By Musa Bakare.
The 2027 presidential election is shaping into a defining moment for Nigeria’s democracy. Amid economic reforms, opposition propaganda, and shifting alliances, the All Progressives Congress (APC), under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is poised to enter the contest not merely as an incumbent party but as a movement of reform and renewal.
The coming election is more than a political contest; it is a referendum on courage, resilience, and vision. For President Tinubu, who has built a career on knowing when to stoop in humility and when to conquer with strategy, the election is another opportunity to prove that tested leadership will always triumph over opportunistic opposition.
Every generation produces leaders who thrive under the weight of adversity. For Singapore, it was Lee Kuan Yew, who turned a small, struggling island into an Asian economic miracle. For Britain, it was Margaret Thatcher, who endured years of public backlash while reshaping the UK economy through painful but necessary reforms. For Nigeria, it is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
From NADECO days of struggle during the Abacha years to his transformative Lagos governorship, from being the architect of APC to his Emi Lokan movement in 2023, President Tinubu has consistently proven that setbacks are stepping stones.
Like Lee Kuan Yew, President Tinubu believes in building institutions, not merely distributing handouts. Like Thatcher, he is willing to endure temporary unpopularity to secure long term prosperity. His political DNA is one of resilience, calculation, and reform.
President Tinubu’s administration is experiencing what Britain saw in the early 1980s under Thatcher: painful reforms that initially hurt but ultimately delivered a stronger economy.
Just as Thatcher deregulated industries despite strikes and opposition, President Tinubu ended Nigeria’s decades-long subsidy scam, freeing billions for infrastructure and social investment. President Tinubu’s unification of Nigeria’s foreign exchange mirrors the bold reforms of Lee Kuan Yew, who dismantled corrupt trade practices to build investor confidence in Singapore.
Like South Korea under Park Chung-hee, President Tinubu is betting on heavy industries, steel, mining, and manufacturing as engines of national transformation. Echoing India’s Green Revolution, his policies are setting Nigeria on the path to food security and rural prosperity.
Nations that endure short term pain under courageous leadership reap longterm gain. Nigeria is no different.
Around the world, opposition politics often falls into the trap of noise without substance. Nigeria’s opposition today mirrors this global weakness. Recycled Politicians, Like post-Soviet Russia’s oligarchs who opposed reforms for self preservation, Nigeria’s opposition is led by politicians who once squandered resources.
Similar to the fragile alliances in Latin America, Nigerian opposition coalitions lack ideology, vision, or cohesion, united only by desperation. While APC Uber President Tinubu builds grassroots loyalty, opposition parties remain confined to social media noise and hotel conferences that rarely touch ordinary lives.
Just as Thatcher brushed aside the Labour Party’s noisy opposition and Lee Kuan Yew defeated critics who lacked alternatives, President Tinubu understands that history does not reward the loudest voice but the most strategic leader.
In Africa, politics is local before it is national. Just as Nelson Mandela’s ANC in South Africa built a mass movement rooted in townships and villages, APC’s grassroots reach under President Tinubu is unrivaled.
Through initiatives like the Tinubu Support Group (TSG), Tinubu Initiative for National Transformation (TINT) and Tinubu Grassroots Support for Continuity (TGSC), APC is embedding itself in Nigeria’s social fabric. Market women, farmers, artisans, transport workers, and professionals are not only hearing government policies but experiencing them firsthand.
This is not the politics of promises; it is the politics of presence. And in 2027, presence will matter more than propaganda.
Like Thatcher’s Britain or Lee’s Singapore, Nigerians are beginning to understand that pain today means prosperity tomorrow. President Tinubu is one of the most calculative politicians Africa has produced, able to outmaneuver opponents with performance, foresight and precision.
Coalitions built on desperation, ambition and vendetta, not ideology will collapse before the ballot box. APC has deep structures across Nigeria’s 774 LGAs, ensuring that every vote is contested and secured.
In 2027, Nigerians will not merely be choosing between APC under President Tinubu and the opposition. They will be choosing between a future of reform led renewal and a past of squandered opportunities.
The election will not only be a mandate for APC; it will be a vindication of President Tinubu’s vision, a verdict of destiny, and a testimony that Nigeria has finally found in him a leader who can weather storms and steer the nation to greatness, APC with him will not just win; it will win overwhelmingly.
– Musa Asiru Bakare, a member of APC and political analyst, writes from Lokoja Kogi state.
