“You Lit The Fire, Don’t Sermonize Over The Ashes ” – O’tega Ogra To Ex Leaders, Says Tinubu/Shettima Rebuilding

In a pointed and passionate social media narrative, O’tega Ogra, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Digital Engagement, Strategy, and New Media, has taken aim at former political figures he describes as “cosplaying revolutionaries”—individuals who, having lost relevance, now present themselves as critics of a system they once exploited.

Ogra’s commentary, which has since gained traction online, directly challenges what he sees as performative outrage from figures who were once at the heart of Nigeria’s leadership but are now rebranding as activists. “You do not get to light the fire and then sermonise over the ashes,” he wrote, accusing these former power players of revisionism disguised as patriotism.

He acknowledged the genuine frustration many Nigerians feel but asserted that the root of the nation’s troubles predates the current administration.

“Yes, Nigeria may be in pain, but it is dishonest, almost wicked, to pretend that the decay began yesterday,” Ogra stated.

He emphasized that many of the loudest mourners today were once “the most efficient architects of the rot.”

Casting President Tinubu’s administration as focused and intentional in its reforms, Ogra described ongoing efforts as “quietly, deliberately, without drama” aimed at healing and rebuilding the nation.

He framed the current government’s actions as a necessary “clinical surgery” being performed on the country—painful but purposeful.

To those he labeled “politiprophets,” Ogra had this message: “The Nigeria you mock is still home to millions waking up with fire in their bellies daily, building, fighting, and fixing—without noise, applause, or hashtags.”

He contrasted real nation-builders with critics whose “weekly essays and media junketing rounds” serve more as self-relevance campaigns than genuine calls for change.

He closed his address with a message of defiance and hope: “I will never declare Nigeria a corpse while millions still fight for its pulse… Nigeria will not die for your comeback tour.”

The narrative reflects the Tinubu administration’s growing effort to reclaim the national conversation, positioning itself as a government focused on reform while resisting criticism from past leaders now repackaging themselves as social crusaders.