By Peter Dibia ( 08137847696)
As Nigeria approaches the 2027 General Election, the conversation around who should lead the country at the federal, state and legislative levels must go beyond political parties and their familiar slogans. Nigerians have another important question to ask themselves: Who is the individual seeking our mandate, and what has this person done with opportunities previously entrusted to them?
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has already set the electoral process in motion for the 2027 General Election. The Commission has scheduled the Presidential and National Assembly elections for 20 February 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for 6 March 2027.
With the dates drawing closer, Nigerians should begin to prepare not only to vote, but to vote with a deeper understanding of the choices before them.
For several decades, political parties have occupied a dominant position in Nigeria’s electoral conversations. Candidates are often introduced to voters primarily through the identities of their parties. Supporters defend candidates because they belong to their preferred political platform, while opponents reject candidates simply because they belong to another party.
This approach deserves serious reconsideration.
A political party can provide the platform through which an individual seeks elective office, but it is the individual who ultimately occupies the office, takes decisions, represents constituents and exercises the authority entrusted to him or her by the people.
Therefore, the 2027 election should provide an opportunity for Nigerians to look beyond party colours and symbols and examine the individual scorecards of candidates.
This does not mean that political parties are irrelevant. Parties remain important institutions in a democracy. They provide platforms for political participation, organise candidates, develop policies and mobilise citizens. However, party membership should not become a substitute for examining the character, record, competence, experience, ideas and previous performance of the individual seeking public office.
For candidates who have previously occupied elective or appointed positions, the questions should be straightforward.
What did you do when you had the opportunity to serve? What projects did you initiate or complete? How many people benefited from your intervention? What did you do to improve education, healthcare, skills acquisition, employment, entrepreneurship and other areas that directly affect people’s lives? How accessible were you to the people you represented? What legislation did you sponsor or support? What issues did you consistently advocate? What resources did you attract to your constituency?
These are questions that should form part of the Nigerian voter’s scorecard, The scorecard should also go beyond what can be displayed during election campaigns.
A bag of rice, a few cash gifts, temporary employment or other consumable items may provide immediate relief to an individual or household, but they should not automatically become evidence of effective representation. Nigerians must learn to distinguish between short-term political gestures and sustainable investments in people.
The more important question should be: What remains after the politician leaves office?
If a representative supports scholarships that enable young people to acquire university education, that is part of a lasting investment in human capital. If another establishes or supports vocational training that equips young people with skills to earn a living, that deserves to be documented. If another facilitates access to quality healthcare, supports educational infrastructure, empowers entrepreneurs with productive resources or creates opportunities that enable people to become self-reliant, such interventions should form part of the person’s public record.
Nigeria needs leaders whose impact can be measured in the lives of people, not merely in the volume of items distributed during election periods.
The importance of human capital development cannot be overstated. A 2026 World Bank assessment reported significant gaps in health, education and workforce skills in Nigeria, noting that existing human capital deficits were associated with substantial losses in future earnings potential. The report also identified education and skills development as critical areas requiring stronger investment.
This makes the question of leadership particularly important.
A country cannot build a sustainable future merely by distributing temporary relief. It must continuously develop the capacity of its citizens to create value, secure employment, establish businesses, acquire knowledge and participate meaningfully in the economy.
Consequently, voters should examine what candidates have done to develop people.
For legislators who have served before, Nigerians should examine their legislative records. How frequently did they contribute to debates? What bills did they sponsor? What motions did they raise? What constituency issues did they bring to the attention of government? What interventions did they facilitate? For governors and other executive office holders, citizens should examine projects, policies, appointments, institutional reforms, employment initiatives and other measurable outcomes.
The same principle should apply to first-time candidates.
Where a candidate has never occupied public office, voters can examine their professional history, community service, philanthropic activities, organisational leadership, public contributions, knowledge of the issues and the feasibility of their proposed agenda.
The argument should not be that a person must have previously held political office before being qualified to lead. Rather, voters should have sufficient evidence to understand the individual they are being asked to trust.
Nigeria’s political culture can change when citizens begin to demand evidence rather than merely accepting political promises.
The 2027 election should therefore be an opportunity to move from party loyalty to issue-based evaluation, personality cults to accountability, campaign gifts to measurable impact, and political slogans to verifiable records.
A candidate should not receive automatic support because his or her party has won elections in the past. Similarly, a candidate should not be rejected solely because of the political platform on which he or she is contesting. The central question should be whether the individual deserves the responsibility being requested based on the evidence available to voters.
Ultimately, the power belongs to the people.
Every ballot represents a decision about who should receive public authority for a defined period. That decision should therefore be made with careful consideration.
As Nigerians prepare for 2027, the message should be clear: look beyond the party logo. Look at the person. Look at the record. Look at the impact. Look at the ideas. Look at the human beings whose lives have been changed by the candidate’s previous service.
The Nigeria of the future will require more than political loyalty. It will require citizens who are willing to ask difficult questions and demand accountable leadership.
The 2027 General Election should, therefore, not simply be about which party wins. It should also be about which individuals have demonstrated that they can responsibly transform the mandate of the people into measurable development.
The ballot is too important to be reduced to a party symbol.
Vote with your eyes open. Examine the scorecard. Examine the individual. Examine the impact. Then make your choice.
