A Pig with Lipstick: The Case of Kettle Calling Pot Black

07/09/25

A Pig with Lipstick: The Case of Kettle Calling Pot Black

By Livy-Elcon Emereonye

In politics, business, and even everyday life, hypocrisy often struts with a painted face. We live in a world where those most guilty of a crime shout the loudest when others are caught, and those steeped in corruption become self-righteous accusers. It is the age-old case of the kettle calling the pot black—but now, the kettle has learned the art of cosmetics. What we see is not honesty, but a pig with lipstick.

The pig, no matter how much you groom it, remains a pig. As one wit put it, “You cannot perfume a carcass and call it fresh.” Cosmetic pretence cannot erase filth, just as fine speeches, colourful policies, or staged humanitarian gestures cannot wash away the stains of bad governance, greed, or deceit. Dressing up failure in flowery language is nothing more than deception—a way to distract the public eye while the rot continues unchecked.

Hypocrisy is most dangerous when it wears the mask of morality. Leaders falter, yet condemn others for the very sins they commit daily. Institutions crumble from negligence, yet parade themselves as watchdogs of accountability. Such contradictions are not just laughable—they are insulting to the intelligence of the people. After all, “When the thief cries ‘catch the thief,’ confusion becomes justice.”

But no matter the type and concentration of perfume the anus wears, it will still ooze out foul smell. A bigot will always remain a bigot. No amount of political patronage can change the toga of a bitch.

As the saying goes, “You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” Lipstick will eventually fade, and the ugliness beneath will be revealed. Likewise, hypocrisy has a short shelf life. Truth may stumble, but it does not fall. “Pretence has no backbone; it collapses under the weight of reality.”

Today, the world stands akimbo watching the Nigerian drama as it unfolds; and tomorrow will come when people will look back and ask, “But why?”

“A pig with lipstick is still a pig.
The kettle calling the pot black is hypocrisy at its peak.
Cosmetics can cover a face, but never a character.
Truth may stumble, but it never falls.”

Societies thrive on sincerity, not showmanship. Until we stop rewarding cosmetics over character, and until hypocrisy is called out for what it is, the cycle of kettle and pot will continue—each accusing the other while both remain blackened by the same soot.

But for psychosis, how best can one describe a bastard begotten of no one and responsible for no root always attacking a people and a race, accusing them of what she is guilty?

In the final analysis, one cannot cry more than the bereaved. It is time the Igbo home and abroad understood the hand writing on the wall and do the needful.

A word is enough for the wise.

It’s at best a mistake taken too far, and at worst a display of open madness that defies medical attention.

But is it a mere coincidence that everyone who seeks a cheap attention attacks the Igbo or there’s something Ndígbo are being called to notice and act?

The earlier the why is known, the better.