VeryDarkMan: Nigerians Can Challenge Government, But Division Could Undermine Movement

VeryDarkMan, has said Nigerians have the capacity to challenge the government but argued that internal divisions among citizens could make such a movement difficult to sustain. VeryDarkMan made the remarks while discussing the possibility of Nigerians organising collectively to demand greater accountability from those in government. According to a report by Gistreel on Thursday, the activist said he believed he had the ability to mobilise people against the government but expressed concern about the willingness of ordinary Nigerians to remain united when faced with competing personal, ethnic and religious interests. He said, “Yes, I have the movement to challenge the government 100%. The problem is the average Nigerian is just as bad as their leaders, and they will betray you either for money, tribalism or religion.” VeryDarkMan's comments were framed around what he described as a broader problem of trust among Nigerians. Rather than suggesting that citizens lacked the numbers or ability to demand change, he argued that divisions within society could prevent collective action from achieving its intended purpose. VDM raises concerns over public trust The activist also criticised what he described as dishonest behaviour among some Nigerians in everyday commercial dealings. He cited the example of vendors allegedly collecting payment from customers without delivering the goods or services promised. “Nigerians, a lot of them are wicked. Only vendor you go buy something, vendor no go deliver,” he said, according to Gistreel. VeryDarkMan further claimed that his office had dealt with several cases involving alleged scams and said ₦70 million had recently been recovered in one of the cases. “Do you know how many scam cases I have in my office? Just few days ago, N70M was recovered. I no even come online come talk…,” he said. The ₦70 million recovery is presented in the report as VeryDarkMan's claim. No independent documentation confirming the particular recovery was identified in the additional sources checked, so the figure should not be treated as independently verified. Comments come amid VDM's wider activism VeryDarkMan has increasingly used his social media platforms to comment on governance, corruption, insecurity and the conduct of public institutions. His recent public interventions have also attracted attention beyond social media. In August, he participated in a panel discussion at the Nigerian Bar Association's 2026 Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, where he discussed insecurity and alleged misconduct by security personnel. During that appearance, VeryDarkMan made allegations concerning the role of security agencies in Nigeria's insecurity crisis. The allegations were not accompanied by evidence during the panel session, according to Channels Television. The Nigeria Police Force subsequently challenged him to provide evidence for some of his claims. VeryDarkMan later said he was prepared to face the authorities and maintained that he would present his evidence in court if the matter proceeded there. Those earlier events provide context for his latest comments about citizens' willingness to hold government accountable, but they do not independently establish the claims made in his latest statement. A question of collective action At the centre of VeryDarkMan's latest remarks is the question of whether Nigerians can maintain a united position when demanding accountability from political leaders. His argument is that opposition to government policies or actions can be weakened when citizens' decisions are influenced by financial incentives, ethnic loyalties or religious affiliations. The statement, however, is his personal assessment and should not be interpreted as evidence that Nigerians generally behave in the manner he described. His comments also reflect a broader argument frequently made in public discussions about governance: that accountability involves not only the actions of political leaders but also the conduct of citizens, institutions and other actors within society. For VeryDarkMan, the challenge extends beyond mobilising people for a protest or campaign. He suggested that any sustained movement would require participants to maintain trust and a common purpose even when individual interests differ. His latest comments are therefore less about whether Nigerians have the numerical strength to challenge government and more about whether such a movement could maintain unity once competing interests emerge.