The phrase “agenda must agend” on Nigerian X (formerly Twitter) is not just a cruise statement. It is a revelation disguised as a joke ; an euphemism for the way every critique and every thread is immediately assumed to stem from one’s political or ethnic affiliation. In the X space, neutrality is a myth: every tweet must be carrying someone’s agenda. Acceptance or rejection is filtered through the lens of one’s perceived loyalty. Sadly, it is on these shaky assumptions of political, tribal, and economic affiliations that social media justice is now delivered. Objectivity is drowned beneath waves of suspicion and performative intelligence. To criticize one camp is to automatically be labeled a tool of the other. To analyze policy is to be branded an ethnic chauvinist. To raise uncomfortable truths is to be called “sponsored.” To speak up against abuse is to be dismissed as “clout chasing.” How then does X function as a space to air realities and personal truths?
What fuels this dynamic is the rise of pseudo-intelligence: the performance of intellect for applause and protection. Nigerian X users pride themselves on being sharper than those on other platforms, yet what often circulates are not facts but factoids; not objective analysis but tribal rhetoric wrapped in academic grammar. Laws and history are wielded not to enlighten but to bludgeon opponents. Agenda must agend thus becomes both shield and sword: a way to dismiss critique without engagement, and a way to sanctify one’s bias as intelligence.
Perhaps most corrosive is the prevailing belief that everyone is bought. Journalists, activists, lawyers, and ordinary users are assumed to be on the payroll of one political camp or another.
When Fisayo Soyombo, a notable investigative journalist, published rape allegations against APC critic OurFavOnlineDoc (Funmilayo), many Obidients dismissed the story as a paid attack. They ignored the fact that the case dated back to 2020, choosing instead to frame the timing as political sabotage, given Funmilayo’s vocal criticism of the APC. When Tunde Onakoya, founder of Chess in Slums, grew weary of X’s toxicity and stepped back, some users claimed he too had “collected something” because of his proximity to APC leaders.
If every dissenting voice is bought, if every uncomfortable report is “sponsored,” then truth ceases to exist. Justice becomes impossible, because facts no longer matter; only affiliations. And if indeed everyone is bought, what does that say of the collective masses? It suggests a society so compromised that no one can be trusted, and that objectivity itself is a scam. In such a culture, even genuine whistleblowers are silenced, and the only winners are the corrupt elites who thrive in the fog of misinformation.
The two major political tribes on Nigerian X, the OBIdients and the BATified, are more alike in their tactics than they would ever admit. OBIdients often rely on pseudo-intellectualism grounded in youthful idealism and the romanticization of Peter Obi as a messiah. Critics are quickly dismissed as “sellouts,” even though Obi himself was part of the corrupt PDP and served as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate. Allegations of irregularities during his time as Anambra governor are brushed aside, while the movement continues to present itself as morally untainted. Ironically, reports have surfaced of top Obidient influencers being financially compensated; the very corruption they accuse others of.
BATifieds, on the other hand, operate with a different logic: for them, power justifies everything. They deploy false or selective economic facts and glorify Tinubu’s authoritarian political style as brilliance. His tenure in Lagos is mythologized as reformist, while the roles of previous governors like Lateef Jakande are downplayed and the prevalence of thuggery and cult violence under his governorship is ignored. His growing need to be immortalized by naming every thing he can shows his quest to cement his egoistic yet fragile legacy like North Korea’s supreme leader yet BATified seem these democratic.However, both camps weaponize tribe. Both operate with selective memory. In truth, they are two sides of the same toxic coin.
This toxicity has spilled far beyond politics. The recent allegation of sexual assault against OurFavOnlineDoc, Funmilayo Ogunsanya (an APC critic), by Dr. Bola Aseyan reveals how blurred the lines between political performance and social reality have become. Dr. Funmilayo’s use of pseudo-intellectualism as a shield is evident in his portrayal of being the victim and being cleared in a UK court, while selectively excluding his use of police to bully and intimidate Dr. Aseyan. His selective amnesia is further exposed in recalling the case as “concluded” in the UK, even though it was never on trial in any UK court. In fact, as part of the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos, it was held that “Aseyan’s publication appears not to be as false as Ogunsanya wants the court to believe.” Yet, Funmilayo’s followers prefer to believe that Dr. Aseyan randomly revived a dead issue despite his intentional elongation of the lawsuit against Dr. Bola in Nigeria which was concluded in August 2025 ending five years of legal battle.Meanwhile, public tweets by Gbemisola accusing Funmilayo of similar assault are ignored.
The smear campaign against Dr. Bola Aseyan,to attempts at canceling FIJ (a reputable media outfit notable for exposing corruption across sectors in the country), to vile insinuations that FIJ’s founder Fisayo Soyombo is “sponsored”, exposes how objectivity is not the intention of most Nigerian X users. The same toxicity extended to neutral influencers such as Foundational Nupe Lawyer, who was attacked for being objective in his commentary on the ongoing rape allegation. The goal was not truth, but agenda.
Social innovators are not spared either. Misleading allegations were levied against Tunde Onakoya when he spoke out against the growing toxicity in the space. Rather than engage with his concerns objectively, agenda-peddlers made assumptions. Some accused him of being a “sellout” who, after becoming famous through X users’ support, decided to abandon them. Others alleged his proximity to the APC government and his silence on political issues was proof that he had been bought. Ironically, even the few users who agreed with his submission were themselves accused of being sponsored. It makes one wonder if everyone on the space is assumed to be a commodity on the shelf for sale.
The prevailing belief that no contrary opinion is genuine exposes the inauthenticity of the belief-holders, and by extension, the society at large. Where everyone is deemed corruptible, and truth is judged solely by who pays the piper, it reflects tragedy rather than reality. The erosion of facts by this community of keypad warriors ,performing brilliance in cult-like echo chambers, peddling endless cycles of pseudo-intelligence and toxicity, silences genuine dialogue. It thrives on differences, turns dissent into war, and ultimately becomes as dangerous as the corrupt systems in the society.
For the havoc caused by this cult-like community ,pushing obnoxious beliefs and insecurities into the fore of every conversation on X through rhetorics and bullying, with no respect for facts or decency, affects everyone, regardless of political or socioeconomic affiliation. And so, in the end, agenda must agend.