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Promised Adele
Barring any divine intervention, and never ruling out the unpredictability of the cosmic regime, the 2027 general elections will be held in Nigeria. The inevitability is suffocation. However, I deal with two main mantras that presuppose the omnipotence of God in the affairs of men: “man proposes, God disposes” and its twin brother, “with God all things are possible”. Being religious and highly spiritual people, Nigerians like to hand over their responsibilities to the supernatural realm, believing that God will suddenly become unjust by taking on their responsibilities even though He has given them innate powers to fulfill the responsibilities. Such an attitude is the door to irresponsibility.
It is therefore nauseating to hear Nigerians complain about economic woes, insecurity, noxious anti-people policies of government, inflation, high-level corruption, knavery in the corridors of power and crumbling infrastructure, and yet cry out to God to intervene with the 2027 elections before them. God will not vote. He gave us the power to vote. The people of Osun did it. It’s possible.
As if asking God to take responsibility is not enough, many Nigerians cling to another mantra of defeated consciences: “it’s okay.” When people say “it’s okay,” it’s a subtle way of capitulating and accepting helplessness in the face of immediate challenges.
For context, “it is well” is a repetition of the events in the biblical book of 2 Kings 4:26, when the Shunammite woman answered the question of Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, if all was well with her family. The woman replied: “OK”. It underlined his helplessness in the immediate circumstances. One semblance of the phrase is “my soul is well,” which is a refrain in a popular Christian hymn.
The hymn’s author, Horatio Spafford, wrote it after the tragic death of his four daughters in a shipwreck. This came in the wake of a major financial setback. In response to these tragedies, he declared, “my soul is fine.” Both the Shunammite woman and Horatio Spafford were helpless and broken when they made their statements; therefore, it was suitable for the given circumstances. Are Nigerians helpless in the 2027 elections? Absolutely not!
Political campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections began across the country on August 19, 2026. All the political gladiators took up the challenge and made one form or the other of promises. It is the usual political ritual that precedes the elections.
Some politicians’ speeches are insults expressed in political jargon, trite expressions that have accumulated a lot of moss over the years. Given that some politicians have not held power, it is difficult to judge them on all their promises before the 2023 elections. This leaves us with only one option: to critically examine the promises made by politicians in power and the extent to which those promises have been kept.
It is the duty of responsible citizens to hold government accountable at all levels, regardless of religion, ethnicity and other nebulous considerations. They campaigned and asked Nigerians to vote for them based on some promises. After four years, Nigerians must hold the Presidency, Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, Governors, Members of the House of Assembly and even LGA leaders accountable.
This is the true meaning of democracy. Acting differently or attacking those who do so undermines the democratic potential of the country. It is equivalent to shifting into reverse towards guaranteed collective perdition. Many politicians who won the 2023 elections are preparing for a re-election after behaving irresponsibly and neglecting the electorate for four years.
Before listening to these politicians once again, every Nigerian must be wise and ask themselves vital questions: What has this person done to deserve a second term? What have Mr. President, Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, Governors, Members of the House of Assembly, LGA leaders done to deserve a second term?
Let’s start with Mr. President. It occupies a unique position that aggregates the interests of all Nigerians under one umbrella. Before the 2023 elections, he specifically promised to provide uninterrupted electricity to the entire country. In an event captured on video, he urged Nigerians not to vote for him if he failed to provide constant electricity to everyone.
Unfortunately, Mr President has miserably failed to keep his promise. Instead of providing electricity to Nigerians as he promised, he removed his official residence, Aso Rock, from the national grid and spent a whopping 17 billion naira to install solar panels in the mansion. Between the provision of electricity to Nigerians and the construction of the estimated $13 billion Lagos-Calabar coastal road, what is more important?
Funny enough, while campaigning for the 2023 elections, Mr President never promised Nigerians to build any Lagos-Calabar coastal road. So he failed to keep his promise and embraced a project he never told Nigerians about. The campaigns are here again, be wise.
I remember seeing the President promise on several occasions that he would immediately put an end to insecurity in the country. In fact, during Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure, the President advised him to resign due to growing insecurity and the kidnapping of the Chibok girls.
The statistics of kidnappings, abductions, deaths, fires and general insecurity across the country in the last three years are staggering. More than any other time in the history of this country, perhaps except during the civil war, Nigeria has been suffocated beyond measure under the crushing weight of terrorism and banditry. The streets are not safe; the farms are not safe and the cities are barely safe. Many Nigerians, including military officers, have lost their lives to terrorists and bandits. These military officers were murdered under gruesome circumstances.
The United States had to intervene at a certain point, and this underlines our impotence and the incompetence of the commander in chief. Another campaign season is here, be wise.
While campaigning for the 2023 elections, the President promised to create over 1 million jobs for young people through the digital economy.
While there is no official figure indicating the number of jobs created or lost since then, SBM Intelligence records show that almost 50% of Nigerian households have experienced a major economic shock such as job loss or business failure in the past three years. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that about 4.7 million Nigerians were classified as unemployed at the end of 2023, when the current administration came to power.
The Association of Nigerian Manufacturers (MAN) has announced that at least 6,000 jobs have been lost in Nigeria at the end of 2023 due to the exit of multinationals from the country. Over 90% of Nigerians work in the informal sector and do not have any clearly defined official employment with government oversight.
This is quite harmful. Since 2023, the country has suffered more brain drain than ever. Teachers, doctors, technologists, engineers and other professionals regularly leave the country in search of greener pastures. The campaigns are here again, be wise.
For the past three years Nigerians have been regaled with stories of illusory economic reforms following the removal of oil subsidies. The country’s resulting economic difficulties have been devastating.
However, the political class, those who identify with power at the center, are isolated from the economic crucible while the masses stew in inflation, hardship and hunger. The naira is almost worthless compared to the dollar, yet Mr. President was quite critical and vocal against Goodluck Jonathan when the naira was between 250 and 1 US dollar. The purchasing power of the naira has weakened over time, while wages and salaries have remained stationary.
By any measure, the promise of economic recovery and the famous reform are inscrutable political rhetoric intended to deceive and mislead Nigerians. The economic prospects of the country are diminishing every day and Nigerians are prostrate in different painful shapes and sizes as they struggle to earn a living. The campaigns are here, be wise.
Discussing Nigeria’s corruption rate in the last three years would violate my sensibilities, and I have no intention of doing so. Misappropriation of public funds, cover-ups, appointment and reappointment of corrupt people to official positions, including the newly formed presidential campaign council, and fake government agencies have taken Nigerians by surprise.
Those who have big files in the EFCC but who identify with the government are given a soft landing. Following the conclusion of the 2023 elections and the role played by judges, the judiciary emerged as the most corrupt sector in Nigeria that year.
From all available data, the current government has no existential or moral justification to ask Nigerians for votes in 2027. Nigerians must get their act together, acquire some common sense and not succumb to deceptive rhetoric to entrench incompetent human principalities in power. Nigerians must be encouraged by the events of the just concluded Osun governorship election. It was done in Osun, it can be done all over the country, even in the center. Eliminating incompetence across the country’s corridors of power is a collective responsibility that must be undertaken.
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