Funmi Ogundare
Former Minister of Education and Chairperson, School of Politics, Policy and Governance, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, yesterday cautioned Nigerians against making the 2027 presidential election the sole focus of national discourse, arguing that the country’s more fundamental challenge is the failure of political and governance system.
Ezekwesili, who spoke during an interview on AriseTV PrimeTime, explained that Nigeria urgently needs a fundamental conversation about its future, including the establishment of shared national values, a common vision and a political system capable of delivering meaningful development to citizens.
She argued that the country’s recurring focus on elections had failed to address the structural problems responsible for its deteriorating political, economic and social conditions.
According to her, Nigerians must challenge the belief that the current state of the country represents their destiny, insisting that the situation was the product of deliberate political choices and systems that could be changed.
“The greatest tragedy of the country is this resignation that this is our destiny. I say no. This is by design. It is not our destiny,” she stated.
Ezekwesili said the country needed a national conversation that would lead to an agreement on shared values and a national vision, noting that such an understanding should ultimately form the basis for a new constitutional arrangement.
She lamented the absence of a strong social contract, social cohesion and social capital in Nigeria, saying these deficiencies had continued to deepen ethnic, religious and other divisions.
According to her, Nigerians needs a compelling national vision that would give citizens a reason to identify with the Nigerian project beyond their ethnic or religious identities.
She said patriotism should not be interpreted as blind support for the existing political arrangement, stressing that criticism of poor governance was not equivalent to opposition to Nigeria.
The former minister also criticised the political class for failing to facilitate the fundamental conversation required to move Nigeria from being merely a geographical entity to a cohesive nation.
She argued that since independence, Nigeria had not adequately undertaken the kind of national dialogue required to establish shared values, agree on a national vision and develop a constitution based on that consensus.
“We should have really had a conversation that would get us to the place where we would agree that these are shared values; this is our national vision, and then come up with a constitution based on that,” she said.
On the 2027 presidential election, Ezekwesili reaffirmed her support for the Nigeria Democratic Congress ( NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, saying her position was based on her assessment of leadership qualities rather than political affiliation.
She explained that in 2023 she assessed the major presidential candidates using the criteria of character, competence and capacity, and concluded that Obi scored considerably higher than the other leading contenders.
“I was going to stand with Governor Obi. I haven’t seen that anything has really significantly changed,” she said.
However, she maintained that Nigerians should not lose sight of the larger national questions simply because of the approaching election.
On the possibility of Obi overcoming the advantages of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), including incumbency, political structures and financial resources, Ezekwesili acknowledged the challenges but said the electorate could still create a political turning point.
She noted that while incumbents traditionally deployed their advantages to influence electoral outcomes, there were moments when citizens reached a point where they rejected the prevailing political trajectory.
“There are situations where the people vote for themselves. They come to that point where they say, ‘Okay, you’ve had it. You’ve really had it. We can’t continue on this trajectory because it actually is too injurious,’” she said.
She also acknowledged the severe economic pressure facing millions of Nigerians, particularly those living on low household incomes, saying such circumstances could influence voters’ choices during elections.
She, however, warned that the immediate economic incentives available to citizens should not permanently determine the future of the country, arguing that many Nigerians were compelled by economic hardship to prioritise short-term survival over long-term national interests.
The chairperson further criticised sections of the middle class for failing to invest sufficiently in building a sustainable Nigeria, noting that increasing numbers of families were looking abroad for better opportunities for their children.
According to her, Nigeria needed a constituency of citizens willing to make sacrifices and demand fundamental reforms rather than merely adapting to a dysfunctional system.
She cited Kenya as an example of a country that had confronted fundamental questions about its political and constitutional arrangements, arguing that Nigeria could also move beyond its existential nation-building challenges if it was willing to engage in a genuine national conversation.
She stated: “the Nigerian political class had resisted conversations around restructuring, constitutional reform and competitiveness because the existing arrangement continued to serve the interests of political elites.”
On what Obi would need to do differently in 2027 to transform his significant following into a nationwide electoral coalition, Ezekwesili said the task would require more than inspirational speeches.
“It is not merely providing inspiration of speeches. It is really very technical because it is granular, and it is really about being strategic,” she said.
She stressed that any attempt to transform Nigeria’s political system must be anchored on a broader national project capable of addressing the country’s governance failures and restoring citizens’ confidence in the Nigerian state.