In Nigeria’s political vocabulary, beauty is no longer aesthetic; it is theatrical. The rise of what many now call “big beautiful politicians” reflects a culture where spectacle often overshadows substance, and performance rivals policy. These are leaders wrapped in grandeur, amplified by choreographed rallies, dramatic declarations and carefully curated public personas. They dominate headlines, command loyalty, and project inevitability. Yet beneath the polished imagery lies a harder question: are these figures strengthening democratic institutions or merely perfecting the theatre of power?
Nigeria’s political environment rewards charisma. In a nation where oratory carries ancestral weight and public gatherings resemble revival meetings, the politician who speaks in rhythm and symbolism commands attention. Campaign stages become arenas. Slogans become scripture. Followers interpret ambition as destiny. In this environment, governance risks being reduced to pageantry. The larger the image, the less visible the institutional scaffolding required for effective administration.
The danger is structural. When politics becomes a beauty contest of influence, visibility and dominance, accountability weakens. Media cycles amplify personality clashes while policy debates fade into the background. Budget transparency, regulatory reform, fiscal discipline and social welfare metrics rarely trend on social platforms. Instead, dominance narratives flourish. Strength is measured by crowd size, not legislative productivity. Popularity substitutes for performance.
This pattern is not uniquely Nigerian, but its consequences are amplified in a fragile institutional ecosystem. Nigeria’s democracy, restored in 1999 after prolonged military rule, remains in consolidation. Institutions are still building resilience against patronage networks, elite bargaining and regional polarization. In such a context, oversized political personalities can eclipse the very systems meant to constrain them. When leaders are portrayed as indispensable, institutions become negotiable.
They live in fortified mansions behind high walls and multiple layers of armed protection. Their convoys move like moving fortresses. Their wardrobes signal affluence, designer suits, polished shoes that glitter under camera lights. Meanwhile, millions of young Nigerians sleep under bridges and in overcrowded slums. For some of them, cheap dry gin (Agbo) and cigarettes become substitutes for medicine, a desperate escape from untreated malaria, typhoid and the lingering trauma of pandemics. They wear torn caps and worn slippers. Many die quietly, without headlines, without inquiry, without state acknowledgment. The contrast is not poetic exaggeration; it is statistical reality. Yet the political elite remain insulated, big and beautiful in comfort, distant from the hunger lines and unemployment queues that define everyday life for the majority.
There is also a generational dimension. Nigeria’s youth population is among the largest in the world. Many young citizens are digitally literate, politically aware and economically frustrated. They crave authenticity, transparency and opportunity. Yet they are often confronted with recycled narratives wrapped in new aesthetics. The packaging changes; the governance deficits persist. The spectacle evolves; structural unemployment remains stubborn.
To move beyond the era of big beautiful politicians, Nigeria must recalibrate its political incentives. Media institutions should prioritize investigative depth over sensational framing. Civil society must insist on measurable benchmarks for governance. Political parties must institutionalize internal democracy rather than revolve around dominant personalities. Most importantly, voters must interrogate not only what leaders say, but what systems they build.
Democracy thrives not on beauty, but on balance. Not on spectacle, but on substance. Nigeria’s future will not be secured by the loudest voice or the grandest stage, but by the quiet architecture of accountable institutions. The challenge is not to produce more beautiful politicians. It is to produce a political culture where performance is measured by policy outcomes and where power, however dazzling, remains firmly accountable to the people.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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