How To PhotoShop Yourself Into History: The Oshiomhole Edition

I recently read Richard Akinnola’s account exposing Adams Oshiomhole’s grand attempt to insert himself into the history of the Democracy struggle. It only reinforced my indifference to the removal of history as a subject in Nigerian schools. After all, who needs history when the past is constantly being rewritten by revisionists who lived through it? Nigerian history often feels like folklore – part fact, part fiction, and a whole lot of creative storytelling. And Oshiomhole? Well, he might as well be our very own Shakespeare, spinning elaborate tales of heroism that never happened.

• RELATED POST: Adams Oshiomhole: A Political Career Built on Chronic Lies and Deception

I watched his interview on Channels TV, where he tried to Photoshop himself into the June 12 struggle. Watch the video HERE. The man narrated a gripping, action-packed role he supposedly played. It was so detailed, so vivid, that even the host, Seun Okinbaloye, was nearly seduced by the sheer artistry of it all. Seun even suggested history should return to our schools, if only to immortalize Oshiomhole’s grand delusions as official curriculum material. Imagine the students: “Who led the June 12 struggle? MKO? No, Oshiomhole, of course!” But here’s the problem – I was around during that period. My father was a devoted TELL magazine collector. The magazines kept me informed about the real heroes and agitators of June 12. There were those who stood firm, those who went into exile, those who suffered, and those who fought relentlessly. But Adams Oshiomhole? His name was as absent from the resistance as rain is from the desert. Omoyele Sowore, who was in the thick of the struggle, once mentioned in an interview that Oshiomhole was never part of the pro-democracy movement. In fact, while true agitators were dodging Abacha’s goons, Oshiomhole was allegedly busy enjoying the comfort of Abuja. So imagine my shock when I saw him casually list himself as an anti-IBB, anti-Abacha crusader, as if we all suffered temporary amnesia.

• RELATED POST: Between Oshiomhole and Edo Market Leader, Blacky Ogiamen

Richard Akinnola went further, labeling Oshiomhole a villain of the June 12 struggle rather than a hero. According to him, back then, Paschal Bafyau was the NLC President, while Oshiomhole served as his deputy. Both men, according to Akinnola, refused to support the pro-democracy movement. Instead, they stood on the sidelines, watching as history was written by others. Meanwhile, real warriors – Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana, Owei Lakemfa, Abdul Mahmud and Frank Kokori’s NUPENG and PENGASSAN- practically brought the country to a halt in protest. If you want to verify, ask the veterans of the struggle, they are still alive, and many others who can tell you exactly who was and wasn’t on the battlefield. This brings me back to why I no longer care about history’s removal from the school curriculum. In Nigeria, history is often a work of fiction, written by those desperate to reshape their pasts to fit present ambitions. The history books we studied were riddled with falsehoods, glorifying figures like Jaja of Opobo and Madam Tinubu, who, contrary to what we were taught, weren’t exactly saints. And if left unchecked, Oshiomhole’s fairy tales could one day be taught as part of Nigeria’s official history. Imagine future generations reading about how the khaki-wearing Oshiomhole single-handedly dethroned Abacha with a well-timed press conference! Oshiomhole’s habit of rewriting history isn’t just embarrassing – it’s dangerous. Beneath his oratory skills and ability to mesmerize crowds with his eloquence lies an unsettling talent for fabricating stories. In Nigeria’s political space, no one has been called a liar more times than Adams Oshiomhole. His hall of fame includes being called out by people like Ibikunle Amosun, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Seriake Dickson, Asue Ighodalo, Timipre Sylva, and even Olusegun Obasanjo. But here’s the real kicker – two successive Obas of Benin have publicly rebuked him for lying against them! That’s not an easy feat. In 2012, during his re-election campaign, he boldly claimed the late Oba of Benin – Oba Erediauwa I – endorsed him. The palace swiftly issued a statement denying it. A decade later, in 2024, he tried the same trick with the current Oba Ewuare II, spinning yet another untrue tale about the monarch supporting his battle against former Governor Obaseki. The palace, once again, called him out. Now, when you hold the record for lying against two successive kings of the same kingdom, it’s no longer just a bad habit – it’s a superpower. And like all unchecked superpowers, it’s only a matter of time before the consequences come knocking. Because in a country where history is already on life support, men like Oshiomhole aren’t just distorting the past – they’re erasing the truth itself.

• RELATED POST: How the Paris Club Wrote Off Nigeria’s Debt, and How We Found Ourselves Back in Huge Debt