Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the organ responsible for organizing and administering general elections in the country has declared the doors of electoral campaigns for the forthcoming 2027 general elections open.
Nigerian streets and airwaves will be agog in the next six months or thereabouts because of the electoral campaigns. The political parties, campaign teams and candidates will be moving from one part of the country to the other in the process of convincing voters to vote their candidates and parties. Interesting political times ahead in Nigeria, you may say!
Already posters, branded vehicles, t-shirts, billboards and other materials are being erected across major city centres and villages vividly announcing political contestants for the Presidency, Governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and for the State House of Assembly positions.
INEC and the Security Agencies need to collaborate and ensure the electoral rules meant for the elections are adhered to by all parties and candidates. This is to promote peaceful, free, fair, credible and transparent general elections.
About two weeks ago, some presidential candidates and the leadership of all the major political parties gathered in Abuja to sign a peace agreement during campaigns and after the elections.
Though, during the signing ceremony, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential hopeful for the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and Gov. Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples’ Movement, APM were conspicuously absent. Their absence at the peace parley has raised fundamental questions concerning their commitment to peace and acceptance of the outcome of the 2027 election results.
The absence of these major political contenders threw up questions concerning their commitment to a peaceful 2027 general elections.
As it is customary in Nigeria, the Presidential election is the highest and most important of all the elections. This particular election attracts the interest of all Nigerians, party faithful, voters and non-voters alike, and the international community.
INEC, which is the only lawfully recognized body with the sole aim for organizing elections in the country should ensure compliance of electoral rules by all candidates irrespective of their social, political or economic class in the society. INEC should demand that every candidate must submit to the electoral rules governing the election.
27 years of uninterrupted democratic governance in the country is enough to build advanced and decent electoral culture in our political system. Nigeria has attained a height that, the rest of Africa should be emulating.
The electoral body and security agencies should find a means of assuring that the campaigns are RESTRICTED to issues .This standard must not be compromised. Nigerians are sick and tired of abuses, accusations and counter accusations.
Political actors must realize that Nigeria has gone above sharing of branded wrappers, caps, t-shirts, rice, indomie, bread and other non sustainable items during campaign season.
The candidates and parties cannot keep hiring musicians, comedians, nollywood actors/actresses, band boys and dancers to thrill the people in the name of campaigns while the real issues are pushed behind. This is highly primitive and complete bunkum.
The political contenders and parties should involve the citizens on what and how they intend to govern the country in the next four years if they eventually win the election. The country’s economy is battered and in tatters. So, how do these men and women angling to become Nigeria’s President think they can lead the country out of the woods?
Former Vice President and ADC’s Presidential candidate for the 2027 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should be congratulated on opening the debate on issue-based campaigns. He had declared publicly that, he will return the petroleum subsidy if voted into power. This is how all the Presidential candidates should engage Nigerians and not abuses or turni the political arena into a theatre of comedies.
Let’s now have Candidate Tinubu who removed the subsidy provide defence for the removal and leave the rest of the voters to make their choice.
The various spokespersons for the parties and candidates should emulate the ADC’s Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi’s style. He defended and presented clear explanations on how his principal intends to drive the promise to bring back the subsidy. He provided explanations on why and how his candidate intends to re-introduce the subsidy. No abuses, no deceit or drama. It is now left for the voters to make up their minds.
But the Director-General of the APC campaign team, Senator Yari arrogantly diverted attentions with no clear points defending his principal’s removal of the petroleum subsidy. This is certainly not the kind of campaigns Nigerians want to listen to. The campaign spokespersons should be articulate, focused, non- ambiguous and present clear views why their Presidential candidates will maintain the subsidy removal or re-introduce it.
Again, Mr. Peter Obi should stop playing the religious card and move into the specifics, there’s no time. He must approach the fundamental socio-economic issues that agigate the minds of the Nigerian masses. Attending Church programs and turning the House of God into a political campaign ground is not too healthy for Nigeria’s unity, religious tolerance and progress. We must desist from turning the House of God into a campaign ground.
Nigerians are interested in hearing how and what these candidates will do to resurrect the already collapsed economy that has become tough on the people in the last three years.
Nigerians are concerned about how the men who want to run the states will bring in development. They want to know how the lawmakers will improve from rubber stamp to checkmate the excesses of the president and governors.
The state of the Nigerian economy is worrisome and it has reduced the people to street beggars and borrowers. Nigerians need a President and executive with prepared formular to tackle the socio-economic mess Nigeria is in. The country requires a team that would work tenaciously to redeem the country from the economic quagmire we have fallen into.
Nigerians are sick and tired of rhetorics, we urgently require leader willing to emancipate the country from the current socio-economic bondage we are presently in.
The Nigeria electorate, on the other hand, should think Nigeria first. The country needs redemption from its present state. We cannot live a worthy life in Nigeria when we deliberately pull our progress backwards while playing the usual gullible, religious and tribal politics.
Nigerian voters must look out for the men and women interested in making laws and administering to advance the quality of lives of the people and progress of the country.
There is a myriad of socio-economic challenges facing the country. For instance, Nigeria is now described as a killing field because communities are invaded, citizens slaughtered like rams for Sallah, homes destroyed and set ablaze.
A whole community, bus load of travellers, farmers are kidnapped and held in the thick bushes until ransoms are paid for their release while some are killed or die in the hands of their captives.
The issue of insecurity in Nigeria is at an alarming rate. Nigeria is one of the worst places to live in. The presidential candidates should tell citizens of Nigeria how they intend to fix the country’s disorganized security. This is very crucial.
The failed power sector is another issue that needs serious attention. Many communities in Nigeria are in perpetual darkness. The people are paying very high tariffs yet, there’s no steady power supply anywhere. The country’s seat of power relies on generator for constant electricity. Now, we hear the Villa has planted solar systems of their own.
However, we thank the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for granting the states powers to control electricity generation and distribution in their states. So, state governorship candidates need to convince the electorate how they intend to eliminate darkness in their various states when elected into power. These are the real issues.
Our roads are in a state of disrepair. Not long ago, former Edo state governor, now a senator of the federal republic, Adams Oshiomhole, lamented on the terrible condition of the federal roads in Edo state. The popular Lagos – Ore – Benin – Agbor road remains impassable. Thank God, Mr. President has ordered for emergency rehabilitations of the roads along that corridor.
The Benin – Ekpoma – Auchi road, the Umuahia – Ikot-Ekpene road, and many others round the country are in terrible shape. All these should attract a debate from the Presidential candidates on how they intend to fix our roads in the next four years.
The Nigerian educational system is on a sorry state. This is bad and will affect the future. Nigeria is no longer haven for foreign students and teachers. No quality researches are conducted in the higher institutions anymore. And, this is not helpful to the advancement of education. These presidential gladiators should tell Nigerians what and how they intend to bring back the glory days of our educational standard.
Our health institutions are not a guarantee for citizens who are sick. We live in a country where majority of citizens who are sick appeal to God’s Grace for their recovery. Most of our politicians and economic giants travel overseas for medical treatment.
This electoral four years rituals gulp billions of tax payers money without adequate measurable gains. It is time to quit from this trajectory and, the electoral body must help in that regard. Nigeria cannot have a progressive country when emphasis is not placed on how the managers of the state system are produced.
Good governance and result oriented leadership don’t fall from the skies. Nigerian voters must entrust leadership to those who truly understand how to govern. The country needs people with clear and workable solution to our problems. It is time for the people to make great sacrifices to get a responsible leadership.
