2027: Tone Down The Rhetoric

With the 2027 general elections steadily approaching, there is an urgent need for politicians and their supporters to tone down the increasingly belligerent rhetoric coming from campaign rallies and political gatherings.

Political competition is central to democracy. Politicians are free to attack the records and policies of their opponents and to persuade voters to support their programmes. But there is a dangerous line between robust political contest and language that threatens lives, intimidates opponents, inflames religious or ethnic passions, or suggests that citizens must surrender their democratic rights to belong to the ruling political camp.

It is this tendency that has become a disturbing trend.

Consider the case of Senator Francis Fadahunsi, the APC senator representing Osun East. At an APC gathering in Ilesa ahead of the August 15, 2026 Osun governorship election, he was captured in a widely circulated video apparently directing supporters to kill members of the rival Accord Party. He further said that even if Accord supporters came with voter cards on election day, they would not be allowed to vote.

Fadahunsi subsequently said his comment was metaphorical and that he meant his supporters should defeat Accord at the polls, rather than physically attack its members. But such a defence does not erase the recklessness of the original statement. When a politician uses the language of killing in a politically charged environment, he cannot simply claim metaphor.  The violence that attended that election left many dead and several others injured.

Then there is the increasingly personal and abusive character of political discourse. APC chieftain and National Institute for Cultural Orientation director-general, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, has cast aspersions on National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi. In one television appearance, he used very deprecating words on Obi.

While there is nothing wrong with challenging Obi’s record, there is, however, something profoundly wrong with reducing political debate to personal abuse and unsubstantiated allegations.

The controversy involving Kuje Area Council Chairman Danjuma Shekwolo is equally disturbing. In a viral video, he was heard saying: “I have said in my area council, it’s either you are doing APC or leave the area council.” He also declared: “It’s either you are with us, or you are against us.” He later said he had no authority to disenfranchise any resident and that his remarks had been taken out of context.

But Shekwolo must understand that Kuje Area Council is not his private estate, just as Nigeria does not belong to whichever party controls government at a particular time.

The Constitution guarantees citizens the right to associate freely and belong to political parties. Section 40 guarantees freedom of peaceful assembly and association, including the right to form or belong to a political party. Section 41 guarantees freedom of movement and residence anywhere in Nigeria, while Section 42 prohibits discrimination on grounds including political opinion.

These are not favours granted by political office holders. They are constitutional rights.

This is why the remarks attributed to Ebonyi State’s Ohaukwu Local Government Chairman, Eze Paul Ituma, are also troubling. His comments followed Governor Francis Nwifuru’s warning to newly elected council chairmen that they must deliver their local government areas for the APC in 2027. Nwifuru reportedly warned that if opponents were allowed to “mess up” their areas, they should “deal with that person mercilessly.”

Ituma subsequently warned political opponents to stay away from Ohaukwu and reportedly said anyone who did not align with the governor and APC could be declared persona non grata.

As a newspaper, we are appalled at the kind of language coming from supposed democrats. Opposition politicians are not enemies of the state. A citizen does not forfeit his right to live in his community because he supports another political party. An elected local government chairman has no democratic mandate to turn his council into a political territory where only supporters of the ruling party are welcome.

The same principle applies to religion.

The remarks attributed to Islamic cleric Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, in which Christians were referred to as “infidels” at a public gathering attended by Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and other dignitaries, were particularly irresponsible. Nigerians have the right to advocate whichever political arrangement they prefer, including a Muslim-Muslim or Muslim-Christian ticket. What is unacceptable is to turn political preference into religious antagonism or portray fellow citizens in bad form. Such identity politics is not helpful to our nation.

Then there was the intervention of Yobe APC Chairman Mohammed Gadaka at a campaign rally. Addressing women, Gadaka reportedly urged those whose husbands prevented them from voting APC to leave their marriages, saying that if they did so, he would pay their bride price and marry them.

Some may dismiss the statement as a joke; however,  political campaigns should persuade citizens with ideas and programmes, not encourage family conflict by making partisan loyalty a test of marriage.

There have also been reports of inflammatory language in Kebbi, including a video in which Governor Nasir Idris was portrayed as speaking in terms of “fight” and confrontation in relation to the 2027 elections.

Nigeria has seen where reckless political rhetoric can lead.

In July 2025, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo warned Peter Obi not to return to Edo without notifying him or obtaining security clearance. Although the governor later described the statement as advice, rather than a threat, an armed attack occurred at a political gathering involving Obi, ADC chieftain John Odigie-Oyegun and others in Benin City on February 24, 2026. The attack left people injured and property damaged. The DSS subsequently arrested a suspect in connection with the incident.

While we cannot directly infer that the governor’s earlier remarks caused the attack, however, the episode demonstrates the danger of normalising language that makes political opponents appear unwelcome or less entitled to participate in public affairs.

The APC, PDP, ADC, NDC, Labour Party and all other political organisations should publicly disown members who make threats of violence, religious incitement or intimidation. Where necessary, such members should face appropriate disciplinary action.

The security agencies must also act impartially. Credible threats and incitement should be investigated promptly and, where the evidence establishes an offence, suspects should be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law and due process. The purpose should not be to suppress legitimate political expression, but to prevent political speech from becoming an incitement to violence.

We reiterate that the 2027 election must be a contest of ideas, records and persuasion. Let candidates tell Nigerians how they will secure the country, create jobs, improve education and healthcare, strengthen the economy and restore public confidence in the Nigerian state. They should also tell their supporters to do the same.