S.O.S ALIEME

The official campaigns for the 2027 elections will soon kick off nationwide; even now things are already buzzing. Take a minute and ponder on these hard facts! Politicians have a way of buying your conscience with gifts.  Let me tell you that No face cap can cover your hunger for 4 years. No T-Shirt can protect you from insecurity for 4 years. 5kg rice cannot help your belly for 4 years. 1 litre of groundnut oil cannot sustain your kitchen for 4 years. 4 yards of Ankara cannot cover poverty for 4 years. If someone offers you 10k for campaign or voting, ask yourself this question. How much do they give to their children as pocket money per month? Remember, your 10k is for 4 years, and it is once and for all. Think about your value, think about your voice, think about your future. You are also human, you must not die on the crumbs table!!! Politicians are not more Nigerian than you are.  The power is in your hands. If the best candidate does not have the chance to win, waste your vote on him without a second thought. It is better to live a fulfilled life, than voting for your own problems. It is the best thing to do. You have a chance to speak in the future. Remember you are not suffering as a Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Igala, Tiv or Jukun, but as a Nigerian. Reject all ethnical cards that are unfavourable to your future. They will visit you during campaign, but you will never see them again until the next campaign. Work for an accountable candidate. Election is local, but politics is international. The outcome of election will not only affect you, it affects all Nigerians irrespective of where they are. Think about the character and integrity of your candidate. Don't submit yourself as campaign thug, the children of politicians are enjoying winter abroad. They don't go out with knife, gun, or charms. Their lives are very important to their parents.

Our politicians are at it again. They are in their element, doing what they know how to do best, politicking without any thought for good governance. It is about capturing power, not proving their worth or earning the trust of the electorate. Though the next general elections are still some distance away, Nigeria’s political landscape is already buzzing with familiar signals such as strategic defections, subtle declarations of interest, and an explosion of campaign posters in places where governance should be the priority. Billboards are springing up in strategic locations, including across major highways.

It is a season that seems to come earlier with each cycle, as politicians abandon the business of today for the ambitions of tomorrow. Yet beneath this growing noise lies a troubling pattern: a political culture driven less by service and more by the relentless pursuit of power, where promises are made with little intention of fulfilment, and the electorate is once again drawn into a well-rehearsed cycle of hope and disappointment. It is yet to be understood whether elections in Nigeria are about service or simply the recycling of power.

It is common in this part of the world for politicians to declare or signal interest in offices years ahead of elections. In such situations, expectedly, governance suffers as officeholders focus on their next positions rather than their current responsibilities. Some ministers and senators abandon their current jobs and begin to eye governorship seats in their states. Second-term governors are also angling for Senate positions. Nigeria is trapped in a cycle of ambition without performance review.

The unfortunate aspect is that most of these aspirants do not lose sleep because of the electorate. For them, they do not need much campaigning. What they target are endorsements from those who matter. For those who manage to campaign, it is a ritual of empty promises. Campaign promises have become predictable scripts: jobs, security, infrastructure, and anti-corruption. Since there are little or no efforts to track or measure past promises, voters are repeatedly sold hope without consequence. The imposition of candidates leaves the electorate with fait accompli—democracy without choice. Party primaries are often stage-managed, with “consensus candidates” imposed by godfathers. Delegates are compromised through inducement. This common situation often results in credible aspirants being side-lined, and voters left with limited or weak options. In the end, the real election is often decided before the general election.

When unpopular candidates are imposed on voters, those who impose and those who are imposed are often left with no other option than to engage in electoral malpractices if they must win. That is why vote-buying remains widespread—now more sophisticated. It is also responsible for the manipulation of results at collation levels, as well as the flagrant abuse of incumbency powers to make a point. Technology has helped, but loopholes persist.

Elections can never be free if security is not seen as neutral. While blaming politicians, the electoral body, and security agencies, the voters, too, are not saints. The challenge is whether to describe them as complicit, helpless, or both. There cannot be vote-buying without willing sellers. Vote-selling is largely driven by poverty and distrust in the system. There is also growing apathy among youths despite their large population. The paradox is that citizens criticise leadership, yet electoral participation remains weak or compromised.

The cost of this dysfunctional cycle is huge. It leads to weak leadership outcomes, poor governance and policy inconsistency, and erosion of public trust in democracy. In the long run, democracy becomes procedural, not meaningful. For voters, it is their civic responsibility to reject vote-buying. They should also demand issue-based campaigns, away from the practice where musicians engage in praise-singing while candidates dance around the podium waving party flags without making any commitment in terms of a manifesto. The media should also be alive to its role of tracking promises and holding politicians accountable beyond election cycles. Until ambition is anchored on accountability and elections become a true reflection of the people’s will, the country risks remaining trapped in a cycle where power changes hands, but progress remains elusive.

Be wise! Be thoughtful!! Be focused!!!

God bless Nigeria!!!