Why Nigerians Should Rethink Going Into 2027

What is prevalent in Nigeria as a country today, which is felt by all including the young and the old, is hunger of unimaginable proportions. This makes people to be dehumanized and descend from the level of thinking as humans, to near animals. This situation is unfortunate and pathetic. It becomes very clear also that most Nigerians easily get depressed when they are face to face with the reality of a deplorable situation in the country, such that affects the political, social, religious, and the economic spheres of life. The question therefore that agitates the minds of the people, is in relation to whether there would ever be a change, such that would bring about an end to the hopelessness of the people.

The present situation in the country is such that defies all rhetoric and slogans, especially that of the renewed hope of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. All that Nigerians need especially the most vulnerable, is to have food on their tables, and as the saying goes, a hungry man is an angry man, who also cannot comprehend or appreciate sermons or preaching of any kind. Nigeria has become the pot of soup of a few, who have besieged the nation and plunged the citizens into the dungeon of unprecedented hunger and hopelessness. With the picture painted, can Nigeria still be described as the giant of Africa? Yes, in terms of quantity and not quality, painting the picture of a giant with the feet of clay.

The major problem that Nigeria has been having all along is that of leadership. This is regardless of the region where the leaders emerge from. One can recall that from the commencement of the 3rd republic in 1999, the leaders that have emerged, especially after the tenure of the former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, have led the country into one serious crisis or the other, beginning from the former President Muhammadu Buhari, who superintend over an unprecedented level of killings of the citizens of Nigeria, courtesy of the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, in the forms of kidnapping for ransom, and the Fulani herdsmen and farmers’ clashes, all of which Buhari felt apathetic about and allowed to happen with impunity. Corruption in the country, during the 8th year tenure of Buhari, was at the unprecedented level.

As if all these were not enough, the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023, ushered in another dimension of disaster to the nation. Rather than prioritizing the essentials and the majors, he concentrated his efforts on the non-essentials and the minors. Suffice to say that Nigerians don’t need too much and have not asked too much from their leaders. Being a people that are resilient and creative, any leader that will prioritize for Nigerians just a few things, which include: solving the problems of insecurity, hunger, epileptic power supply, and the provision of internet connection at an affordable cost, will turn Nigeria into not only the real or true giant of Africa, but a major global competitor. For the reasons of selfishness and corruption, leaders chose to go on the chase of a wild goose, pursuing the shadow and leaving the substance.

Imagine what Nigeria would have looked like if Tinubu on assumption of power on May 2023, deployed the nation’s resources towards mechanized agriculture; genuine, deliberate and intentional fight against insecurity; fixing the power problems of Nigeria; and providing cheap internet connectivity to the people, my guess is as yours, the country would have become what God originally destined it to be, as a true leader and a good example to the African continent. The refusal to replace the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu; the NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari; and the embarkment on ostentatious projects, such as the Lagos-Calabar coastal road, the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of naira, these decisions point just to one thing, and that thing is corruption.
It is not surprising anyway, because getting to power through corruption can only breed more corruption. It is a common knowledge that any leader who is truly a democrat, would not be out to destroy democratic institutions. The ongoing action of weakening the existing leading political parties, who constitute the opposition, is anti-democratic and retrogressive. It is no wonder why a Chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, disclosed on Arise TV news night, that allegedly the leadership of the ruling party, APC, under the watch of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has plans to bribe the leadership of the existing political parties, who are in the opposition with 10 billion naira each, in order to keep them away from fielding a candidate against him, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the 2027 elections. These moves have begun, and are obvious to those who care to know. This revelation is instructive, as it further confirms the truth about the Nigerian politicians, who pretend to be democrats, while they are indeed the demagogues. Nigerians have suffered enough and whether they have what it takes to better their lives by bringing about the needed change in the leadership of the country, is a question that awaits answers.

Going forward, what seemed like the kidnap of the human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, by the security agents, who came all the way from Ekiti State to arrest him in Lagos and took him to Ekiti, on a journey of not less than 7hours, can only be described as barbaric and unfortunate, and a clear demonstration of how deplorable the state of the Nigerian Judiciary is. The barbaric act of the Nigerian Police was instigated by what can be referred to as power show, where the powerful tramples at will, at the right of the less powerful and with impunity, painting the picture of a country that is lawless and morally decayed. The human rights activist and lawyer was arrested on the allegation of defaming Chief Afe Babalola SAN. However, let’s assume that all that Dele Farotimi wrote in his book, which constitutes the defamation of the character and personality of Chief Afe Babalola, have no basis and lacking in profundity, the treatment meted out to him in the ways of his arrest and his humiliation, especially how he was brought to court on handcuffs, clearly discredited Chief Afe Babalola’s claim of innocence, especially in matters of his alleged corruption, where Dele documented that he used his position to buy justice for his client in a case that Dele himself was a counsel to the other party.

