Asking the necessary question during seasons of promises
Sir: As elections approach again, the political atmosphere has become inundated with familiar arrays of promises. Nigeria has entered the season when manifestoes are rearticulated as candidates compete in announcing
Sir: As elections approach again, the political atmosphere has become inundated with familiar arrays of promises. Nigeria has entered the season when manifestoes are rearticulated as candidates compete in announcing grand visions of transformation. There will be promises that roads will be rebuilt, unemployment will disappear, electricity will flow uninterrupted, and prosperity will suddenly bloom. I marvel at the applause that often greets these declarations, and I have come to the conclusion that it is a civic responsibility to interrogate electoral promises.
Election cycles frequently produce ambitious pledges that later fade into silence. At various times, Nigerians have heard several promises. Citizens were once assured that the power supply would stabilise within six months of taking office. Years later, erratic electricity remains a defining feature of daily life. Many political leaders have proclaimed the noble objective of free and qualitative education at all levels. Yet underfunded schools and infrastructural decay persist. What of promises of mass employment programmes that promised millions of jobs? Till the present moment, youth unemployment continues to challenge the nation.
In one notable campaign episode, a gubernatorial aspirant even promised that he would secure employment opportunities for Nigerians in the United States and the United Kingdom. Strangely, the declaration was greeted with enthusiasm. More recently, in one southwestern state, a gubernatorial candidate promised that families would be paid for every child enrolled in basic school. The proposal sparked jubilation among many citizens who imagined immediate relief from the burden of educational expenses.
Years ago, former president, Muhammadu Buhari pledged during his campaign to create millions of jobs annually. However, as unemployment rose during his tenure, his associates later reframed the promise, arguing that the president’s role was not to directly create jobs but to provide an enabling environment for job creation. Similarly, President Bola Tinubu promised to generate one million jobs within his first 24 months in office. In a more ambitious projection, his administration also announced plans to create two million jobs through the National Social Housing Programme by 2025. It remains unclear whether these commitments have been fulfilled or whether public attention has simply shifted away from them.
Some of these promises that political leaders make are not inherently unrealistic. We have seen similar commitments fulfilled in developed economies where governments, through deliberate policy choices, have stimulated development and economic growth. In fact, I have always argued that Nigeria possesses more than enough human and natural resources to address many of its socio-economic challenges. The problem, therefore, is not the absence of capacity but the persistent gap between political rhetoric and execution. Promises should not be reduced to campaign slogans. The future of the people is at stake.
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Given the current global capitalist economic order and considering Nigeria’s fiscal constraints, citizens must ask fundamental questions whenever they hear a political promise: How? How will the policy be funded? How will the administrative system deliver it? How will corruption and inefficiency be prevented? How long will implementation realistically take? What measurable steps will lead from promise to outcome?
Without answers to these questions, cycles of promises will persist, with grand deceptions made during campaigns, followed by shifting explanations once in office, and ultimately, little to no accountability. A mature democratic culture requires more than enthusiastic crowds during campaigns. We need a citizenry capable of interrogating political language.
When candidates promise uninterrupted electricity, citizens should ask: What is the generation target? What reforms will be made in transmission and distribution? What timeline is realistic? When free education is promised, citizens should ask: What is the projected cost? How will teacher recruitment and infrastructure be funded? What legislative framework will support it? When social welfare schemes are proposed, the question remains the same: How will they be implemented?
Election seasons will always be seasons of promises. That is the nature of politics everywhere. But the difference between a passive electorate and an informed one lies in the questions they ask. Promises made in pursuit of advantage can quickly dissolve once the objective is achieved. As another electoral season approaches in Nigeria, citizens must resist the temptation to celebrate promises uncritically. Instead, they must insist on clarity. How will these promises be achieved?
•Matthew Alugbin, PhD, Edo State University, Iyamho.
