Olu Allen
In the murky battleground of modern Nigerian politics, bullets have been replaced by bytes, and trenches by trending topics. While citizens grapple with soaring inflation, crippling insecurity, and a vanishing standard of living, a more insidious war rages unseen: the war for your mind.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), despite a decade of demonstrable underperformance, has emerged not just as a political force, but as a sophisticated engine of information warfare (infowar).
They understand that perception often triumphs over reality, and the most potent weapon isn’t a policy document, but a carefully crafted narrative implanted in the public consciousness.
The APC’s Playbook: Weaponizing Narrative
1. The Strategy of Deception and Misdirection (Reality Distortion Field)
The APC excels at mixing kernels of truth with overwhelming fiction. Faced with catastrophic economic indicators, soaring inflation, a free-falling naira, rising food prices, the party points selectively to minor gains or future promises.
A World Bank report mentioning growth (likely from a low base after contraction) becomes “proof” of Tinubu’s successful reforms, deliberately ignoring the tangible, widespread suffering documented daily.
They create a smokescreen, redirecting anger towards past administrations, “global forces,” or shadowy saboteurs, absolving themselves of responsibility. It’s not about what’s true, it’s about what’s louder and more repeated.
2. The Death-Ground Strategy & Controlling the Narrative
They create a sense of inevitable victory or doom to paralyze opponents. The APC relentlessly pushes the narrative of its own invincibility and the opposition’s irrelevance.
Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga recently showcased this, attacking critics of APC’s dominance by pointing to the PDP’s past control of 31 states:
“Here is the political map of Nigeria at the end of the 2007 elections, when the PDP captured 31 states… There was no uproar then… Today, the APC controls 22 states… Suddenly… people now accuse our party of trying to impose a one-party state.”
This reframes the debate, not around performance, but around historical hypocrisy and the supposed inevitability of APC dominance.
Ganduje, the party’s former chairman, reinforced this when he said a one-party state “will make governance effective.” That statement isn’t just political spin; it’s a psychological weapon aimed at normalizing APC permanence.
3. Divide and Conquer & Labeling the Enemy (The Mob Gambit)
Fragmenting the opposition is a deliberate tactic. The APC and its handlers understand the potency of Nigeria’s fault lines, ethnic, religious, regional, they exploit them with clinical precision.
More subtly, they weaponize labels to discredit and delegitimize critics. If you pay close attention, you’ll hear it: they call others “mob,” while operating as a coordinated mob themselves.
Critics, especially online, are dismissed not with counterarguments, but with dehumanizing slurs: “wailing wailers,” “Obidiots,” “unpatriotic elements,” “gbajue,” or simply “the mob.”
This serves a dual purpose. It discourages genuine dissent by attaching social stigma and it delegitimizes factual criticism without engaging its substance. It creates an “us vs. them” polarity, where questioning the government becomes synonymous with being anti-Nigeria.
4. The Inner Circle & Orchestrated Amplification (The Digital Army)
They are an organization, and a highly coordinated one at that. Beyond visible spokespersons like Onanuga, there’s a close circle of powerful allies, family members, advisers, and loyal foot soldiers drawn from political, business, and administrative spheres.
This core extends into a vast digital militia, the “outsourced thinkers.” These are not just paid trolls. Many are true believers or opportunists who uncritically amplify party lines across social media platforms.
They flood public discourse with hashtags like #RenewedHope or #AsiwajuWorks, twist opposition statements into memes, and launch personal attacks on critics.
Their goal isn’t persuasion, it’s saturation. The sheer volume of their messaging creates the illusion of overwhelming popular support while drowning out dissent in noise and vitriol.
5. Creating Alternative Realities (The Gaslighting Strategy)
Faced with undeniable failures, particularly on insecurity, the APC constructs entire alternative realities. ISWAP’s devastating resurgence in the Northeast in 2025, which reportedly included the overrunning of over fifteen military bases (the most successful campaign in its history), was framed as “remnants being cleared.”
Bold claims about military modernization and “world-class special operations capabilities” continue to be made, even as towns fall and soldiers retreat. The disconnect between official pronouncements and lived experiences is staggering.
Yet, the infowar machine works overtime to blur those lines, making citizens question their own perceptions. Is it really that bad? Maybe it’s just me? Maybe the government is trying. That implanted doubt is the objective.
Why the “Smart” Fall Prey: The Gullibility of Certainty
The tragedy isn’t just in the deployment of these tactics; it’s in their effectiveness, especially among those who consider themselves enlightened. As I often say:
“Surprisingly, the smartest among us, those expected to see the strings, are often the most gullible.”
This is self-directed warfare: a failure to challenge our own biases. Partisanship, the need to feel like you’re part of the “winning team,” or deep-seated ethnic/religious loyalties create powerful confirmation bias.
For the loyalist, information that confirms the tribe’s righteousness is embraced. Contradictory facts, no matter how well-documented, are dismissed as “fake news” or “opposition propaganda.”
The illusion of being “in the know” or backing the “strong horse” often overrides critical analysis. The APC’s infowar is built to exploit exactly that.
Arming the Mind: Strategies for Resistance in the Infowar Age
There’s wisdom in recognizing the assault, but also in crafting a strategy of resistance:
1. Know Thyself & Know Thy Enemy (Intelligence Gathering)
This is the foundational strategy. Acknowledge your own biases. Are you inclined to believe or disbelieve information based on who says it, not what is said? Study the adversary’s playbook, deflection, labeling, revisionism, and narrative control. Seeing the pattern robs it of power.
2. Declare War on Falsehoods (The Polarity Strategy, Reframed)
Declare war, not on people, but on unverified information. Cultivate what I call a “hermeneutics of suspicion” toward political messaging, especially that which perfectly aligns with your beliefs or comes from orchestrated online trends. Demand evidence. Don’t share, verify.
3. Seek the High Ground (Control the Moral High Ground)
Resist the mud. Don’t just counter lies with facts, counter with values. Frame the debate around tangible realities: hunger, joblessness, insecurity.
Highlight the chasm between “Renewed Hope” and everyday despair. Support and amplify independent, fact-based journalism.
4. Build Alliances & Fortify Independent Platforms (The Alliance Strategy)
Alliances matter. The ADC opposition coalition is one response. But beyond politics, citizens must form their own information alliances.
Support platforms committed to truth: FactCheck Nigeria, Africa Check, Dubawa. Create and circulate content that breaks down propaganda with clarity and calm.
5. Master Non-Engagement & Selective Strikes
Don’t feed trolls. Ignore most of the digital militia’s provocations; engagement only amplifies them. Save your energy for precision strikes against demonstrably false narratives from high-impact sources. Focus on what moves the needle, not what feeds the noise.
The Battle for Nigeria’s Cognitive Sovereignty
The APC’s mastery of information warfare is not just a political tactic; it’s an assault on Nigeria’s cognitive sovereignty: our collective ability to perceive reality clearly and make informed choices.
They have blended ancient strategic wisdom with modern digital tools to weave a tapestry of illusion, one that obscures failure and entrenches power. But recognizing these tactics is the first step to neutralizing them.
The next step is resilience: ruthless self-awareness, relentless verification, and the courage to reject narratives that feel good but distort truth. Because in this invisible war, the most powerful weapon is not a trending hashtag, it’s an inoculated mind.
And the future of our democracy depends on how many minds we can arm.
Olu Allen is a writer and educator who resides in Kano. A political analyst, and media strategist with a keen interest in governance, digital influence, and civic discourse in Africa.
