From Independence and Military Rule to 27 Years of the Fourth Republic, When Will Nigerians Finally Choose Competence Over Political Patronage?
An Oblong Media Global Intelligence Commentary
By Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi-Oforgu.
Nigeria’s fundamental problem is no longer difficult to diagnose.
We have spent 66 years since independence moving from one enormous promise to another, yet the basic expectations of nationhood remain painfully unfulfilled.
The military damaged our democratic institutions, centralised the federation and entrenched a political economy increasingly dependent on sharing centrally collected revenues rather than creating productive wealth.
But military rule ended in 1999.
Twenty seven years later, civilian politicians can no longer hide behind that rhethoric and blame soldiers for everything wrong with Nigeria.
They have had more than a quarter of a century to repair the country.
Instead, too much of the political system they inherited has been preserved, expanded and perfected for political survival.
FROM INDEPENDENCE TO THE FOURTH REPUBLIC
The early post independence regions were far from perfect, but there was at least visible competition around development.
Regions built schools, industries, agricultural enterprises and infrastructure.
Then came coups, civil war and decades of military rule.
Nigeria moved from four regions to 12 states, then 19, 21, 30 and eventually 36 states.
Power and resources became increasingly concentrated at the centre.
The Second Republic collapsed.
Military government returned.
By 1999, Nigeria desperately needed democratic renewal.
The Fourth Republic promised exactly that.
Presidents have come and gone.
Governors have come and gone.
Thousands of senators, representatives, assembly members, ministers, commissioners, chairmen and political appointees have occupied public office.
Yet Nigeria still confronts mass poverty, unemployment and underemployment, insecurity, inadequate electricity, deteriorating public education, weak healthcare, infrastructure deficits and extraordinary inequality.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 133 million Nigerians were multidimensionally poor in 2022.
UNICEF continues to document millions of Nigerian children outside school and enormous pressures on basic education and healthcare.
Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index gave Nigeria just 26 points out of 100.
These are not statistics from a country that can afford another generation of political experimentation.
WE HAVE CREATED A POLITICAL CLASS INSTEAD OF A DEVELOPMENTAL STATE
Look around Nigeria.
Politics has become one of the country’s most attractive routes to wealth, influence and social elevation.
Make someone a governor and, too often, the suddenly become enormous wealthy in billions.
A senator becomes one of the most powerful individuals in his community.
A House of Representatives member acquires political and financial influence unimaginable before entering office.
State legislators become political power brokers.
Local government chairmanship becomes something political godfathers fight desperately to control.
Of course, wealth alone proves no wrongdoing. Some politicians legitimately own businesses, investments or inherited assets.
But Nigerians have every right to question unexplained enrichment by public officials.
How does someone enter politics with very little or nothing and emerge extraordinarily stupendously wealthy after occupying public office?
Public office should not be Nigeria’s most lucrative industry.
The success of a governor should be visible in his states economic outlook, the states cities and inner city roads, not merely in his personal circumstances and political machinery.
The success of a senator should be visible in his attraction of democracy dividends, representation, legislation and oversight.
The success of a representative should be visible in advocacy and measurable constituency outcomes.
And the success of a local government chairman should be visible in the communities he administers.
Nigeria should be producing prosperous citizens through government.
Instead, government too frequently appears exceptionally successful at producing prosperous politicians.
FEDERAL FAILURE, STATE FAILURE AND LOCAL FAILURE
The problem exists at every level.
At the federal level, enormous political energy is consumed by elections, coalitions, appointments, defections and calculations about the next contest.
At state level, governors can become almost imperial political figures controlling party structures, appointments, contracts and succession politics.
At local government level, the tier of government closest to the people has been weakened by decades of political interference and poor accountability.
Nigeria has 774 local government areas.
What exactly are citizens receiving from them?
The Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment strengthening local government financial autonomy was historic, yet implementation has remained problematic.
Meanwhile, trillions of naira continue flowing through the local government system.
Every Nigerian should therefore begin asking three questions:
How much did my government receive?
What did it spend?
What did we get?
Those questions should be asked in Abuja, at every Government House and in every local government headquarters.
