By Gabriel Ewepu, ABUJA
As politicians return to the campaign trail ahead of 2027 general polls, Nigerians are asking whether another season of grand pledges will produce a different reality after the votes are counted.
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It is an old political ritual in Nigeria. Whenever fresh election approaches, politicians dust off their manifestos, polish their slogans, print colourful posters, mount giant billboards and take their campaigns to the streets, villages, markets, town halls and social media.
A host of the candidates are already at it. And the question is: Will it be promises at the polls, betrayal in power?
The promises come thick and fast – Free education, affordable healthcare, stable electricity, good roads, potable pipe-borne water, jobs, food security, youth empowerment, agricultural interventions, better workers’ welfare, affordable housing, improved security, cheap petrol, functional refineries, and bigger business opportunities among others.
Many Nigerians are not really showing interest in these campaign promises due to past failures by the same politicians, who have frustrated them by not keeping to their promises most times.
Since the military government of General Abdulsalami Abubakar announced Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1998, and the country transitioned to civil rule in 1999, campaign promises have remained one of the most powerful tools politicians deploy to win the hearts, and votes of the electorate.
From presidential candidates to governors, National Assembly members, State Assembly candidates, local government chairmen and councillors, the script has often been remarkably similar: promise the people a better life and ask them for their votes.
Yet, decades after the return to democracy, millions of Nigerians still struggle with the same basic necessities that politicians have repeatedly promised to provide.
Electricity remains unreliable, roads are deteriorating, healthcare is unaffordable or inaccessible to many, unemployment and underemployment remain major concerns, access to potable water is still a challenge in many communities, security remains a major issue, while quality education, affordable housing and sustainable social protection continue to elude large numbers of citizens.
And now, with the 2027 general elections approaching, the political machinery is warming up again. The campaign season is expected to be colourful, noisy and heavily choreographed complete with posters, rallies, motorcades, support groups, endorsements, social media campaigns, and inevitably, promises.
There may also be the familiar distribution of food items and other handouts to women, youths and vulnerable voters: bags of rice, beans, garri, semovita, salt, seasoning, pepper, vegetable oil and, in some cases, cash.
For many Nigerians, however, the question is no longer whether politicianscan make attractive promises. The question is whether those promises can be trusted.
Promises at the polls, betrayal in power?
Nigeria’s electoral politics has increasingly come to resemble a theatre of magnificent promises and disappointing realities.
During campaigns, politicians often promise voters almost everything they desire: corruption will be defeated, electricity will become stable, roads will improve, jobs will multiply, hospitals and schools will function better, poverty will decline and living standards will rise. Hope is packaged, branded and sold to the electorate.
But once the election is won and political offices are secured, some of those promises appear to lose their urgency. The campaign language fades, billboards come down, rallies end, and handshakes stop.
And for the voter, reality begins.
The gap between what was promised and what is delivered has become one of the most troubling questions confronting Nigeria’s democracy.
The corruption paradox
The fight against corruption provides perhaps one of the clearest examples. Successive governments have described corruption as a major enemy of national development. Political campaigns frequently feature pledges to eliminate corruption, strengthen institutions, recover stolen public funds and promote transparency.
Yet allegations of mismanagement, patronage, abuse of public resources and questionable public spending continue to dominate national conversations.
This creates a troubling paradox. If corruption is repeatedly identified as a major obstacle to development, why does it remain so deeply embedded in the political system? And if politicians campaign on promises to fight it, who holds them accountable when the promised battle produces little visible change?
The same contradiction appears across other sectors
Promises of better healthcare confront overcrowded and poorly equipped facilities, quality education confront inadequate infrastructure and struggling institutions, reliable electricity confront businesses and households forced to find alternative sources of power, improved transportation, clean water, affordable housing and food security often collide with the economic realities facing ordinary citizens.
For millions of Nigerians, therefore, the promised “better life” has become something repeatedly announced during election campaigns but insufficiently experienced afterwards.
‘Don’t allow sugar-coated politicians to deceive you’ — Thompson
For Daniel Thompson, a civil servant in Bayelsa State, Nigerians should approach the 2027 election with caution.
Thompson believes voters have heard enough promises and should stop allowing political rhetoric to determine their choices.
“Citizens should stop trusting politicians but trust themselves by voting the right persons of their choice”, he said.
His position reflects a growing sentiment among voters who believe campaign promises have become little more than political bait, carefully packaged words designed to attract votes but often abandoned once politicians settle into office.
‘Campaign promises are a hoax’ — Ejegwa
Gabriel Ejegwa, an Abuja-based businessman, is even blunt as he described Nigeria’s political campaigns over the years as deeply disappointing, arguing that the distance between what politicians say during campaigns and what ordinary Nigerians experience after elections remains too wide.
“Nigeria’s elections have never been purpose-driven. Party manifestos or campaign slogans say a lot, but the reality to the common Nigerian says otherwise”, Ejegwa said.
For him, the problem is not a shortage of manifestos, it is the absence of accountability.
“So, do we believe in the loud words of political parties? In my opinion, it is a hoax. Until words are matched with actions, only then will the electorate begin to give attention to the endless promises of campaign slogans”, he stated.
His argument raises a fundamental question about Nigeria’s democracy: What happens when voters repeatedly hear promises but rarely see measurable results?
Voter education must take centre stage — Faro
However, not everyone believes Nigerians should completely abandon trust in politicians. Human rights lawyer and Principal Counsel of Idris Faro & Co., Idris Faro, believes the solution lies in making voters more informed and more demanding.
According to him, civil society organisations and other stakeholders must intensify voter education ahead of the 2027 elections.
