'Seun Ibukun-Oni
The Anatomy of a Malicious Falsehood
DAILY COURIER - Few days ago, Nigeria’s digital space convulsed with a grotesque fabrication: "FCT Minister Nyesom Wike collapses from alcohol-induced stroke, flown to France for emergency care." The story, peddled by faceless accounts like Johnson Onwe and Nwuzor Douglas Benjamin, claimed the minister had been incapacitated by his "excessive drinking." Within hours, fact-checkers exposed the lie—Wike was, in reality, inspecting Abuja projects and receiving an award from the Body of Benchers.
But the damage was done. The lie, like a winged termite in harmattan, had already taken flight.
Agbó Tikú Yò: The Death Merchants
In Yoruba cosmology, the "Agbó tikú yò" (one who rejoices at death) is a sinister archetype—a being that feeds on calamity. Ifá warns in Odu Òtúrá Méjì:
"Agbó tikú yò ni wọn ńpè é,
Òun là ńfẹ́rẹ̀ sí ikú...
(They call him 'the death-rejoicer,'
For he is the one who thrills at others' ruin)."
The purveyors of Wike’s health hoax are modern Agbó tikú yòs —digital witches brewing poison in the cauldron of social media. Like Àyàngalú (the executioner spirit), they weaponize lies, not machetes. Their joy? To see reputations burn and society destabilize.
Akáwólérí Nsunkun Arawon: The Weeping Witnesses
Yet there’s another layer to this tragedy: the akáwólérís — those who see the lie but amplify it. As Ifá’s Ogbè-Ọ̀sá declares:
"Akáwólérí ńṣọ́kún aráwọn,
Tí ó rí ìkọ̀kọ̀ tó sì fojú di..."
(The eyewitness weeps for his people,
He who saw danger but looked away...)."
Every Nigerian who shared that fake news became an akáwólérí — a passive enabler. The Yoruba say: "Ọ̀rọ̀ tí a bá f’èèkàn gbé, ó di ìmọ̀lẹ̀ ọwọ́" (A lie repeated becomes a torch in the hand). By circulating that falsehood, they lit a fire that could have spread with destructive consequences.
Our ancestors reserved their harshest curses for truth-twisters. The Odu Ìrẹtẹ̀gúndá proclaims:
"Òòṣà tó ńtan ni níjẹ́,
Alágbà tó ńpẹ́rẹ́ ni í pa."
(The deity kills the deceitful,
The elder who gossips perishes by it)."
Fake news isn’t just "politics"—it’s arùn ìwà (a moral disease). When we wish others dead via lies, we invoke Èṣù’s mirror: the evil rebounds.
Let Wike’s ordeal remind us, first to verify news before sharing - "Ọmọdé kò mọ pé ìró ní ńró ọ̀rọ̀" (A child doesn’t know lies elongate stories).
Secondly, reject schadenfreude —The Agbó tikú yò spirit has no place in nation-building. And the government must scapegoat peddlers of falsehood and make examples of them using the courts.
Nigeria’s soul is bleeding from a thousand digital cuts. Only truth can suture the wound.
Finally, "Ìwà lẹ̀wà ọmọlúwàbí" (Character is the beauty of the noble). Let us choose nobility over notoriety.
#SayNoToFakeNews
#ThinkBeforeYouShare
(References: Ifá Corpus; Yoruba Oral Poetry; Interviews with Babalawo Ọlámipọ́sé Ajàyí)
• 'Seun Ibukun-Oni (anipr), the editor-in-chief of Daily Courier Newspaper can be reached via email - pstseuncid@gmail.com
