AMAMIHE Journal of Applied Philosophy

Disinformation is the deliberate creation and the consequent dissemination of false or misleading information to achieve, among others, intended political purposes. It involves a deliberate intent to mislead people. In this article, I first of all trace its evolution through the lens of its rather major occurrences from 1999, when Nigeria’s Fourth Republic was birthed after years of military rule, to 2024, when Nigeria marked the 25th anniversary of uninterrupted democracy in the same Fourth Republic, the longest stretch since its independence in 1960. I focus my attention mainly on the presidential elections held every four years within this timeframe. I then try to point out what this history of disinformation in the country’s presidential elections in the Fourth Republic says not only about the nature of disinformation itself, but also the nature and future of democracy in the country.

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