KASONGO: A STATE WHERE OPPOSITION IS TREASON
It was just before midday, over a year ago in the seat of power in Kasongo State. Aides to the strong man spoke in hushed tones. A name had appeared on a phone screen. It was the name of someone who had written, spoken and dared to criticize the leader.
“Deal with him,” a voice said.
Not with facts. Not with rebuttals. With warnings.
Just like that, governance slipped quietly into intimidation, and disagreement became a security issue.
Opposition is no longer a democratic necessity, it is now a punishable offence in Kasongo State.
Leaders in the state have made a startling discovery that democracy is wonderful, until someone disagrees with them. The moment criticism appears, governance is suspended and threats are activated. Suddenly, every opposing voice is an enemy of the state, every writer a saboteur, and every question a declaration of war.
THE HEROD SYNDROME: WHEN POWER DEVELOPS ANXIETY – By Terver Akase
Welcome to the state where power is so fragile that it requires bodyguards against words.
Critics are now treated to open threats of violence against the opposition and bold pronouncements that the opposition should be declared persona non grata. Even places of worship are no longer spared! Critics must be picked up in the sacred places and silenced. Imagine that.
Elected officials, sworn to protect the people, now audition for the role of bouncers, deciding who is allowed to think aloud and who must be escorted out of public discourse.
Let us not mince words: this is not governance; it is political tantrum. Opposition is not treason. Criticism is not coup plotting. A column is not an AK-47. Facebook posts and tweets do not overthrow governments; zero accountability, neglect, insecurity and arrogance do.
When a government starts threatening those who speak, it has already lost the argument. Power that performs well does not fear scrutiny. Only failure panics at questions. Only incompetence hears criticism and responds with clenched fists instead of clear explanations.
Declaring those who dare to question the government persona non grata in their own state is not just absurd, it is comical. Citizenship is not a nightclub membership card to be revoked by a sulking DJ. You do not own the state because you won an election; you are merely on a temporary lease, and the landlord is the people.
There is something deliciously ironic about today’s rulers who once screamed “oppression!” from the rooftops, but now whisper “treason!” at the faintest dissent. Yesterday’s freedom fighters have become today’s freedom-frightened. The revolution was apparently meant to end at the gate of Government House.
Let us be clear again, for those who find clarity offensive: democracy without opposition is dictatorship with better branding.
Threats of violence do not project strength; they advertize desperation. When leaders abandon persuasion for intimidation, they reveal a government running on fumes.
https://uptownpress.com.ng/insecurity-edo-govt-breaks-silence-on-ekpoma-protest/
Our society was not built by praise singers. It was shaped by stubborn, inconvenient voices who refused to be quiet when silence was safer. To criminalize dissent now is to vandalize the very idea of the republic.
So to those who believe criticism is treason, here is the inconvenient truth: your fear of opposition is the loudest evidence of your failure. You may bully, threaten, and intimidate, but history is merciless to leaders who confuse power with ownership and authority with intimidation.
