When We Complain About Appointments, We Forget the Power We Hold

ONN Abuja 06.12.2025

A Reflection for a Nation That Must Grow Up Politically

Every time a new list of ministers, ambassadors, heads of parastatals or advisers is released, Nigeria erupts into familiar outrage. Some shake their heads. Some blame the government. Some lament the decline of merit. And many sigh deeply as if the whole system is controlled by unseen hands.

But if we pause for a moment, and strip away the noise, a simple truth rises to the surface:

These appointments come from leaders we elected… or leaders we refused to elect by our own silence.

The President nominates.

The Senate confirms.

The House supervises.

Governors influence.

Local governments mobilize.

Political parties supply the pipeline.

Nothing here is mysterious.

The process is clear.

The actors are known.

The structure is public.

So why do we still act shocked?

Why do we react as if the outcomes dropped from the sky?

Because many of us participate only at the surface.

Voting is important, but voting is the lowest level of political participation.

Many of us stop there, if we even get there at all.

We wait for election day, show up casually or ignore it completely, and then return four years later expecting miracles. Meanwhile, those who understand how the system works are engaging constantly:

• They join political parties.

• They attend ward meetings.

• They shape the delegate lists.

• They influence who gets the ticket.

• They build alliances long before the ballots appear.

• They man polling units.

• They support local candidates who eventually become senators, governors, and kingmakers.

This is the real political battlefield.

And too many intelligent Nigerians are not there.

We dream at the top but we sleep at the bottom.

We have become a nation obsessed with the presidency, yet the presidency itself knows that its strength comes from:

• the governors who hold the states,

• the senators who confirm appointments,

• the representatives who defend or resist policies,

• the party structures that decide internal power,

• and the 774 local government chairmen who mobilize real voters.

The centre only holds when the grassroots align.

And the grassroots only align when people are present where it matters, not only online, not only during crises, but consistently, deliberately, intelligently.

Meanwhile, many battle on social media, believing digital noise can replace political structure.

We spend energy trying to “install” a president by hashtags and hot takes, forgetting that even if a president miraculously wins without structure, that same structure can unseat him in one month, through legislators, courts, or party machinery that he did not build.

This is why online passion collapses when it meets real politics.

Those building bridges win.

Those building tweets lose.

Appointments are not a surprise. They are a mirror.

They reflect:

• the strength or weakness of our participation,

• the quality of the leaders we supported or ignored,

• the discipline of our political culture,

• the influence we either built or surrendered.

When we disengage, we gift our power to others.

When we refuse to join the process, others decide for us.

When we abandon the roots, we have no moral right to argue about the fruits.

This is not blame. This is a wake-up call.

Nigeria is full of brilliant minds. But brilliance without participation is wasted potential. And potential without courage always becomes regret.

If we truly want a different country, then we must grow beyond commentary and step into responsibility.

• Join a party.

• Influence your ward.

• Support someone credible.

• Offer yourself if necessary.

• Shape the delegate system.

• Protect polling units.

• Mobilize your street, not just your timeline.

This is how nations are built.

This is how appointments begin to make sense.

This is how democracy rewards those who show up.

In the end, the appointments we complain about are simply reflections of the groundwork we did, or did not do.

We may not choose each appointee personally.

But we choose the people who choose the appointees.

And until we embrace this truth, we will continue acting like spectators in a game where we were meant to be players.

This season, let us rise into maturity.

Let us stop reacting to outcomes we never participated in shaping.

Let us step into the process early, deeply, and intelligently.

Because if we build the roots well, the fruits will take care of themselves.

And if we strengthen our engagement today, the quality of our national leadership tomorrow will not surprise us, it will reflect us.

Nigeria will rise.

But first, Nigerians must rise.