4 weeks ago
9
The archetypal clip I saw my own words staring backmost astatine maine under someone else’s name, I felt an ache I cannot rather describe. Every sentence, each metaphor, each nighttime of reflection poured into that portion stolen. Not borrowed, not referenced, but taken whole.
Plagiarism is theft. I know, due to the fact that my archetypal nonfiction cautiously researched, profoundly thought through, and published successful Vanguard Newspaper connected August 23, 2025 was stolen, rebranded, and published successful a concern paper successful Nigeria nether the sanction of Udo Maryanne Okonjo, who adjacent had the audacity to telephone it “Side-Chick Economics: The Hidden Billions of Secrecy (Part 1)”. Part 1! As though she intends to physique an full bid connected an thought that is not hers.
My rubric was Side Chic Republic: Nigeria’s Open Secret. She changed it to Side Chick Economics: The Hidden Billions of Secrecy. But the words, the reasoning, the psyche each of it were mine. My intelligence labour. My voice. My sweat. No reference. No citation. No acknowledgment.
Nigeria is simply a onshore filled with brilliance. Every day, ideas are calved successful classrooms, lecture halls, and late-night survey desks. We, successful academia, are trained to respect cognition not lone by creating it but by besides crediting those who came earlier us. That is wherefore we reference, cite, and acknowledge. These are not formalities; they are acts of integrity. To get a thought without attribution is to interruption an invisible motivation codification that holds the satellite of cognition together.
Yet, successful our wider society, galore find it convenient to instrumentality different person’s sweat, formal it up successful caller clothes, and parade it arsenic their own. This soundless transgression plagiarism is arsenic destructive arsenic it is rampant.
In academia, it would beryllium unthinkable. A pupil caught plagiarizing risks suspension oregon expulsion. Globally, professors person mislaid careers for lifting a fewer paragraphs without credit. In euphony and film, lawsuits worthy millions are filed implicit a stolen lyric oregon storyline. Yet successful Nigeria, full articles tin beryllium copied, published, and celebrated portion the archetypal writer is erased.
Plagiarism is not a victimless act. It wounds the creator, but it besides weakens a nation. It discourages creativity, telling young minds that originality does not matter, that each you request is the audacity to transcript and the close level to publish. When a nine normalizes specified theft, it mortgages its intelligence future. Because nary state tin innovate connected stolen thoughts lone connected archetypal ones.
We punish students for copying assignments, but reward adults successful nationalist spaces for the aforesaid crime. What connection are we sending to the adjacent generation? That integrity ends aft graduation? That ideas lone substance erstwhile stolen by the close idiosyncratic with the close access?
Beyond morality, plagiarism is illegal. Nigeria’s Copyright Act (Cap C28, Laws of the Federation, 2004) protects intelligence property. To bargain someone’s words oregon ideas is not conscionable dishonest,it is against the law. Yet, we often excuse it, pretending it’s a insignificant offense. The thief who steals wealth is branded a criminal. Why, then, bash we support the thief who steals knowledge?
And this is not trivial. Plagiarism has existent economical consequences. Nigeria’s astir palmy industries Nollywood, Afrobeats, lit are powered by originality. Imagine if Burna Boy’s lyrics were stolen earlier helium could grounds them. Imagine if Chimamanda Adichie’s novels were published nether idiosyncratic else’s name. The satellite would not cognize them, and Nigeria would suffer the billions their creativity generated.
When originality is devalued, a federation stagnates. Innovation dies wherever imitation thrives. A state that normalizes intelligence theft cannot progress, cannot compete, and cannot physique a planetary reputation.
The symptom of plagiarism goes beyond stolen credit. It is the symptom of erasure to exist, yet beryllium unseen. To person your dependable muted portion different idiosyncratic wears it. It tells each creator that effort does not matter, that designation belongs to whoever shouts the loudest, not whoever thinks the deepest.
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