Odita Sunday 
PROFESSOR AMUPITAN, DO NOT SET NIGERIA ABLAZE: THE 2027 ELECTION MUST NOT BECOME A NATIONAL TRAGEDY
A Solemn Warning to INEC, President Tinubu, State Governors and Every Nigerian Who Values Democracy
By Dr. Chris Okobah, PhD
Award-Winning Author
Nigeria is standing at a dangerous crossroads. The political atmosphere is becoming increasingly disturbing, public frustration is deepening, and the patience of millions of Nigerians is being tested by economic hardship, insecurity, political intimidation and a growing crisis of confidence in our democratic institutions.
I therefore address this message directly to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN:
Professor Amupitan, please do not set Nigeria ablaze.
The 2027 general election must not become the spark that ignites a national tragedy. It must not become another chapter in the painful history of electoral controversies, broken promises and betrayed public confidence.
This is not a threat. It is a solemn warning born out of concern for the survival of our democracy and the preservation of our national peace.
Nigerians have suffered enough.
They are tired of hunger. They are tired of insecurity. They are tired of political violence. They are tired of watching public institutions become instruments of partisan advantage. Above all, they are tired of elections that leave them questioning whether their votes truly determine their leaders.
Let me make one thing absolutely clear.
Nigerians are not asking INEC to give victory to any candidate. Nigerians are demanding the constitutional right to freely elect their leaders.
Nobody is asking for an election to be donated to Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Bola Ahmed Tinubu or any other presidential aspirant.
What Nigerians are asking for is simple: a free, fair, credible, transparent and peaceful election in which the sovereign will of the people prevails.
No region must be marginalised. No ethnic nationality must be excluded. No religious community must be discriminated against. No political party must be systematically disadvantaged.
Every properly registered and eligible Nigerian must have a genuine opportunity to exercise the franchise.
INEC must ensure that the voters’ register is accurate, accessible and free from unlawful exclusions. Every eligible voter must be able to verify their registration, obtain the necessary voting credentials and participate without intimidation or administrative obstruction.
Ballots must be counted as cast, results must be accurately recorded and the processes for transmitting, publishing and verifying those results must be transparent and independently auditable.
An election is not credible merely because INEC announces a winner. It is credible when Nigerians can independently verify that the announced winner is the person chosen by the electorate.
THE GHOST OF 2023 MUST NOT HAUNT 2027
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who presided over the 2023 general election, must understand that the public questions surrounding the presidential election result-upload failure have not disappeared simply because his tenure has ended.
INEC acknowledged the technical failure affecting the uploading of presidential polling-unit results to its Results Viewing Portal, although it maintained that the problem did not compromise the election’s credibility.
That explanation did not satisfy every Nigerian.
The failure raised legitimate questions about preparedness, technological reliability, transparency and institutional accountability.
I believe those questions deserve comprehensive and independent examination.
Professor Yakubu and every official with relevant knowledge should be prepared to explain their actions and decisions if a lawful investigation is undertaken. Any finding of wrongdoing must be based on credible evidence and established through due process.
Public office is a trust, not a sanctuary from accountability.
The retirement of a public official must never become the retirement of legitimate questions about the exercise of public power.
Professor Amupitan must therefore learn from the controversies of 2023. He must not preside over another election in which technology becomes an excuse for institutional failure or where Nigerians are asked to accept explanations that cannot be independently verified.
The credibility of the 2027 election must be established before voting begins, demonstrated throughout the process and preserved until the final lawful declaration of results.
POLITICAL THUGGERY IS NOT A STRATEGY FOR WINNING ELECTIONS
I am deeply disturbed by the increasingly hostile political environment in Nigeria.
Reports and allegations of political intimidation, harassment, attacks on political gatherings and the suppression of opposition activities deserve urgent, impartial investigation.
I specifically call upon the governors of Edo, Benue and Enugu States, alongside every other governor in the federation, to demonstrate that political power can be exercised without intimidation.
Governors must not permit their states to become theatres of political persecution, irrespective of which party controls the government.
The police and other security agencies must never act as the private enforcement arms of political parties.
Their constitutional duty is to protect Nigerians—not merely members of the ruling party, but every citizen, regardless of political affiliation.
A supporter of the APC has the same right to life and political participation as a supporter of the PDP, Labour Party, ADC or any other lawful political party.
The blood of an opposition supporter is not less valuable than the blood of a government supporter.
And no governor, minister, political party chairman or security official possesses the authority to extinguish another Nigerian’s constitutional rights merely because that citizen supports a different candidate.
Any official found to have sponsored, encouraged or protected political violence must be investigated and, where sufficient evidence exists, prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Political disagreement must never become a death sentence.
