₦airaland Forum

Nigerian Politics of 2027: The Current Situation, The Political Coalition, and My Concerns

By Omoluabi Adeleke Azeez Olalekan

For every political observer in Nigeria, the 2027 national elections have already begun, with the political landscape expected to fully take shape from 2026.

For active partisan politicians, the political chessboard is set; the sound of alliances is loud, and interests are being fiercely defended.

As for the Nigerian masses, the two possible choices, influenced by numerous factors, are either change or continuity.

Recently, the announcement of a major opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to challenge the incumbent government has caused significant political shifts in the country.

Many believe that with political heavyweights like former presidential candidates Mr. Peter Obi (Labour Party) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (People’s Democratic Party) leading the charge from the South-East and North-East, respectively, and joining forces with other prominent politicians from the North and South—including the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-rufai (North-West), former Governor of Rivers State and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi (South-South), former Governor of Osun State and former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (South-West), and former Senate President, Senator David Mark (North-central), among many other political figures—a significant challenge awaits President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.

A multi-party system is a key element that drives good governance in any democratic system. In the permutations of both the ruling party and the opposition lies the greatest task of lobbying the Nigerian voters in their favor in 2027, creating a comparative analysis of the past and present from different perspectives for Nigerians to consider.

But beyond that political maneuvering is my concern, which rests on the deep thoughts and understanding of the redirection, restructuring, and reformation of the Nigerian economy.

In the last two years, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken several steps to reposition the country's economy. Key reforms include the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of exchange rates, creating a market-reflective and stable currency environment and laying the groundwork for sustainable development.

These reforms, despite efforts by the Federal Government to mitigate their effects, have led to hardship for many Nigerians, especially the poor.

A high cost of living, unemployment, a drastic increase in the prices of basic commodities, and a decline in literacy levels, among other issues, have followed these reforms, while the economy adjusts to a new global outlook. In the face of these painful but necessary reforms, the masses are struggling while the economy is slowly improving. It's a difficult situation.

The ruling party faces the challenge of gaining the support of Nigerians who are experiencing multidimensional poverty due to the tough but necessary reforms. Meanwhile, the opposition parties and stakeholders, regrouping into a single coalition, are expected to capitalize on this.

My primary concern revolves around the long-term economic vision, which I believe I share with many Nigerians.

Apparently, the aftermaths of these reforms are what metamorphosed into these hardships Nigerians are facing caused by inflationary pressures on basic household needs, expected to be short-lived.

But if the opposition were to win the 2027 general elections, would they reverse these critical reforms? Would they:
* Bring back fuel subsidies?
* Relax tax reforms?
* Intervene in the value of the naira against foreign currencies?

As we approach the 2027 election cycle, it’s crucial that Nigerian voters ask clear questions about the leadership and governance blueprints of politicians, especially opposition leaders.

As we head toward the 2027 general elections, we must subject ourselves to collective consciousness and not be swayed by sentiments, religious bigotry, tribalism, or any other narrow political interests that go against national progressive ideologies.

We must ask all parties involved for their feasible solutions to improve the well-being of all Nigerians, allowing us to make informed decisions on whether to support the current administration's continuity or advocate for a change in government.


Omoluabi Adeleke Azeez Olalekan

Nigerian Writer, Youths Development and Policy Strategist, Quality and Inclusive Education Advocate, Project Execution Expert

The Imperative Response to Letting Nigerians Breathe in the Face of Ineluctable Economy and Political Reforms: A Message to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

In some of my past written articles, I have always maintained that to save Nigeria from total economy collapse, there is need for strategic total policy reforms. I hinted further that, it has to be done at once with a strong political will as it had happened in many developed countries.

Coincidentally and perhaps fortunately, the recent policy reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are towing towards my stated civil submissions but what is strangely missing is the supposed organized humanity response to cushion the inevitable effects on already suffocated Nigerian masses. We cannot plan to save a country and lackadaisically suffocate the people, at best, we must rescue the two entities from whatever collapse.

These are multidimensional issues and a multifaceted approach that takes into cognizance all perspectives and interests must be employed. Every important element such as Federal Government, State Governments, Local Governments, Federal and State Lawmakers, Notable individuals, NGOs, among others must be actively carried along in the rescue mission.

Businesses, households and individuals are under inflationary pressures due to the compounded economy reforms. Hardship has multiplied as cost of living has risen significantly. This is in addition to the already ill-favoured economy situation of the country before President Bola Tinubu took over.

