Nigeria is approaching another defining moment. As 2027 draws near, the debate should not be limited to who becomes president or which party wins power. The deeper question is what kind of nation we are choosing to become. Elections come and go, but values outlive governments. Roads can be rebuilt, budgets can be reviewed, but once a nation’s moral compass is broken, recovery becomes slow and painful. This is why leadership beyond 2027 must return to values not as campaign slogans, but as lived national principles.
Across Nigeria today, many citizens feel exhausted. They hear promises of change, renewed hope and national rebirth, yet daily life tells a different story. Corruption feels normalised. Public service is often treated as private business. Ethnicity and religion are used as political weapons rather than bridges of unity. In the market, people say the same thing in different languages: the country has lost its shame. When a nation loses shame, it loses direction.
Leadership is the mirror of society, but it is also its mould. Presidents and candidates do not only manage power; they define what is acceptable. When leaders steal without consequence, stealing becomes cleverness. When leaders lie without apology, truth becomes optional. When leaders rule with fear, citizens learn to survive, not to build. Nigeria’s crisis is therefore not only economic or security based; it is a crisis of values.
Leading with values does not mean preaching morality from a podium. It means governing in a way that quietly but firmly reshapes national behaviour. In African wisdom, when the drummer changes rhythm, the dancers must adjust their steps. Leaders set the rhythm. If the rhythm is justice, fairness and service, the people will eventually dance to it.
For 2027 and beyond, Nigerian leaders must first redefine power. Power in Nigeria has long been seen as entitlement, reward or conquest. True leadership must redefine power as responsibility. In simple terms, power should mean carrying the people’s burden, not adding to it. A president who lives modestly, speaks truthfully and punishes corruption consistently sends a stronger message than a thousand anti corruption slogans. Values are taught more by example than by policy documents.
Second, leaders must restore the dignity of public service. In many Nigerian homes, parents warn their children against government work because it is seen as corrupt or easy prey to terrorists groups. This is dangerous for the future. When public service becomes a place only for the desperate or dishonest, governance collapses. Candidates who truly want to refine Nigerian values must make competence, integrity and service attractive again. Appointments should be based on merit, not loyalty. Public servants who perform well should be celebrated, not sidelined. When excellence is rewarded, values slowly change.
Third, national unity must move from rhetoric to justice. Nigeria cannot preach unity while practicing exclusion. Many citizens feel like strangers in their own country depending on where they live, what they believe or the language they speak. Leaders must define Nigerian values as fairness across ethnic and religious lines. This does not mean ignoring diversity; it means managing it with equity. In the village square, elders do not share meat based on friendship alone, but on agreed rules. Without justice, unity remains a lie told during campaigns.
Another critical value that leaders must redefine is accountability. In Nigeria, accountability often ends at apology, if it comes at all. But nations that work are built on consequences. Presidents and candidates must show that no one is above the law, including themselves. When wrongdoing is punished fairly and openly, citizens begin to trust the system again. Trust is the currency of leadership. Without it, even good policies fail.
Beyond government, leaders must also shape values through national conversation. Nigeria needs honest dialogue about who we are and where we are going. Education, media, religion and culture should be part of this conversation. Leaders who engage youths not just during elections but consistently will help redefine values around citizenship and responsibility. A nation where young people believe their future matters is a nation that can still be saved.
Faith and culture also have a role. Nigeria is a deeply religious society, yet morality seems absent in public life. This contradiction must be confronted. Leaders do not need to impose religion, but they must respect moral principles that cut across faiths: truth, justice, compassion and self control. Our ancestors believed that leadership without character invites disaster. Modern Nigeria is learning that lesson the hard way.
Critics may argue that values do not fill stomachs or stop bullets. But history shows that nations that fixed their values eventually fixed their economies and security. Values shape institutions, and institutions shape outcomes. You cannot build a strong house on a crooked foundation.
As 2027 approaches, Nigerians should demand more than promises. They should demand clarity of values. What does this candidate truly stand for when no camera is watching? How does this leader treat power, criticism and opposition? These questions matter more than manifestos filled with fine grammar.
Nigeria’s future will not be decided only at polling units. It will be decided by the values leaders choose to model and enforce. If presidents and candidates after 2027 lead with integrity, justice and service, the nation can begin to heal. If they do not, no amount of constitutional amendment or economic reform will save the country.
In the end, leadership is memory. Long after names are forgotten, values remain. The real legacy of 2027 and beyond will not be who ruled Nigeria, but what kind of Nigeria they helped to build.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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