This, he said, should go beyond telling people where and when to vote. Nigerians must be taught how to scrutinise campaign promises, interrogate manifestos and assess the records of candidates.
“Some elective office holders have performed well and can be trusted by the citizens”, Faro said.
He noted that some politicians had positively affected the lives of their constituents through important projects, policies and effective representation, “For this group of politicians, they have the continued support of the people.” he added.
”But for politicians who have failed in office, Faro believes voters must be willing to reject them.
“This is the time for voters to employ logic and critically assess candidates and their party’s manifesto before deciding on who to support”, he said.
The 2027 election season, he argued, gives Nigerians an opportunity to “score” political parties and candidates based on their records, promises and capacity to deliver.
For politicians who have previously occupied public office, he said their records should be thoroughly examined before voters decide whether to return them to power.
Performance, not propaganda, should determine political reward. Faro also urged Nigerians to give serious consideration to new politicians who have demonstrated competence and professional accomplishment.
“We can’t make progress if we keep on recycling failed public men in Nigeria,” he warned.
He further urged voters to reject what is often described as “stomach infrastructure” – the distribution of food, cash and other temporary inducements – as a substitute for meaningful development.
“The people, especially those who vote, should shun stomach infrastructures and use physical infrastructure to assess candidates.
“Voter education is crucial in fostering good governance and upholding the rule of law. Without this, meaningful development will not happen”, he added.
Nigerians don’t need promises; they need demands met’ — Usamot
In his reaction, Kayode Usamot, a Chartered Accountant and Principal Partner of Kayode A. Usamot & Co., said the electorate should not be dazzled by campaign rhetoric.
Politicians, he said, must be subjected to a more rigorous test before they are entrusted with public office.
“Politicianswill not give citizens what they deserve, but what they demand”, Usamot stated.
He urged Nigerians to be deliberate about their choices in the 2027 elections, “Test must come before trust”, and also stressed the importance of examining a candidate’s history, previous performance, understanding of Nigeria’s problems and capacity to develop practical solutions.
For him, voters should look beyond speeches and ask difficult questions; What has the candidate done before? What problems has the candidate solved? What is the candidate’s understanding of Nigeria’s economic and social challenges? Are the proposed solutions realistic? And, perhaps most importantly, why should Nigerians believe this particular politician will do what previous politicians failed to do? Those questions, Usamot believes, should form the basis of electoral decisions.
‘99.99 per cent of politicians are dishonest’ — Dabor
Henry Dabor, a Lagos-based businessman, has little faith in the promises politicians are likely to make ahead of 2027.
“Certainly citizens can’t trust politicians and their campaign promises when 99.99 per cent of the so-called politicians are dishonest”, Dabor asserted.
To illustrate his point, he pointed to the legacy of former Lagos State governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande.
He contrasted Jakande’s reputation for modest living and social programmes with what he sees as the extravagant lifestyle associated with some contemporary political office holders.
“Compare what Alhaji Lateef Jakande did for Lagosians and non-Lagosians and the life he lived, breathing his last breath in his humble Ilupeju residence, and our private-jet-flying governors of today. It’s like night and day,” he said.
He recalled his own experience of benefiting from some of Jakande’s educational policies, “I read Jakande textbooks, free maths-set and didn’t pay a penny.”
He also pointed to the former governor’s low-cost housing programme, arguing that access to such housing appeared less dependent on political connections.
“I know so many people who bought those low-cost housing flats who knew nobody. Can anyone realistically buy a flat today in Lagos if you find any?”, he asked.
Politicians need to face consequences for failed campaign promises – Dr Jerry
A final word from the public affairs analyst and economist, Dr Oboh Sankay Jerry, captures the dilemma succinctly: Nigeria’s democracy will mature when elections become less about attractive promises and more about measurable performance.
In Dr Jerry’s assessment, politicians must be held accountable for their commitments, while voters must approach elections with questions, evidence and sound judgement rather than emotion.
The implication is clear
He said: “Campaign promises should not be treated as disposable political slogans. They should be treated as commitments made to the Nigerian people.
“And when those commitments are broken, there must be political consequences. For 2027, perhaps the question should no longer be: “What will you promise us?”
“The question should be: “What have you done, how will you do it, when will you do it — and how can we hold you accountable if you fail?”
As Usamot puts it: “Test must come before trust.” That may be one of the most important principles Nigerians should carry into the 2027 elections. Trust should not be demanded. It should be earned, and it should be earned through character, competence, history, transparency and results.
Nigeria cannot continue to build its political future on promises that disappear after elections. The country needs a political culture in which voters remember what politicians promised, and politicians know that voters will remember.
That is where accountability begins, democracy becomes meaningful, and that is where the cycle of promises at the polls and disappointment in power can finally begin to break. ‘We can’t make progress by recycling failure’
The warning from human rights lawyer Idris Faro deserves particular attention: Nigeria cannot make meaningful progress by repeatedly recycling failed public officials simply because they have political structures, money, party machinery or familiar names. The electorate has a powerful weapon: the ballot but a weapon unused is a weapon surrendered.
The 2027 election should therefore not be merely another contest over who can make the loudest promise. It should be a referendum on performance, competence and credibility. Candidates should be asked to defend their records. Parties should be asked to defend their manifestos. Governments should be asked to defend their achievements, and voters should be prepared to defend their choices because ultimately, democracy is not just about choosing leaders.
It is about choosing wisely — and making those leaders answer for the choices they make with the power entrusted to them.
That is the conversation Nigeria needs before the next ballot is cast.
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