Businesses are finding it very difficult to keep up with operations as consumers are cutting down expenses on especially non-essential products and services which has resulted in drastic drop in sales and profit margin despite increased running cost. If this continues, there maybe inescapable changes in business structure such as staff lay-off, many small businesses which are in large number and contribute largely to the Nigerian economy may pack-up. This will further impoverish the country and the people, high increased in unemployment and social vices.

Employees, especially low salary earners are finding it difficult to live as their salaries and wages have been devalued. Families are living in pains, even with their firm belief in the policy reforms. The roads are free, the streets are empty, the markets are silent and people are not obviously happy. These are red alerts and the government must be very sensitive to the needs of the people at this critical time; saving the people and the country at the same time.

Nigerians are giving up their lifestyle and comfort at this time, the government and critical stakeholders must be humane enough to play their parts to save humanity. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led Federal Government should advise and compel the state governments, lawmakers, local government chairmen and private entities to engage in the following recommended activities to cushion the effects of the policy reforms on the common masses:

Provision of Food Palliative: Foods should be given to households across the country. A significant amount of money can be coughed into this project by state or federal lawmakers within their constituencies. Subsidy removal on fuel has made prices of basic needs of individuals as foods to be very expensive. There is no big project to be handled by any representative at this time than stomach infrastructure. Food items should be shared to old people, different households, people with disabilities, unemployed by lawmakers and Local Government chairmen.

Transportation Plan: One of the basic needs of a common man is movement from one place to another. The cost of transportation is becoming very unbearable for the common man. People now spend more than half of their wages and salaries on transportation. This can be highly frustrating. Federal Government, State government, Local Government and lawmakers in their various capacities should meet with key players in the transportation sector and liaise on how to subsidize cost of transportation for the masses for a particular period of time. Mass transits buses can be employed where government or lawmakers pay some amount of money that can last for 7am-9am and 4pm-7pm across the country for a particular period of time. This will massively relieve the masses the cost of transportation.

Support to Small Business Owners: It’s no gain saying that those in businesses especially non-essential products and services are severely affected as sales rate has dropped drastically because of the low purchasing power index of the consumers. Grants should be arranged to support such business owners to cushion the inevitable high cost of production and logistics that must have surfaced due to the policy reforms to keep them in business.

Tax Incentives: Federal and State Governments should tinker how to provide tax relief to corporate entities at least for the next six months or so. Temporary reduction in or outright removal of income tax for low income earners, reduction in value added tax rate to reduce prices of goods in the market and other reliefs possible with taxations

Partnerships with Charity Organizations: There are hundreds of NGOs in the country that government at all levels can partner with to help the less privileged at this difficult time. Give them recognitions, state honors, provide them with adequate security infrastructure and all that is necessary for them to connect with the people and render adequate support to them. Cash gifts, food, health care support, school items for school pupils, and the likes can be provided by these NGOs


The truth is, change comes with pain and we must save the future together. All hands must be on deck and all state players and private entities must response to humanity needs at this time.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must, as a matter of urgency, as all eyes are on him, compel and mandate all Federal Executives, State Governments, Senators, Members of House of Reps, State Lawmakers, LGAs Chairmen and private individuals to think outside the box to save the country and the people at the same time by actively and significantly responding to national issues in a way that will visibly and satisfactorily reflect on the lives of the common masses. The renewed hope that many advocated for must not be shattered at this time as the people are silent in economic agony

Adeleke Azeez Olalekan
Writer, Youths Development and Policy Strategist, Entrepreneur and Educationist
adelekeolalekan2000@yahoo.com

THE LOSS OF NIGERIAN CULTURE AND VALUES: MURDEROUS UNGUIDED EXPOSURE TO WESTERN CIVILIZATION

By Adeleke Azeez Olalekan

In the face of a vilely lot happening within the camps of our teeming Nigerian youths and disgustingly those whose age brackets are not factored into the youthful standards, I have found it, as a matter of weighty importance to use my ever patriotic pen to put up this piece of qualitative texts on this matter of national concern.

To rationalize my assertion on this matter, I objectively sampled about fifty (50) Nigerians who are youths and adolescents and asked them few questions:
Do you like Nigerian movies? Do you like Nigerian traditional attires? Can you communicate well in your native language? Do you know any Nigerian proverb? Do you prefer traditional foods to foreign foods? What can you say about your tribe?

As envisioned, about 70% of the responses were NO while only traditional foods attracted about 60% positive responses and about 90% of the respondents could not say a significant thing about their tribes.

Undoubtedly, there are many acts as perpetrated by our youths and adolescents that are alien to our cultural values and norms

Many questions are begging for answers: Why should a young girl dress in an uncultured way and still see nothing wrong with it? Why should a young child or Nigerian youth takes hard drugs? Why should the boy child rapes the girl child? Why should some young people be publicly parading themselves as gays or lesbians? Why should young Nigerians do crime? Why should they not be so concerned about the narrative of their society? Why so rude to elders? Why fornicating even at tender age? Why not care about the image of their country? So many other disturbing questions begging for unfeigned answers.

