There is a phrase that absolves Nigerians of all responsibility for spreading information: "My friend told me." You didn't see it. You don't know if it's true. But your "friend"—who is never named, never present, and often fictional—told you. So you share it. "My friend told me that your company is downsizing." "My friend told me that they broke up because of cheating." "My friend told me that the new neighbor is a ritualist." The shield is brilliant. It creates distance. If the information is wrong, you are not the liar; your friend is. If it is right, you are well-informed. You are just the messenger, and the messenger is never shot in Nigerian culture. The friend takes the bullet. But the cowardice is real. It allows rumors to spread without accountability. It lets people damage reputations while hiding behind an unnamed third party. The "friend" becomes a phantom army of misinformation. And the irony? Sometimes the "friend" is actually the person speaking. They heard nothing. They saw everything. But "my friend told me" sounds more credible than "I was there." How often do you use "my friend told me" to spread or receive gossip? And have you ever confronted someone about their unnamed "friend"?