THE REAL CRISIS IS THE QUALITY AND MOTIVATION OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
Nigeria does not lack educated people.
Nor are all politicians incompetent or corrupt.
The deeper problem is the political culture surrounding power.
Everybody is thinking about the next election.
The councillor wants to become chairman.
The chairman wants another office.
The House of Assembly member wants the House of Representatives.
The representative wants the Senate.
The senator wants the governorship.
The governor wants the presidency, vice presidency, Senate or continued political control.
Politics becomes an endless ladder.
Consequently, too many politicians spend their tenure preparing for the next position instead of performing the responsibility they already possess.
That is how public service becomes career progression.
We must ask candidates:
Why exactly do you want this office?
Is it because you have identified problems you genuinely want to solve?
Or is the office simply the next rung on your political ladder?
WE MUST ALSO QUESTION THE BUSINESSMAN TURNED POLITICIAN
Being successful in business does not automatically qualify anyone for public office.
Neither does it disqualify them.
But Nigerians must ask questions.
What has this individual contributed to society?
How many sustainable jobs were created?
What problems did the person solve before discovering politics?
What record of advocacy, philanthropy, community development or public service exists?
Why does someone who spent decades concentrating exclusively on private business suddenly decide that becoming governor, senator or representative is the next logical career move?
Politics must not become another investment portfolio.
Candidates must not spend billions obtaining office with the expectation of recovering their investment after victory.
That is not democracy.
That is venture capitalism conducted with public institutions.
HUNGER HAS BECOME A POLITICAL WEAPON
Our politicians understand something very well.
Nigeria is hungry.
And desperate people are easier to manipulate.
Throughout a politician’s tenure, ordinary citizens may struggle to obtain access.
Then elections approach.
Suddenly rice appears.
Money appears.
Politicians become accessible.
People who ignored communities for years suddenly remember widows, youths, traders and struggling families.
Poverty becomes an electoral instrument.
This is where Nigerians must become politically sophisticated.
Let me put the principle plainly:
No politician’s money should be allowed to purchase your political conscience.
If money is offered and you choose to take it, never surrender your vote in return.
Your vote must remain yours.
Vote for your progress.
Vote for your empowerment.
Vote for your children’s future.
Vote for the most competent candidate irrespective of the political party on whose platform that person is standing.
Think about it.
₦50,000 divided across four years is approximately ₦34 per day.
Are you prepared to exchange four years of your future for ₦34 a day?
Is that what your children’s education is worth?
Your hospital?
Your road?
Your security?
Your employment prospects?
Your electricity?
Your future?
Take nothing as payment for your conscience.
Your ballot is worth considerably more than anything a politician can distribute during an election.
BREAK THE PARTY STRAIGHTJACKET
This brings us to another Nigerian political disease:
blind partisanship.
Why must supporting a political party require supporting every candidate carrying its flag?
No party possesses a monopoly on competence.
If the best presidential candidate is in Party A, vote for that person.
If the best senator is in Party B, vote accordingly.
If the strongest House of Representatives candidate is in Party C, support that candidate.
If another party presents the best State Assembly candidate, vote for that individual.
You owe no political party your entire ballot.
You are Nigerian before you are APC, PDP, Labour, ADC, NDC or anything else.
In my state, you are an Imolite before you belong to any political organisation.
Party partisanship becomes dangerous when intelligent people begin defending incompetence simply because the incompetent politician carries their party card.
That is not loyalty.
That is political self harm.
The concept of cross party cooperation or a rainbow coalition should, at its best, encourage Nigerians to think beyond rigid party identities and examine individual candidates.
Politics is local.
You know the people seeking to represent you.
Examine them.
LET COMMUNITIES TAKE OWNERSHIP OF LEADERSHIP AGAIN
There was a time when communities had considerably greater influence in identifying people considered capable of representing them.
Respected professionals, community leaders and accomplished individuals could be approached to serve.
Today, the process is too frequently reversed.
Candidates impose themselves upon communities because they possess money, party connections or powerful political sponsors.
That must change.
Communities should interrogate aspirants.