Of course, many factors could be responsible for all these; Failed system of government, unemployment, compromised religious activities, poverty, bad parenting and peer pressure.

We seem to have traded the activities and lessons peculiar to our societal context to western beliefs and norms. In our own way, we are moving with the trends of civilization while leaving our rich cultural values, beliefs and norms behind. The unchecked and unguided exposure to western civilization by the parents, community stakeholders, government players and other more knowledgeable agents in the society has birthed a lot of problems in the society as evident in the crime, rape, untimely deaths as a result of consumption of hard drugs, prostitution, cultism and other vices cases in the country.

Without mixing words or twisting the context of this write up, unquestionably, exposure to western civilization has developed the country and her people in a wide range. But it is high time the exposure is guided and integrated with the Nigerian culture and values to perfectly suit the social context rather than neglecting the Nigerian culture for it. Moving with the trends of western civilization should not be done at the expense of the country’s traditional values and norms across all tribes, otherwise, bigger problems loom.

Loss of traditional cultural values and norms is a missing link that is breeding moral decadence in the society. There is an urgent need to reactivate Nigerian norms and cultural values as part of the panaceas to feasibly fighting the menace in the society.

In the words of Omofehinse (2001), values can be material, spiritual, moral, aesthetic, communal or individualistic. He went further to state that values are standards which members of the community adhere to in their personal and communal interaction towards the achievement of the societal goals.

Core understanding of ones traditional values, norms and beliefs is fundamental to the type of behavior one exhibit as well as the type of lifestyle displayed by the individual which is reflected on the societal growth, status and economic development.

It is imperative that the Nigerian youths at large are made to understand, appreciate and promote their vast cultural values and norms to curb the outgrowing vices parading the country as a whole.

They should be fundamentally integrated into the society standards through the guided exposure to traditional cultural values, norms and beliefs for satisfactory and sustainable country for all.

Strengthening the promotion and guided exposure of Nigerian values and norms among the youths as a panacea to curbing the societal menace in the country, the following recommendations are put forward:

1) Education stakeholders as well as the government should factor “Nigerian Traditional Cultural Values and Norms” as a subject to be taught in the curriculum and made compulsory as a core requirement for gaining admission into tertiary institutions;

2) Parents should guide their wards towards exposure to western civilization

3) Exposure and the use of social media especially by young individuals should be guided by appropriate authorities as well as other more knowledgeable agents of the society

4) Regular Orientation Programmes on National matters and societal values should be organized for teens as they grow

5) Parents and guidance should encourage and engage in activities that promote respect, loyalty, good behaviors, tolerance and other core values at home including traditional language development.

To stop the fast rising societal vices in the country such as rape, abuse of drugs, kidnapping, crimes, lackadaisical attitude towards ones heritage and society, reactivating, promoting and strengthening the traditional values and norms over western beliefs is one of the, including other critical tools that demand ultimate attention by all concerned elements in the country.


Adeleke Azeez Olalekan,
Nigerian Writer and Youths Development Strategist.
adelekeolalekan2000@yahoo.com

HOW INDEPENDENT IS NIGERIA AT 60?

Firstly, being a proud Nigerian, I would love to join millions of Nigerians all over the world in celebration of the country's Independence day. Being an ethno-religious country compounded with multiethnicities and languages, Nigeria is not only blessed with natural resources but human assets, a situation that has attracted many foreign countries to the great African entity.

Nigeria gained the freedom to control her affairs by her indigenous people independently about 60 years ago. An event which left many people hoping for a greater country and development. Alas! Nigeria, being old at 60, is not only yet to experience real development but as well as going backwards while some of her counterparts are rapidly developing.

At 60, Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world. At 60, Nigeria is one of the most terrorised countries in the world. At 60, Nigeria is a classic example of backwardness, tyranny, insecurity, disunity, impunity, segregation, mismanagement of resources, corruption, nepotism, unemployment, high rate of crimes, cluelessness, confusion, and other uncalled names Nigeria has been able to achieve to herself in the last 60 years.

As a nation, those that fought for our independence probably did because they thought, an independent nation would provide us the power and opportunity to paddle the affairs of the nation in relation to catering and meeting our indigenous people's needs without the compromised influence of an external body. With the obvious sardonic and ill-mannered situations parading the country, should we conclude that the efforts of our heroes past are already in vain?

