Democracy flourishes when public officials and governments at all levels are subjected to scrutiny.

Criticism is healthy. Dissent is necessary. Yet, criticism acquires value only when it is rooted in facts, consistency and intellectual honesty.

On the other hand, when it abandons those foundations, it becomes little more than drivel dressed up as political commentary.

It is for this reason that a recent intervention by Mobolaji Sanusi, a former head of the Lagos State Advertising Agency, deserves a response.

Not because every political opinion merits one, but because there are moments when misleading narratives must be confronted before they harden into accepted falsehoods.