Nigeria abandoned the parliamentary system after the military coup that ended the first republic and copied presidential democracy from America. Democracy is not African. Democratically elected leaders are not monarchs. They are politically exposed persons, subject to harsh criticism and public opprobrium. In Africa, we revere our elders and monarchs and rarely criticize them publicly. But in countries where democracy is entrenched, they do not spare their leaders from harsh criticisms.

In America where we copied our democracy from, there is practically no name they have not called Donald Trump, their sitting President. From paedophile, to criminal, to imbecile, to senile old man to groper and so on and so forth. Americans have caricatured and graffiteered him and poke fun at him in almost every State. But Trump knows that even as the most powerful man on Earth, he cannot arrest any American for calling him names. The most he could do was to sue CNN for defamation and continue calling the Press fake news.

Kash Patel is the Director of the FBI. The Atlantic Magazine in April 2026, ran a series on him and alleged that he is an excessive drunkard, doesn’t go to work and wastes tax payer dollars on his girlfriend. Kash denied the allegations and the magazine further unearthed details of his past alcohol related incidents from his youth and college years, including an arrest for public intoxication as an undergraduate in Virginia and an admission of public urination after alcohol intoxication during a night out as a law student in New York.

The revelations from the Atlantic reporting has also stirred public ridicule of the FBI Director with citizens calling him all manner of names and abuses. But Kash Patel, the leader of the most powerful Police force in the world, knows that, dem no born am well, to send any FBI agent to arrest any US citizen or the reporter who did the reporting. He had to sue the Atlantic Magazine for $250m for defamation.

Back home in Lagos Nigeria, the Governors of Lagos are actually the most abused in the country, particularly because of the population of the State. In fact, the current Governor, Babajide Sanwolu has been called all manner of names including drug addict. But since 1999, I do not have any reference where a Governor of Lagos or their agents, ordered the arrest of any citizen here for criticizing the Governor or government of Lagos State.

If we copied this democracy from America, we didn’t just copy the elections and campaigns, we should also copy the actual practice. Stop telling critics that we do not attack our leaders in Africa. The practice of democracy necessarily include attack on leaders. No sane person will attack you if you stay quiet in your house. The moment you become politically exposed and seek the mandate of the people, the table turns. You become a subject of attacks and ridicule.

In the UK, courts have repeatedly affirmed that freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998, protects the right to share ideas that shock, disturb, or offend. Two senior judges, Lord Justice Bean and Mr. Justice Warby, noted that, “Freedom of speech includes the right to offend; freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having”. My freedom of speech includes offending the other person. What you describe as ‘constructive criticism’ may actually be an infringement on my freedom of speech. Let the courts determine what is constructive criticism, not the Police.

The practice of incessantly using security agencies to arrest, harass, intimidate, detain and incarcerate citizens for criticizing their government or public office holders is primitive, archaic, stupid, egotistic, and prebendal. It is simply a show of infantile braggadocio and a futile attempt to stifle dissent and must be brought to an end.

Those who earn money from the public like Ekpenyong Akiba and Pius Edet, who sent Policemen from Calabar to come and arrest Denis Odama from Lagos, and all those thinking in that direction, should get this message clearly and desist from such atrocious practices that denigrate our democracy. We cannot proceed on this trajectory knowing fully that power is transient. Denis Odama has been incarcerated in Afokang prison by those who think they are powerful today, but no one knows what tomorrow will bring in return.

This opinion is strictly mine.

Yours sincerely.
Citizen Agba Jalingo.

FreeDenisOdamaNow!

Citizen Agba Jalingo, is a journalist , rights activist and writes in from Lagos

State.NB: Opinions expressed in this sponsored article are strictly attributable to the author, Agba Jalingo, and do not represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch.

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