Post by Adedayo Oduwobi (@stopit)

EPISODE 2 OF 6: YOU MAY AVOID POLITICS—BUT CAN YOU AVOID ITS CONSEQUENCES?

POLITICS IS NOT JUST ABOUT WHO SITS IN ASO ROCK.

Some people say, “I don’t like politics. I don’t want to argue about politics.”

I understand that.

But politics does not always wait for you to become interested in it.

When a public hospital cannot provide essential services, government decisions are involved.

When health workers go on strike over unresolved disputes, government decisions and negotiations may be involved.

When a road is neglected and people are injured or killed, public infrastructure decisions are involved.

When communities face insecurity and families are displaced, the performance of public institutions matters.

When public money is spent, citizens have a right to ask how it is being used.

And when a person is unable to access basic services, telling them to avoid political conversations does not make the problem disappear.

You may avoid politics as a conversation, but you cannot always avoid its consequences.

That is why citizens must be allowed to discuss governance without being accused of creating enemies.

BUT LET US ALSO BE HONEST: NOT EVERY POLITICAL DISAGREEMENT IS A FIGHT FOR JUSTICE.

Sometimes people insult one another simply because they support different candidates.

Sometimes they defend a politician who has done something wrong because admitting the truth would embarrass their party.

Sometimes friendships are destroyed over people who do not even know the names of those fighting on their behalf.

That is not political consciousness.

That is political manipulation.

If your candidate makes a mistake, you should be able to say so.

If your preferred party fails to deliver, you should be able to criticise it.

If another party proposes a better policy, you should be able to acknowledge it.

And if your friend supports a different candidate, you should be able to disagree without wishing them harm.

Your political choice should not take away your humanity.

But neither should your desire to preserve friendship take away your conscience.

In Part 3: You can keep your friendship without surrendering your rights.

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