BY ARINZE JOEL
David Hume, the Scottish philosopher, wrote in 1742 that “on opinion only is government founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular”. If governance rests on opinion, then communication is not a luxury. It is the engine. John Dewey, the American philosopher, put it this way: people “live in a community in virtue of the things they have in common, and communication is the way they come to possess things in common”. In other words, without communication, there is no community. In government, without a visible, active information ministry, there is no government, only rumours, accusations, and the slow erosion of trust.
Lai Mohammed, who held the information portfolio for nearly eight years, understood this. In a recent address at Cambridge University, he described communication as “the lifeblood that links leadership to the populace” and said it is “not merely a supportive function of governance; it is fundamental to it”. “Governance in the contemporary era,” he argued, “cannot thrive without intentional, strategic, and credible communication”.
These are not abstract theories, they are survival mechanisms for any administration that hopes to be understood, let alone respected.
So where, then, is our Minister of Information?
Consider the scale of attacks across this country. The current minister, Mohammed Idris, comes from Niger State. That state has been bleeding. On November 21, 2025, bandits struck St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, abducting over 300 pupils, students, and staff. On December 11, 2025, the minister visited Minna to assure the public that the remaining captives would be rescued soon. By December 21, 2025, all 230 pupils had been freed.
Then came January 2026. On January 3, bandits attacked Kasuwan Daji market in Demo community, Borgu Local Government Area, killing at least 30 villagers and abducting scores of women and children. The terrorists burned the market, looted shops, and carted away food items. The minister did respond. On January 4, 2026, he issued a statement condemning the attack, describing it as “tragic” and noting that the victims were “traders, farmers, parents and schoolchildren from both Muslim and Christian backgrounds”. He assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s resolve, saying, “we will stop at nothing to secure every life, livelihood and community; and there will be no relenting until every forest-based criminal is completely eradicated”.
But these are not isolated incidents. From the Northwest to the Northcentral, from Katsina to Zamfara to Kaduna, bandits and terrorists are striking with horrifying regularity. The military is fighting. Soldiers are dying. And yet, the man whose job is to inform the nation, to shape the narrative, and to rally public opinion seems content to issue occasional statements and disappear.
The Nigerian military is working. Operations are ongoing. And in many cases, they are recording significant successes.
On June 4, 2026, the minister himself held a special national security briefing. According to his own speech, troops of Operation HADIN KAI neutralised over 50 terrorists in Borno State in the past week alone, including several high-value targets. Security forces rescued 92 civilians from terrorist captivity near Buratai. In the first quarter of 2026, approximately 1,000 terrorist elements were eliminated across the theatre.
Additionally, in April 2026, Nigeria commenced one of the largest terrorism prosecutions in its history, with more than 500 suspects facing trial. The results have been substantial: 386 convictions. Just yesterday (June 3, 2026), a Federal High Court in Abuja convicted and sentenced four terrorists to death for the 2022 Owo church attack.
These are achievements worth shouting from every rooftop. But where is the daily broadcast? The minister holds briefings, but they are sporadic. He makes announcements, but they are not sustained. Good news should be a steady drumbeat, not an occasional thunderclap followed by silence.
This is the era of misinformation. On June 4-5, 2026, the Grassroots Mobilisation Initiative warned that fake news and disinformation “pose a serious threat to national security and social cohesion”.
According to their National Coordinator, Samaila Musa, “mischief-makers and desperate actors are now using advanced technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), to forge official documents, clone the voices of top government officials, and create deepfake videos”.
Lai Mohammed, speaking on the EndSARS protests, called that episode “a prime illustration of how misinformation and disinformation can exacerbate crises.” He warned that “the digital era has not only increased the velocity of information dissemination but has also heightened the proliferation of false information.”
And here is the most dangerous part and the opposition knows this. They are not just passive observers. They are actively harvesting online supporters from the minister’s silence. Every day that Mohammed Idris fails to aggressively counter false narratives, the opposition fills the void. They amplify every tragedy, from Papiri to Kasuwan Daji to countless other communities across Nigeria. They distort every military operation. They convert the grief of affected communities into political capital. Ignorant youths, many of whom do not know better, spread these lies across social media, and the opposition cheers them on. They have no shame. They see national insecurity as an electoral opportunity.
Lai Mohammed Would Not Take an Atom of Such
Whatever Nigerians thought of Lai Mohammed, and many had strong opinions, he understood the assignment. Reflecting on his tenure, he said: “Between 2006 and 2015, I rose to national prominence as opposition spokesperson by relentlessly exposing weaknesses in the ruling PDP government and shaping national discourse. Through constant, research-driven media interventions via press conferences, interviews or press releases, sometimes issued three times in one day, my team and I became more credible than the government.”
As minister, he brought that same energy. He listed his strategies: town hall meetings, media tours, interactions with foreign media, and regular briefings. He understood that in politics, the absence of your narrative is an invitation for someone else’s. And here is the truth that needs to be spoken: Lai Mohammed would not take an atom of what is happening today. He would not tolerate a single day of fake news going unchallenged. He would not sit back while the opposition weaponised national tragedy. He would not watch attacks in his home state, or any state, become propaganda fodder without an immediate, aggressive, and sustained response. He would be on every platform, every station, every social media feed, daily, hourly, until the truth drowned out the lies.
The current minister does not seem to understand that. Or worse, he understands but lacks the courage or the competence to act on it.
The minister has acknowledged the danger. On February 28, 2026, he warned youths against spreading false information, stating that verification had become “a compelling civic and moral responsibility”.
But acknowledgment without sustained action is just words. Where is the daily national campaign? Where are the weekly press briefings dedicated to countering disinformation? Where is the aggression that the moment demands?
Frankly, respected professionals like Shegun Showunmi, Hakama Sidi-Ali or Yushau A. Shuaib have demonstrated that strategic, dignified communication can shape national discourse effectively. The accolades awarded to figures like Mr. Femi Babafemi of the NDLEA, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi of the Nigeria Police Force, or the purpose-driven strategist David Akinfenwa show what serious public engagement looks like. These individuals understand one thing that Mohammed Idris does not seem to grasp: in the age of social media, silence, or sporadic press releases, is death. If you do not tell your story consistently, your enemies will tell it for you.
The minister has had moments. He visited Minna after the Papiri abduction. He issued a statement after the Kasuwan Daji massacre. He appeared on BBC World Service on March 30, 2026, to discuss militant attacks. He held the June 4 security briefing. But moments do not make a ministry. Daily presence does. Weekly briefings do. The visible, unrelenting effort to shape the narrative does.
That effort is missing.
Someone close to the president needs to draw his attention. Not through a newspaper column. Through their bosses, the people who have direct access to Tinubu. They should tell him the truth: the current Minister of Information is too passive for this moment. He is reactive, not proactive. He speaks when tragedy strikes, not before. And when the military hands him victories on a platter, he announces them in occasional briefings and retreats back into silence.
Replace the man, or wake him up.
Because right now, this government is being battered every day by fake news and political attacks, and the minister is not standing consistently in the gap.
Hume was right. Government is founded on opinion. But when the minister of information refuses to inform consistently and aggressively, opinion is shaped by bandits, bloggers, and opposition propagandists. And that government, however well-intentioned, will struggle to survive.
Lai Mohammed would not take an atom of this. The question is: why is Mohammed Idris?
We need an information minister who fights every day. Not a placeholder who hides.
Nigeria is in a war of information. It is time the Minister of Information showed up for battle every single day.
Joel is a Nigerian, he wrote from the United States America
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