Patriotism must rise above politics, Canada’s opposition knew where to draw the line, it doesn’t appear Nigeria’s know where to.
Donald Trump mocked Ca\nada earlier this year by hinting that Canada might as well become America’s “51st state”.
However, he got a response that no one could mistake. Then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his rivals, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh the NDP leader, all spoke in one voice: Canada’s sovereignty is not for sale.
Within hours, premiers, journalists and ordinary citizens closed ranks.
Politics was paused and patriotism took over!
The message was simple but reverberating: you can debate at home, but you defend the nation together.
In Nigeria, when Trump recently threatened to deploy military action against the country under the guise of protecting Christians, one would have expected a similar chorus of defiance.
It was not a joke this time. Rather, it was a direct affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty. However, the reaction from Nigeria’s political elite, particularly the candidates of the PDP and Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, has been a loud silence.
Their quiet might be explained as caution. Perhaps they feared being seen as defending President Bola Tinubu. But silence in the face of a foreign threat is not prudence; it is abdication. It sends the wrong signal – that defending Nigeria’s sovereignty depends on who occupies Aso Rock.
However, patriotism should be bigger than partisanship.
When Canada was mocked, the opposition didn’t stop to ask whether standing with Trudeau would boost its approval ratings. They simply store d with their country. That’s what mature democracies do: they argue fiercely at home but unite instantly when outsiders challenge the flag. In that moment, the opposition becomes an institution of the nation, not an instrument of ambition.
Nigeria’s opposition missed that moment. Their silence has allowed Trump’s rhetoric to echo unchallenged, giving the false impression that some Nigerians, possibly the influential ones, might quietly welcome US intervention. It left the government to carry the burden of defending sovereignty alone, when that responsibility should have been shared across party lines.
Even more disappointing is how sections of the opposition’s support base reacted online. Many Nigerians, frustrated by insecurity or angered by government failures, treated Trump’s threat as poetic justice. Some cheered it as if humiliation by a foreign power could somehow redeem domestic politics. That reaction, however, is not opposition; it is the death of patriotism by cynicism. No grievance at home should ever justify applause for external coercion.
Opposition leaders are supposed to channel national anger into constructive patriotism, not passive acceptance of external bullying. A word from Atiku or Obi – even a single sentence affirming Nigeria’s right to self-determination – would have reminded the world that Nigeria’s democracy, however noisy, still stands united when its sovereignty is threatened. However, they chose silence, and their silence became consent by omission.
Patriotism is not measured only by flags or anthems. It is measured by courage – the courage to defend one’s country even when it is politically inconvenient. Canada’s opposition proved that democracy is strongest when its rivals know when to argue and when to unite. Nigeria’s opposition, by contrast, still confuses strategy with statesmanship.
A nation cannot build unity if its leaders treat sovereignty as a partisan variable. The next time Nigeria’s dignity is challenged; silence will not do. The opposition must remember tat they are not merely candidates for power – they are custodians of the Republic’s honour.
History will remember not just the noise of the powerful, but the silence of those who should have spoken. And when the test came, Canada’s opposition roared, while Nigeria’s whispered!
This was written before Peter Obi’s purported statement
