When news broke that British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua had been involved in a road accident on the Ogun-Lagos expressway that claimed the lives of two of his friends, the predictable chorus of Nigeria-bashers erupted before the facts were even clear.
by Jonathan Nda-Isaiah
It was a tragic incident. Joshua, though born and raised in the United Kingdom, has increasingly embraced his Nigerian roots, spending holidays here and using his platform to identify with the country. His friends died. He was injured. That should have been the story—a sobering reminder of road safety and the fragility of life.
Instead, within hours, the professional demarketers went to work.
“Nigeria happened to him,” they declared, as if accidents don’t occur on British motorways or American highways. Some manufactured quotes they attributed to Joshua, claiming he vowed never to visit Nigeria again. Others circulated false reports that he was immediately airlifted to the UK because “no Nigerian hospital could treat him.” Never mind that he was actually treated in Nigeria and is recovering.
Advertisement
The bash-Nigeria brigade has turned tragedy into propaganda, and frankly, I’ve had enough. This phenomenon didn’t start yesterday. It began creeping in around 2015 and exploded after the 2023 elections when a certain people’s preferred candidate lost. Since then, every incident—from potholes to power outages to road accidents—becomes ammunition in their endless campaign to demarket Nigeria.
There’s a difference between legitimate criticism and pathological hatred. You can dislike a president. You can disagree with policies. You can demand better governance. That’s patriotism. But when you actively celebrate bad news about your country and manufacture negativity where none exists, that’s something else entirely.
These people have made it their life’s mission to ensure Nigeria looks bad at every opportunity. Good news about Nigeria gives them indigestion. When the recent reports showed the number of Nigerians in the diaspora who returned home for Christmas and the money they spent, I’m certain it gave some people sleepless nights.