“We Cheer Our Oppressors”: Charly Boy Calls Out Nigeria’s Political Blind Spot

There is something deeply uncomfortable about a society complaining about bad leadership in private and celebrating the same leadership in public.

That contradiction is at the heart of Charly Boy’s latest criticism of Nigerians. The veteran entertainer and activist has accused Nigerians of cheering corrupt leaders, normalising failure and helping to sustain the very political culture they complain about.

It is not a new theme for Charly Boy. For decades, his activism has revolved around challenging authority, questioning political power and urging citizens to demand accountability.

In 2017, he led the “Our Mumu Don Do” movement, protesting against then-President Muhammadu Buhari’s prolonged absence from Nigeria and demanding that he resume office or resign. He has also criticised corruption and called on young Nigerians to take responsibility for demanding better government.

In 2025, he went further, arguing that corruption under the then-current administration was worse than what Nigeria experienced under Buhari and questioning how citizens could remove leaders they considered unacceptable.

But Charly Boy comes from privilege too

There is an interesting irony in his own story. Charles Chukwuemeka Oputa aka Charly Boy is the son of the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, one of Nigeria’s most respected jurists and a former Supreme Court Justice.

He was therefore not born into the hardship experienced by many of the people whose causes he has championed.

Charly Boy himself has acknowledged that he came from a privileged background. But he has also argued that his experience on the streets shaped his understanding of ordinary Nigerians.

His father represented something very different: law, discipline, institutional authority and professional respectability.

Charly Boy chose rebellion. That difference between father and son is part of what makes his political voice unusual. He did not need to become a street activist to survive. He chose to enter the street.

His activism has included protests for military pensioners, campaigns for widows, fuel subsidy demonstrations and demands for accountability from political leaders.

That history gives context to his present frustration.

Why do citizens celebrate power?

The problem, however, is bigger than Charly Boy. People do not always support leaders because they believe the leaders have performed well. Sometimes they support them because the leader is “our man”.

Sometimes it is religion. Sometimes ethnicity. Sometimes access to patronage. Sometimes the person has helped the supporter personally. Sometimes the supporter fears that criticising the government will cost him something.

And sometimes citizens simply become accustomed to disappointment.

That last one may be the most dangerous. When failure becomes normal, success begins to look exceptional. When corruption becomes routine, honesty looks foolish.

When political loyalty becomes more important than public interest, citizens begin defending people who would not defend them.

A society can develop a relationship with power in which citizens complain about the powerful but simultaneously seek proximity to them.

Political scientists have studied related patterns of dependence, patronage and authoritarian loyalty.

The cost of worshipping power

The consequences are serious.When citizens applaud everything a leader does, leaders receive little pressure to improve.

When supporters attack anyone who asks questions, accountability becomes dangerous.

When politicians distribute small benefits and receive permanent loyalty in return, citizens can lose sight of the difference between a favour and good governance.

And when political leaders become celebrities, public office can begin to look like entertainment rather than responsibility.

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Charly Boy’s message is therefore larger than the video.It asks Nigerians to examine their own role in the political system.

A leader cannot become untouchable without citizens helping to make him untouchable.

Democracy is not simply the right to vote every four years.It is also the right to ask questions after the votes have been counted.

It is the right to praise good work without becoming a worshipper.It is the right to criticise failure without becoming an enemy.

And perhaps most importantly, it is the ability to distinguish loyalty to a person from loyalty to the country. ValidViewNetwork reports.