Let's ponder about this, how truly independent is Nigeria and Nigerians? A country, despite being bestowed with numerous resources still travels abroad for medical treatment. Nigerian leaders fails to develop and invest in the medical sector of the country and thereby spends a lot of money to get attended to medically in other developed countries, thereby, indirectly expanding their revenue.

What about the low value we place on our Education sector to other foreign countries' own? And our cultural values and norms we have abandoned almost totally for the western tradition. Our ancient tourist centers we have neglected and underated therefore adopting the ones cherished and well packaged by our neighbouring countries.

Our so much dependence on foreign countries is evident in the areas of importation of some goods we should have ordinarily provided enabling environment and comfortable means of local production of such goods in our dear country. Our irritating reliance on foreign countries could also be traced to the foreign significant intervention in the areas of infrastructural development in the country, electoral process, crude oil refinery, excess borrowed loans, among many others.

Nigeria and her people not only suffers from the above sub-mentioned catastrophic happenings but as well been agonized by the level of insecurity in the country. This state of distress has made many Nigerians concluded to find their ways out of Nigeria once they have the financial means to do so.

It is high time we began to restore the long lost title of our dear nation and as a people. We can't be practically dependent on the foreign countries as an independent nation. As Nigerian youths and the people at large, our democratic laws have empowered us to take decisions independently without necessarily a recourse to an external body. But we are still much yet to be liberated from the shackles of the shenanigans wrapped around the country as a result of bad leadership.

As democratically empowered independent youths and Nigerian people, it is expected of us to take reasonable political decisions that will eventually result to a productive and a working leadership at all levels of government.

An independent 60 year old nation blessed with numerous resources as Nigeria, should ordinarily ought to have been developed to a state where powerful countries would accord maximum respect to the country and her people but the reverse is the case. Arise O'compatriots, it is high time we toe the path of true independence by ensuring we elect good and trusted leadership to, with sincerity and visionary mindset tossed on nation building, paddle the affairs of the nation and therefore resulting to massive development at all angles of the nation.


Adeleke Azeez Olalekan,
Nigerian Writer and Youths Development Strategist.
adelekeolalekan2000@yahoo.com

OPPORTUNITY!!!

Good Day Nigerians,

It is no longer a news that one seriously needs a lucrative skill to thrive in this emerging world.

The type of skill or business to operate in relations to inevitable factors should be the right concern.

A business that is feasible, sustainable, highly profitable, easy to operate, flexible and less competitive is much guided to venture into than others.

With absolute facts, Cocktail Business is one highly lucrative enterprise embedded with all the aforementioned factors with less competition in the market space.

As against the high training fee, this physical/offline training provides you an opportunity to learn how to make more than 40+ cocktails/mocktails, cocktail business tips, cocktail manual, as well as getting Free Basic Bar Tools. With 3 seasoned facilitators and 3 renowned guest speakers.

The first 10 people to register would also be opportuned to have their business names registered for free.

Make use of this opportunity while it lasts. Further enquires at flier

OPPORTUNITY!!!

Good Day Nigerians,

It is no longer a news that one seriously needs a lucrative skill to thrive in this emerging world.

The type of skill or business to operate in relations to inevitable factors should be the right concern.

A business that is feasible, sustainable, highly profitable, easy to operate, flexible and less competitive is much guided to venture into than others.

With absolute facts, Cocktail Business is one highly lucrative enterprise embedded with all the aforementioned factors with less competition in the market space.

As against the high training fee, this physical/offline training provides you an opportunity to learn how to make more than 40+ cocktails/mocktails, cocktail business tips, cocktail manual, as well as getting Free Basic Bar Tools. With 3 seasoned facilitators and 3 renowned guest speakers.

The first 10 people to register would also be opportuned to have their business names registered for free.

Make use of this opportunity while it lasts. Further enquires at flier

OPPORTUNITY!!!

Good Day Nigerians,

It is no longer a news that one seriously needs a lucrative skill to thrive in this emerging world.

The type of skill or business to operate in relations to inevitable factors should be the right concern.

A business that is feasible, sustainable, highly profitable, easy to operate, flexible and less competitive is much guided to venture into than others.

With absolute facts, Cocktail Business is one highly lucrative enterprise embedded with all the aforementioned factors with less competition in the market space.

As against the high training fee, this physical/offline training provides you an opportunity to learn how to make more than 40+ cocktails/mocktails, cocktail business tips, cocktail manual, as well as getting Free Basic Bar Tools. With 3 seasoned facilitators and 3 renowned guest speakers.

The first 10 people to register would also be opportuned to have their business names registered for free.

Make use of this opportunity while it lasts. Further enquires at flier