There is only one effective way to keep the ruiners of our democracy and the looters of our national treasury far from the corridors of power: we must insist, firmly and consistently, that anyone seeking public office present clear, credible, and convincing plans for governance. These plans must be demonstrable, coherent, and leave no ambiguity about what they intend to do differently at every twist and turn of leadership.

 

We cannot continue clinging to the lazy assumption that those who once “built” Lagos or Anambra will automatically build Nigeria. Our hope, and even the so-called renewed hope, must never rest on fanatical loyalty but on concrete, measurable ideas that can make Nigeria work for everyone.

As I repeatedly warned a year before the 2023 election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a political actor who pretends to understand a problem he does not truly grasp will only deepen that problem. The tragedy of our nation is not a shortage of politicians, but a shortage of leaders who understand governance and the sacrifices it demands.

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To break this cycle, we must demand nothing less than clear, actionable, and realistic plans from all who aspire to lead. That is the only way to prevent those who are incompetent in governance, yet highly competent in looting, from hijacking our collective future.

-Francis Onyema, 2027 presidential aspirant