While They All Obsess Over 2027, Nigerians Bury Their Dead

If you are a foreigner who pays loose attention to Nigeria’s politics, you’ll likely assume that the next presidential election is just three months away.

Each way you turn, news of politics — defections, coalition rumors, and sole candidate endorsements — follows you like a plague, punctuated by the real plagues — bandit attacks, kidnappings, and killings. But those, since they’ve become our way of life, no longer pique our interest.

Hence, what is being fanned across legacy media and social media is the politicking surrounding who’ll win the 2027 presidential election.

On Thursday, May 22, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in what is not shocking, endorsed President Bola Tinubu as the party’s sole candidate to continue his ‘good works to the people of Nigeria.’

Away from that news, you’re certain to see talk of coalitions — the ongoing discussions between Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, Peter Obi, the flag bearer for the Labour Party, and El-Rufai, who, after he failed to clinch a ministerial position under Tinubu, is seemingly seeking revenge.

But the election is still a year and eight months away, and within these two years that Tinubu has presided over the affairs of the nation, Nigerians are yet to feel any sense of progress — or, in APC’s slogan, “renewed hope” — yet they are being harried with campaigns.

Earlier this week, BudgIT, a civic anti-corruption group, uncovered that over 11,000 projects, worth nearly N7 trillion, were illegally padded into the 2025 budget. But that outrageous discovery of impunity — which in politically aware countries could spark a revolution — was drowned out by rumors that Peter Obi met Tinubu in Rome during the inaugural ceremony of Pope Leo XIV. That distraction was enough to turn many Nigerians away from the real issue: their treasury is being looted by those elected to preserve and build it.

Since this year, nearly 5,000 Nigerians have lost their lives due to insecurity. This means that each day, at least 35 people are killed as a result of violence. As such gruesome news becomes commonplace in our society, citizens are kept busy with the political tussle between Nyesom Wike and Sim Fubara, the suspended Governor of Rivers State. In fact, legacy media gathers their cameras and seasoned journalists to hold a media conference with Wike as he speaks — in his raspy voice — about his own side of the story, and why “Fubara, his godson, lacks the capacity to solve the Rivers State crisis.”

To make the conversation interesting, the journalists will punch in a vital topic: “Who are you going to support in 2027?”

As they perfect the best viral headline — “I can’t work against my employer – Wike” — another 35 Nigerian lives are cut short.

For me, it’s a cycle we’ve not been in before — not in this manner. The obsession with politics over governance.

Before our very eyes, the NBS rebased how they calculate inflation. It fell to 23.71 percent. There was no whimper. A technical error caused our young child to fail their JAMB examination. Nobody has been sacked.

There’s nothing that shows me that either the ruling or the opposition party cares. The political parties hell-bent on coalition are likely to produce Atiku Abubakar as a contender against Tinubu, with Peter Obi as his vice. The question is not only what force would defeat Tinubu at the polls, but whether the coalition is just another vehicle to remove a sitting president while the fundamental problems of insecurity, poverty, and corruption remain.

The ruling party is drunk with the idea of remaining in power. The opposition appears fixated on gaining power.

In all, it’s likely a net loss for the ordinary Nigerian, no matter where the pendulum swings.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Neusroom.