PRESIDENT TINUBU MUST BE JUDGED BY HIS RECORD, NOT BY INTIMIDATION
Let me also address President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Mr. President, you have been entrusted with the leadership of Nigeria, and you have implemented policies and programmes that Nigerians are entitled to examine critically.
You must allow the electorate to assess your administration on its record.
Let Nigerians examine your economic policies, your infrastructural projects, your fiscal reforms, your security initiatives and your administration’s performance in the management of the national economy.
Most importantly, let Nigerians examine how these policies have affected their everyday lives.
Has the purchasing power of ordinary citizens improved?
Can families afford three decent meals a day?
Are our roads safer?
Are our hospitals better equipped?
Is electricity more reliable?
Have meaningful employment opportunities expanded?
Are Nigerians safer in their homes, farms, schools and communities?
Have government policies improved the lives of ordinary Nigerians, or have their benefits been enjoyed disproportionately by political elites and their associates?
These are legitimate questions that every Nigerian must consider before casting a vote in 2027.
If President Tinubu wins a genuinely free, fair and credible election, the outcome should be respected.
If Nigerians decide that they want a different leader, their decision must equally be respected.
Democracy is not the entitlement of an incumbent to remain in power. It is the sovereign right of citizens to determine who exercises power on their behalf.
The President should therefore insist that members of his party, state governors, political appointees and security institutions conduct themselves lawfully.
No government should allow the desperation of its political supporters to become a threat to the peace of the nation.
MY VOTE BELONGS TO ME
I have my Permanent Voter Card.
I intend to vote in the 2027 general election.
But I have not decided who will receive my vote.
That decision belongs exclusively to me.
I will examine the candidates, their character, their competence, their credibility, their records and their capacity to govern.
I will evaluate what has been achieved, what has failed and what promises remain unfulfilled.
I will not surrender my conscience to political intimidation, ethnic sentiment, religious manipulation or partisan coercion.
My vote is not a favour bestowed upon any politician.
It is the exercise of my constitutional right as a Nigerian citizen.
And that same right belongs to millions of other Nigerians.
Our votes are not the property of political parties. Our future is not the inheritance of political families. And Nigeria does not belong to those who happen to occupy public office.
Nigeria belongs to Nigerians.
A FINAL WARNING: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE DANGER OF PUBLIC DESPAIR
Professor Amupitan, history teaches us that nations do not necessarily collapse overnight.
They deteriorate when institutions abandon justice, when political leaders mistake public silence for permanent submission, and when citizens lose confidence in the peaceful mechanisms through which their grievances can be resolved.
Political crises have contributed to devastating conflicts in different parts of the world.
Nigeria must not become another example.
When citizens begin to believe that elections cannot produce meaningful change, democracy itself is endangered.
When political competition is accompanied by violence and intimidation, national reconciliation becomes increasingly difficult.
When public institutions lose credibility, even legitimate electoral outcomes become vulnerable to suspicion and rejection.
That is why the responsibility resting upon INEC is enormous.
Professor Amupitan, your duty is not to protect President Tinubu. It is not to protect Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar or any other politician.
Your duty is to protect the Nigerian vote.
Your loyalty must be to the Constitution, the Electoral Act, the rule of law and the sovereign people of Nigeria.
Do not allow political pressure, personal ambition or partisan interference to compromise that duty.
Make 2027 the election that restores confidence in INEC.
Make it the election in which every Nigerian, regardless of religion, region, ethnicity or political persuasion, can believe that the ballot is stronger than intimidation.
And let every politician understand that political power is temporary, but the consequences of decisions made in public office can outlive generations.
I do not want Nigerians to fight over elections.
I do not want our country to descend into violence.
I do not want innocent citizens to shed their blood because politicians are desperate to acquire or retain power.
I want a Nigeria where elections are contests of ideas, character, competence and performance—not contests of intimidation, money, manipulation and violence.
Professor Amupitan, do not set Nigeria ablaze. President Tinubu, do not allow anyone to undermine the democratic legitimacy of your government. State governors, do not turn political competition into a battlefield.
The peace of over 200 million Nigerians is worth infinitely more than the ambition of any politician.
And to my fellow Nigerians, I say this:
Remain peaceful. Remain vigilant. Register to vote. Verify your registration. Protect your democratic rights through lawful means. Reject political violence, document electoral irregularities and demand accountability from every institution entrusted with our elections.
We must never allow despair to destroy the country we seek to rebuild.
The future of Nigeria must be determined by ballots, not bullets; by the will of the people, not the whims of the powerful.
Power belongs to the people. The people must be allowed to decide.
A word is enough for the wise.
And history will remember what each of us did when Nigeria’s democracy was tested.
Dr. Chris Okobah, PhD
Award-Winning Author
Please share this article if you believe that a better, safer, more just and genuinely democratic Nigeria is possible.
About the Author