Nigeria is far losing its reputation, especially in matters of the administration of justice. Nigerians cannot forget in a hurry that it was Chief Afe Babalola SAN, who predicted on a national TV, at the build up to the 2023 general elections, that the Presidential candidate with the deepest or bigger pocket will win the election and become the President. His prediction, which eventually came to pass supports the saying that what the elders can see sitting down, the young ones cannot see standing up. However, an elder who has foresight to see what others cannot see, but who could not do things that others have not done to either prevent or make happen what he has seen come to pass, is not a visionary. It is just unfortunate that Chief Afe Babalola, who is reputed to be a global icon, allowed himself at the age of 95, to be dragged into the muddy waters of this dimension.

Furthermore, the petition written by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, charging him with a cybercrime, further supports the allegations flying about against the Nigerian Police of recklessness and high-handedness, and it further exposes the agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to silence all dissenting voices against his administration. Similarly, the launch of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC), which Kemi Nandap, the Comptroller-General of Immigration mentioned that it “will ascertain the risk level of persons entering the country, detect irregular migration patterns and monitor unmanned borders in hard-to-reach areas nationwide, thus ensuring the security of the nation.” As good as the purpose for which this project is meant to serve, the hidden agenda, which is the undercurrent behind this project, is anti-Nigerians. This is because rather than focus on achieving the purpose of securing the borders of Nigeria, it is designed more importantly to intrude into the privacy of Nigerians, by monitoring the going out and coming in of Nigerians, and with a view to trampling on their rights.

In conclusion, Nigeria can only get better when the processes of electing leaders into offices change and change in the case of Nigeria, will not come easy. It is time for the Northerners to look inwards and think differently in matters that have to do with what region of the country they are to form alliance with. They have always been in alliance with the South-West, especially since the commencement of the 3rd republic, but with nothing to show for their actions in the North. If doing the same thing, the same way, and expecting different result is insanity, I think the 2027 general elections, should be viewed wisely and differently, as the need has arisen to look in the direction of the South-East. This is the way to go for equity and justice, and anything short of it, is an invitation to a disaster, God forbids. Nigerians, especially the Northerners are admonished “not to allow what happened yesterday to inhibit what is happening today, or what will happen tomorrow. It is ancient history and nothing you can do will change it. Stick to the present and the future. Look to the past only when you can do it rationally and objectively, as a way to improve on the other two. The bottom line, keep your eye on the road and use your rear-view mirror only to avoid trouble.” -Daniel Mitchell

It is unfortunate and heart-wrenching that people of questionable characters have occupied leadership positions in our country, and their activities leave much to be desired, for they are the epitome of national retrogression, as they represent what makes for indecency, corruption, immorality and incompetence.

Their actions show how the bar that depicts the criteria for the choice of our leaders have been lowered, and to the shame and disgrace of those who entrusted powers and leadership positions to people of reprobate minds like them. One of them, who assumes the position of Edo State Governor in a fraudulent way, Governor Monday Okpebholo, demonstrated his incompetence in the public glare, when presenting the 2025 budget to members of the Edo State House of Assembly. Another one, who was newly appointed as the spokesperson of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu on policy matters, Mr. Daniel Bwala, openly confessed that all the negative things he said about Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while he was on the other side of the aisle, PDP, was political and lacked merit. What a shame to Mr. Daniel Bwala. The most recent of them all, has to do with the aide of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who was congratulating the executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Governor Umo Eno, who just lost his wife, instead of commiserating with him. These are the characters that occupy important political positions in the Nigerian space. Mr. Oseni Rufai of the Arise TV, humorously asked if any of these people can be employed as even the primary school teachers of our children in Nigeria.

Nigeria, unfortunately, is an eyesore and a ridicule, and this calls for introspection, even as we journey to the 2027 general elections, which presents another important opportunity for a change. But don’t forget that they who themselves must be freed, must have to strike the blow. The art of life is in constant readjustment to our environment. Wake up Nigerians, for nothing come to sleepers but dreams. God bless Nigeria.

By Samuel Tunji Adeyanju

GMN Chief Executive Officer, USA