then we commend those officers and doctors. But does this isolated defense suddenly erase the nationwide reality of insecurity, kidnappings, and preventable deaths? Does it make Nigeria safe? Does it absolve successive governments of their failure to uphold the constitutional promise that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”?

No.

The Normalisation of Tragedy

Yes, robbery can happen anywhere in the world. But in Nigeria, tragedy has been normalized. Kidnapping is an industry. Ransom is quoted like market price. Armed robbery is an epidemic. Ethnic cleansing and banditry terrorize communities.

Consider: only days before Somtochukwu’s death, newly-called lawyers were kidnapped on Abuja roads, with ransoms between ₦20m–₦100m demanded. Last week, journalist Ojo Peter was killed, as lamented by veteran journalist Lanre Arogundade. And now, confusion surrounds the release of the Onyesom sisters, were they rescued, or was ransom paid? This deliberate fog is itself a tactic of a failing state.

Who Truly Demarkets Nigeria?

The real demarketing of Nigeria is not done by grieving citizens, but by governments and apologists who insist we pretend all is well. To deny lived reality in the name of “image management” is to insult the dead and oppress the living.

If we must defend Nigeria, let us defend her by reforming her. If we must love Nigeria, let us love her enough to tell her the truth.

Somtochukwu’s death is not merely a tragedy; it is a parable of a broken system. And unless we confront that truth, her blood and the blood of countless others will continue to water the soil of injustice.

A Call to Nationhood

We cannot paper over our wounds with rhetoric. We must organize for change, through civic platforms, through uncompromising reforms, through leadership that sees citizens not as saboteurs but as sacred trusts.

The true enemies of Nigeria are not the people who lament. They are the leaders and apologists who normalize failure and call silence patriotism.

May the soul of Ms. Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu rest in peace. May her death, like her life, call us to courage. And may Nigeria, my beloved country, find the humility to face truth and the resolve to rebuild.