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There is a distinct and exhausting genre of Nigerian commentary that confuses cynicism with sophistication, bitter partisanship with objective analysis, and venom with editorial depth.
Steve Osuji’s speech on the 2027 presidential panorama fits perfectly into this now consolidated pattern. Dripping with unwarranted condescension, frenetic hyperbole and a palpable contempt for institutional reality, Osuji attempts to paint a picture of a president in peril and an infallible messianic opposition.
But when stripped of its purplish prose, partisan hero worship, and unfounded innuendo, its thesis collapses into an empty and intellectually dishonest exercise in wishful thinking.
Osuji’s comment is not an analysis; it is a symptom of a political subculture that refuses to reconcile itself to the hard structural choices needed to save Nigeria from decades of managed decay. To dismantle his network of selective amnesia and manufactured indignation, his statements must be brought back to the harsh and uncompromising light of reality.
The myth of the “messianic” Third Force and electoral arithmetic
Osuji’s main concern is the elevation of Peter Obi to a mythological status, describing him as a political phenomenon who supposedly “won” the 2023 elections before it was “falsified”. This is a comforting tale for the opposition, but it also collapses in the face of basic statistical scrutiny and objective electoral history.
The claim that Obi won the 2023 election “by miles” ignores the brutal and mathematical reality of electoral geography in Nigeria. In 2023, a candidate who has failed to cross the constitutional threshold of broad national outreach – catastrophically failing to garner significant, statutory votes in critical states in the federation’s northern and central regions – cannot claim a national mandate.
Conquering pockets of hyper-mobilized angst in isolated urban enclaves does not translate into a pan-Nigerian victory.
To suggest that a politician switching haphazardly from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labor Party, and now presumably to a nascent group like the National Democratic Congress (NDC), represents “organic coherence” is an insult to the lexicon of political integrity.
Osuji enthuses about Obi’s aversion to traditional electoral structures, calling it a populist badge of honor. In truth, this is a convenient evasion of institutional responsibility. A candidate who fears structured party bodies, open programmatic debates and transparent organization at the national level is not a revolutionary; he is a digital-age populist who rides the transitory waves of economic anxiety and social media echo chambers.
When Osuji attempts to dismiss all other contenders – labeling veterans like Donald Duke, Omoyele Sowore and Adewole Adebayo with derogatory labels of “spoilers” and “clowns” – he betrays a deep intolerance of pluralism. Anyone who refuses to bow at the altar of their preferred candidates is summarily excommunicated. This is not journalism; it is partisan control disguised as haughty criticism.
The reality of the Tinubu administration: Courage over populist cowardice
Osuji paints the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as an “abysmal failure”, weeping over imaginary dunghills of poverty while conveniently ignoring the monumental and fundamental rot that the current administration inherited on May 29, 2023.
For decades, successive Nigerian leaders lacked the political will to address the twin cancers that were bleeding the nation to death: the criminal and unsustainable fuel subsidy regime and the multiple, distorted foreign exchange markets that served as a massive conduit for rent-seekers and corrupt arbitrageurs.
Previous administrations have postponed the process, preferring debt-financed popular ruin to the necessary and painful surgery. President Tinubu took the bull by the horns on the first day, stopping the bleeding.
Evaluating this administration without recognizing the structural courage of those reforms is intellectual dishonesty of the highest order. We look at the measurable and verifiable milestones achieved under President Tinubu’s watch in all key sectors.
The first is “economic stabilization and fiscal reengineering”. The abolition of the opaque fuel subsidy has stopped the bleeding of trillions of naira into private pockets. The unification of the foreign exchange market dismantled a corrupt parallel market cartel. As a result, revenue flows to federal, state, and local governments have increased exponentially, granting subnationals unprecedented financial autonomy to execute development projects.
The second concerns “Macroeconomic growth and investor confidence”. Defying doomsday prophecies, Nigeria’s real GDP grew by 4.43% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, accelerating from previous quarters. International rating agencies such as Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings have recognized these stabilizing fundamentals, with major credit upgrades reflecting growing international confidence in Nigeria’s structural reforms.
External reserves rose above $54.08 billion, reaching their highest level in nearly 18 years, while the debt service-to-revenue ratio underwent a dramatic rebalancing downward, away from the unsustainable precipice of the past.
The third is the “massive infrastructure push”. Unlike past eras in which public funds vanished into phantom projects, the administration has prioritized high-impact infrastructure through aggressive public-private partnerships (PPPs) and the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund.
From the ongoing ambitious construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Expressway to crucial rail modernizations and regional energy interventions, the administration is laying the physical foundation for long-term industrialization.
The fourth concerns “Social interventions and human capital”. Recognizing the temporary difficulties associated with macroeconomic adjustments, the administration has established targeted cushioning mechanisms. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has liberated hundreds of thousands of poor students from financial exclusion, giving them access to higher education. Initiatives such as Credicorp, MSME intervention funds and the implementation of the new national minimum wage are systemic safety nets designed to protect the most vulnerable.
Fifth: “Institutional safety and integrity”. While security challenges inherited over decades cannot vanish overnight, the military has supported aggressive, coordinated offensives against insurgencies, banditry, and kidnapping rings, steadily restoring civilian authority in liberated communities.
At the same time, institutions like the EFCC have been empowered to clean up the financial architecture, eliminating illicit financial flows, while Nigeria’s position in international financial governance continues to reap profound dividends.
Debunk the empty insinuations of escape and fear
Osuji’s dismissive remarks regarding President Tinubu’s working holidays – peddling the stale and hackneyed narrative that the president is “on the run” or “incommunicado” – reveal a profound misunderstanding of modern governance and basic executive planning.
A national leader is not physically tied to a chair in Abuja to demonstrate his competence. In an interconnected global economy, statecraft requires strategic international engagements, economic diplomacy, and moments of tactical reflection far from the suffocating pressure cooker of domestic political sycophancy.
The desperate attempt to turn a temporary holiday into a sign of weakness is a classic hallmark of opposition panic. While opposition figures run from pillar to post launching ad hominem missiles and recycling empty populist slogans, the Tinubu administration continues to execute its mandate, commission historic infrastructure and consolidate macroeconomic gains.
Conclusion: the substance will be Trump’s demagogy in 2027
Steve Osuji and his ilk can continue to concoct elegies for failed political projections, manufacturing outrage to please partisan financiers. They can dress up electoral lightweights as messiahs and downplay the historic, painful, but ultimately essential landmark surgery performed by President Tinubu.
However, the Nigerian electorate is increasingly discerning. Governance is not a battle won with moral attitudes and economic illiteracy; it’s about making difficult, consequential decisions that secure a nation’s future.
President Tinubu’s administration has faced Nigeria’s structural demons head-on. As the fruits of these courageous reforms continue to ripen and manifest themselves in macro-fiscal stability, infrastructure building and institutional renewal, the empty assumptions of partisan polemicists like Steve Osuji will be swept away by the unyielding verdict of progress. Forget your espresso. Smell the coffee.
Dare (PhD) is Special Advisor to the President on Media and Public Communications
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