Organise debates.
Examine their histories.
Demand development programmes.
Ask what they achieved before seeking office.
Ask what they achieved in previous public positions.
And refuse to accept the argument that someone deserves office because it is “his turn.”
Nigeria is not a political queue.
Public office is not an inheritance.
IMO STATE MUST ALSO OPEN ITS EYES
The same warning applies directly to Imo State.
Already people are jostling for governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and State Assembly positions.
But before discussing who should occupy what position, let us ask:
What have these people actually achieved?
What have they advocated?
Which problems have they solved?
Where were they when communities needed voices?
Where were they when schools deteriorated?
Where were they when roads were abandoned?
Where were they when young people needed opportunities?
Where were they when the people required courageous representation?
My own Nekede–Ihiagwa–Obinze road remains a perfect example of why citizens must demand accountability.
People have endured that situation for years.
Political explanations do not repair roads.
Performance does.
Imo cannot continue recycling political ambition while expecting different developmental results.
WHO SHOULD WE VOTE FOR?
Vote for demonstrated competence.
Vote for integrity.
Vote for people who have accomplished something outside political patronage.
Vote for genuine community advocates.
Vote for reformers.
Vote for activists
Vote for people who have consistently proposed solutions.
Vote for unintentional philanthropists whose generosity existed before election season.
Vote for professionals with demonstrable competence.
Vote for entrepreneurs who created genuine economic value rather than merely accumulated wealth.
Vote for people capable of challenging their own political allies when the interests of the people demand it.
Vote for peacemakers.
Vote for bridge builders.
Vote for people who understand the responsibilities of the offices they seek.
And above everything:
VOTE FOR YOUR OWN PROGRESS AND EMPOWERMENT.
Not the politician’s progress.
Not his family’s progress.
Not his godfather’s progress.
Not his business empire.
Not his next political position.
YOURS.
2027 MUST BE DIFFERENT
Nigeria has spent 66 years repeating too many mistakes.
The military damaged the country.
But civilian politicians have had 27 uninterrupted years to rebuild it.
They must accept responsibility for what followed.
And we, the electorate, must accept responsibility for repeatedly empowering people without sufficiently interrogating their competence, character and motives.
Enough of electing people because they are wealthy.
Enough of electing people because they belong to our party.
Enough of electing people because they are our kinsmen.
Enough of political godfatherism.
Enough of rewarding politicians simply because they distributed money.
Enough of politicians moving endlessly from one office to another while communities remain exactly where they found them.
The candidate is applying for employment.
You are the employer.
The campaign is the interview.
The candidate’s record is the CV.
The manifesto is the proposed work programme.
And your ballot is the decision.
Start behaving like the employer.
Interrogate the applicant.
Ask difficult questions.
Check the record.
Reject incompetence.
Ignore political intimidation.
And when election day arrives, choose the individual most capable of improving your life and your community.
Because after the campaign convoys disappear, after the rice has finished, after the money has been spent and after the politicians return behind their security gates, you will still have another four years to live with the consequences of your decision.
Nigeria does not need more political billionaires.
Nigeria needs prosperous citizens.
Nigeria needs industries.
Nigeria needs functioning schools.
Nigeria needs hospitals.
Nigeria needs reliable electricity.
Nigeria needs roads.
Nigeria needs security.
Nigeria needs jobs.
Nigeria needs accountable local government.
And Nigeria desperately needs leaders who understand that political office is a responsibility rather than an investment.
OPEN YOUR EYES, NIGERIA.
TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR POLITICAL DESTINY.
REJECT BLIND PARTISANSHIP.
VOTE FOR COMPETENCE.
VOTE FOR CHARACTER.
VOTE FOR PROGRESS.
VOTE FOR YOUR OWN EMPOWERMENT.
Because if we knowingly recycle the same political culture in 2027, we cannot spend 2028, 2029 and 2030 pretending to be surprised by the consequences.
2027 must not become another four years of regret.
Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi-Oforgu
Political Commentator)Public Affairs Analyst
For
Oblong Media Global Intelligence
E pluribus unum.
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