By Odesola JF., PhD
“The price good people pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by incompetent leaders.” — Plato
Every election season in Nigeria feels like a grand festival.
The roads suddenly become colourful with campaign posters. Convoys flood our streets. Loudspeakers blare promises from dawn till dusk. Television screens are filled with political advertisements. Social media becomes a war zone where supporters defend their candidates with almost religious devotion.
Politicians smile more than ever before. They visit markets, churches, mosques, palaces, and rural communities. They shake hands they have ignored for years. They embrace the poor. They promise heaven on earth.
Then election day comes.
Votes are counted.
Winners emerge.
The music stops.
The banners disappear.
The campaign offices close.
And millions of Nigerians are left to confront a familiar reality—bad roads, erratic electricity, rising food prices, insecurity, unemployment, collapsing schools, struggling hospitals, and an economy that seems to test the resilience of ordinary citizens every single day.
One cannot help but ask: How did we get here again?
Perhaps the more important question is this: Have we been choosing leaders the right way?
For decades, our politics has often rewarded popularity over performance, sentiment over substance, and promises over proven ability. We have become so captivated by campaign speeches that we sometimes forget the simple truth that winning an election and governing a nation are two completely different assignments.
Campaigns require persuasion.
Leadership requires competence.
A microphone can win applause.
Only wisdom can solve problems.
Nigeria’s greatest challenge is not the absence of brilliant people. Neither is it the lack of natural resources. We have both in abundance. We are blessed with fertile land, enormous mineral wealth, vibrant entrepreneurs, talented professionals, and one of the youngest and most energetic populations in the world.
Yet, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, more than 130 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty. Millions of young graduates search endlessly for employment. Businesses struggle under the weight of inflation, unstable power supply, and rising operational costs. Families spend increasing portions of their income simply trying to survive.
These are not just statistics.
They are fathers unable to provide for their families.
They are mothers skipping meals so their children can eat.
They are graduates whose dreams have been postponed indefinitely.
They are entrepreneurs whose businesses have closed despite years of hard work.
No nation blessed as richly as Nigeria should continually find itself trapped in this cycle.
The uncomfortable truth is that nations rarely rise above the quality of their leadership.
Singapore did not become prosperous because it discovered oil.
South Korea did not become an industrial giant because it possessed limitless natural resources.
Botswana did not become one of Africa’s best-governed countries by accident.
These nations made difficult but deliberate choices. They placed competence above convenience, vision above sentiment, and national interest above personal gain.
Leadership expert John C. Maxwell wisely reminds us:
“Everything rises and falls on leadership.”
Leadership changed everything.
Nigeria can do the same.
But only if Nigerians begin to ask different questions before voting.
Instead of asking, “Where is he from?” perhaps we should ask, “What has he accomplished?”
Instead of asking, “Does he belong to my tribe?” perhaps we should ask, “Can he unite the nation?”
Instead of asking, “What is he promising?” perhaps we should ask, “What has he already delivered?”
Character leaves footprints long before campaign posters appear.
Integrity cannot be borrowed during elections.
Competence cannot be manufactured overnight.
Leadership is not theatre.
It is responsibility.
One of the greatest mistakes any democracy can make is to confuse popularity with capacity.
A candidate may possess extraordinary charisma and still lack the discipline to govern effectively.
He may fill stadiums during campaigns yet fail to fill classrooms with quality education.
He may deliver powerful speeches while hospitals lack medicines and businesses collapse under economic hardship.
Words inspire.
Results transform.
The late Dr. Myles Munroe once observed, “When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable.”
Public office was never designed to enrich politicians.
It exists to improve the lives of citizens.
Leadership is not a reward.
It is a responsibility.
Sadly, our politics has often become a contest of personalities rather than policies, emotions rather than evidence, and identity rather than ideas.
We must outgrow this.
Poverty has no tribe.
Inflation has no religion.
Kidnapping does not ask whether its victims are Christians or Muslims.
Unemployment does not discriminate between North and South.
When fuel prices rise, every Nigerian feels the impact.
When the naira weakens, every family pays more for food.
Our problems are national.
Our choices should be national too.
This is particularly important for Nigeria’s young people.
Young Nigerians are no longer merely the leaders of tomorrow.
They are voters today.
They are innovators today.
They are entrepreneurs today.
They are nation builders today.
Their greatest political weapon is not social media outrage but informed participation.
Democracy does not end after casting a vote.
Citizens must continue asking questions.
They must demand transparency.
They must insist on accountability.
They must refuse to sell tomorrow for today’s inducement.
Every vote sold is a piece of the future surrendered.
As another election approaches, Nigerians must remember that democracy gives every citizen something incredibly powerful—the opportunity to shape history with a single vote.
That vote should never be traded for a bag of rice.
It should never be exchanged for temporary cash.
It should never be determined by fear or manipulated by ethnic sentiment.
It should be guided by wisdom.
Before voting, every Nigerian should quietly ask:
Can this person manage people?
Can this person manage resources?
Can this person make difficult decisions?
Has this individual demonstrated honesty?
Does this candidate inspire confidence beyond campaign rhetoric?
History teaches that great nations are built when ordinary citizens make extraordinary decisions.
The future of Nigeria will not be decided by the loudest campaign rally or the most expensive political advertisement.
It will be decided inside polling units where ordinary Nigerians quietly mark their ballots.
That small mark carries enormous consequences.
It determines whether children learn in functional schools or overcrowded classrooms.
It determines whether hospitals save lives or merely manage crises.
It determines whether investors create jobs or take their businesses elsewhere.
It determines whether hope grows—or disappears.
As former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan wisely said, “Good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development.”
Nigeria does not lack potential.
Nigeria does not lack talent.
Nigeria does not lack opportunity.
What we have too often lacked is the courage to consistently reward competence above sentiment.
Campaigns will always entertain us.
Promises will always excite us.
Political slogans will always sound attractive.
But only competent leadership can build roads, strengthen institutions, secure communities, grow the economy, create jobs, restore confidence, and leave a nation better than it was found.
As Nigerians prepare for another defining moment in our democratic journey, perhaps the greatest campaign promise we should demand is not another speech.
It is evidence.
Not another slogan.
But a track record.
Not another emotional appeal.
But demonstrated competence.
The Nigeria of our dreams will not emerge because politicians promise it.
It will emerge because Nigerians choose leaders who have shown they can build it.
The ballot is more than a piece of paper.
It is a declaration of the future we desire.
May we use it wisely.
