Years ago, when I was a student at Federal Government College, Enugu, I shared a class with some of the most intelligent students I had ever seen.

We were about 86–90 students in class. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I read, my position was almost always the same — 18th, 19th, or 20th.
Yet my averages were good. I scored 80–85%, with A’s and B’s in almost all subjects. Only Mathematics humbled me with a C.
Still, that didn’t matter at home.
My mum would always say:
“Chidi, those children taking first position, do they have two heads?”
And then the beating would follow.
She never checked the details. She only checked the position.
One term in JSS2, after seeing 18th position again, something crossed my mind.
I did the unthinkable.
I used tippex.
I erased the 1 and left the 8.
Just like that, 18th became 8th 😂
I was confident.
I got home, showed my mum the result.
She looked at it, smiled… and said nothing.
When my dad came back, she showed him.
He smiled too.
No questions.
No beating.
They even gave me extra food and bought malt.
I was happy. Very happy.
I told myself, “This strategy works.”
That night, around 2am, while I was sleeping peacefully, I suddenly heard:
“Waaam!”
A heavy slap on my back.
No light.
No warning.
Just cane from nowhere.
I jumped up confused.
Both of them flogged the life out of me.
That was when they told me:
They knew I altered the result from day one.
They just waited.
I was beaten like a thief that night.
That day, I learnt a lesson I have never forgotten: Do the right thing, even when lying looks easier.
I look at what the Dependent Electoral Commission (DEC) approved and presented to Nigerians as election results in 2026, and I feel the same pain I felt that night on the mat.
DEC, shame on you.
Shame on you for editing the truth.
Shame on you for insulting the intelligence of Nigerians.
Shame on you for turning democracy into a poorly written lie.
But the painful truth is this:
What will Nigerians do?
Absolutely nothing.
We are more interested in trending distractions
• VDM vs Blord
• Who offended who on X
• Simi’s tweet
• Or simply saying “let’s leave it to God”
We argue online, pray loudly, trend hashtags, then move on while the system keeps tippexing our future.
We are the most docile citizens on earth and our political businessmen masquerading as leaders are so lucky to have us.
Shalom 🙏