When Truth Becomes the Enemy: How Societies Collapse When They Fear Honest Voices

Something dangerous is happening in many parts of the world today. It doesn’t start loudly. It starts quietly — almost unnoticed — until it grows into a wildfire:

Truth is becoming unwelcome.

Little by little, we are entering a time where people hate honest voices, silence truth-tellers, and celebrate lies. This is more than a moral problem. It is a sickness. And if we don’t deal with it, it will destroy homes, families, communities, and even nations.

Let’s break this down in plain, simple language.

 

When Truth Makes People Angry

Truth is supposed to guide, correct, and protect us.
But today, when someone speaks plainly, the truth, people often get angry instead of listening.

Why?

Because truth exposes wrong behaviour.
Truth makes people uncomfortable.
Truth shines light where people prefer darkness.

Truth shows their incompetence’s

So instead of facing the truth, many choose to hate the person saying it or silence them.

 Silencing the Truth-Tellers

In societies that fear the truth, honest people are attacked in many ways. They face:

• insults
• threats
• intimidation
• shame
• false accusations
• being labelled as rude or disrespectful
• Nigeria government accuses them of committing one offence

Some are even set up or trapped just to shut them up.

The message becomes:

“If you want peace, keep quiet.”

And when truth becomes dangerous to speak, lies become the safest language.

 When Lies Become the New Currency

When truth is hated, lies rise in value.

People who lie to protect wrong actions are:

• praised
• rewarded
• promoted
• seen as being “loyal” and respectful
• called “well-behaved”, human and good people

Pretending becomes normal.
Fake respect, humility have become the new culture.
Being silent becomes wisdom.

Meanwhile, truth-tellers become outcasts.

 

A Society That Loves Lies Will Eventually Rot

A society built on lies may look fine for a moment, but inside it is already falling apart.
Over time:

• justice becomes a joke
• Leaders become corrupt
• trust disappears
• Fear replaces honesty
• Truth becomes rare

Soon, the society becomes a graveyard of truth, full of noise but empty of real voice.

 

 Blunt Truth-Tellers Pay the Highest Price

People who speak the truth boldly — without sugarcoating — often suffer the most.

They are called:

• rude
• disrespectful
• arrogant
• troublemakers

But these are the same people society later depends on when everything goes wrong.

The irony is painful:
The people trying to save society are the ones society attacks the most.

 

Everyone Learns to Be Afraid

When truth becomes costly, people begin to think:

“Will this truth get me in trouble?”
“Will they say I’m rude?”
“Will I be punished for speaking up?”

Fear takes over.
Courage dies.
And once courage dies, lies rule a nation.

 Even Inside Families: Truth Becomes a Crime

This problem is not only in politics or workplaces.
It has entered marriages, homes, and family relationships.

Between Husbands and Wives

In many homes today, when a wife speaks the truth or has an opinion or corrects wrongdoing, she is told:

• “You’re disrespectful.”
• “A good wife keeps quiet.”
• “You don’t talk to your husband like that.”

So pretending becomes the expected behaviour.
Truth becomes “dangerous” to the marriage.

Between Parents and Children

Some parents silence their children with:

• “Don’t talk back.”
• “You’re rude.”
• “Elders are always right.”

Children then learn that lying keeps them safe, while honesty gets them punished.

A child who speaks the truth is seen as “stubborn.”
A child who hides the truth is praised as “well-trained.”

The Family Culture

Many families now value silence more than honesty:

• Fathers demand obedience, not truth
• mothers hide issues to “keep peace”
• Children fake obedience to avoid trouble
• problems grow quietly
• Everyone suffers silently

A family built on lies cannot stand.
A marriage that rejects truth cannot grow.
A home that punishes honesty will raise a generation afraid to speak.

 

 Courageous Voices Should Be Celebrated, Not Destroyed

Here is where society gets it completely wrong.

People who are brave enough to speak the truth — loudly, clearly, and fearlessly — should be:

• celebrated
• protected
• encouraged
• supported
• honored

Because they are doing what many others cannot do.

But instead of lifting them, society tries to pull them down:

• They are mocked
• rejected
• insulted
• isolated
• punished

Just for saying what everyone else is afraid to say.

We forget something very important:

Someone must speak.

A society where no one speaks the truth is not only weak —
it is already dead.

A silent society is a dying society.
A society with no courageous voices is a blind society walking toward disaster.

Truth-tellers are not the problem.
They are the last line of defence.

 

 What Happens If We Don’t Change?

If families and communities continue to kill the truth, the results are always the same:

• corruption grows
• relationships break
• injustice increases
• trust disappears
• People lose hope

Whether it’s a nation, a community, or a family —
remove truth, and everything eventually collapses.

 Why Truth Still Matters

Truth may be uncomfortable, but it heals.
Truth may offend, but it protects.
Truth may sound harsh, but it saves lives.

Homes become stronger when they welcome truth.
Societies become healthier when they honour truth.
People become wiser when they live by the truth.

Truth is not the enemy.
Truth is the foundation.

Let’s Protect the Voices That Protect You

Truth-tellers may be blunt.
They may be loud.
They may not speak smoothly.
But they speak because they care.

Silencing them only delays the disaster already coming.

If Nigerians want stronger homes, stronger relationships, stronger communities, and stronger nations, we must:

• Stop rewarding lies
• Stop punishing honesty
• Stop attacking the brave
• start celebrating courage
• start defending truth-tellers
• start loving truth again

Because truth is life — and silence is slow death.