By Musa Bakare.
The 2027 general elections will not simply be another electoral contest. They will be a defining moment in our national history, a referendum on whether Nigerians are ready to uphold the supremacy of law or continue the tragic cycle of rewarding impunity with applause.
Let it be declared without fear or favour: no man, no clique, no self-styled activist is above the law of the land. Yet time and again, we have seen recalcitrants trample the law with arrogance, insulting leaders and elders, maligning the President of the country and his administration, debasing the commonwealth, and daring the state with reckless impunity.
Some gullible fellows clap as though rudeness were an achievement. But when justice finally rises in its majesty, when the wrath of the law descends like a hammer, the same crowd suddenly weeps and screams persecution.
This selective sympathy is the highest form of hypocrisy. You cannot celebrate uncultured when they spew out uncomplimentary comments, only to mourn them when the law strips them bare. Those who break the law, whether by spreading reckless falsehoods against the President and government, sowing ethnic hatred, or abusing public trust must face justice squarely. Whether they rant in the marketplace, on campaign platforms, or across social media, the law must take its course.
We must remember our past. In elections gone by, many who undermined the law were shielded by ethnic and partisan sympathy. Some who behaved in uncivil manners were rewarded with fresh mandates. Others who manipulated elections and mocked our institutions were granted political rehabilitation because gullible Nigerians mistook impunity for courage. This pattern of rewarding wrongdoers has weakened our democracy and emboldened those who believe that indiscipline pays.
Justice is not vengeance. Justice is not oppression. Justice is the balance of order that sustains a nation. When the state prosecutes offenders, it is not victimisation; it is overdue cleansing. Yet only in Nigeria do some expect the law to remain silent while they commit atrocities, then cry foul when caught in the net of accountability. Such audacity deserves no sympathy.
As 2027 approaches, Nigerians must make a choice: Will we once again allow those who insult the state, weaponise grievances, and abuse the people’s trust to hide under the cloak of selective sympathy? Or will we stand with the law, reward accountability, and punish impunity?
Enough of misplaced loyalty! Enough of cheering reckless accusations with impunity! Enough of tribal, partisan, or religious blindness that excuses criminality. Nations are destroyed not only by the wicked but also by the gullible who defend them.
To the youth who make up the majority of our population, to the women whose voices shape communities, to the grassroots whose votes decide outcomes, 2027 is our test. Do not sell your future for empty slogans or deceptive sympathies. Do not allow those who insult your intelligence and plunder your resources in the past to return cloaked in false victimhood. Stand for Nigeria. Stand for the rule of law. Stand for accountability. Stand firm with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Renewed Hope Agenda.
– Musa Asiru Bakare, member APC and political analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
