As we gradually approach the 2027 general elections, there is a need for sincere political reflection among the people of Kogi State, particularly the Ebira people.
One fundamental lesson from recent political developments is that political parties may contest elections, but ultimately, it is the people who decide who wins. Party structures, endorsements, campaigns, and political calculations are important, but the final decision rests with the electorate.
The Adeleke–Accord Party Experience: When the People Speak
The experience of Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State provides an important case study in understanding the relationship between political parties, party leadership, and the electorate.
At a critical point in his political journey, Adeleke moved from the PDP to the Accord Party. What makes the experience particularly instructive is that, shortly before the election, the national leadership of the Accord Party reportedly took a position against him, including public criticism and opposition.
Yet, despite the position of some party leaders, the people made their own decision.
This experience carries a very important democratic lesson: party leadership does not automatically control the minds of voters.
Political parties may have national executives. Leaders may issue statements. Candidates may receive or lose endorsements. Political calculations may be made at the highest levels. But when citizens enter the voting booth, they retain the power to make their own judgment.
The Adeleke experience demonstrates that a position taken by party leadership may not necessarily become the position ultimately adopted by the electorate.
That reality should make every political leader, campaign organisation, and political stakeholder think carefully before assuming that an endorsement, agreement, or political arrangement automatically represents the will of the people.
The Anambra Lesson, too: Voters Can Think Beyond Party Calculations
A similar lesson can be drawn from political developments in Anambra State.
Over the years, voters in Anambra have demonstrated that their political decisions may not always follow the calculations of national political structures. Their electoral choices have often reflected local considerations, personalities, performance, identity, expectations, and their own assessment of what they believe serves their interests.
The Anambra experience, therefore, reinforces the broader point that the electorate is not simply an extension of party leadership.
Voters listen to political parties, but they also listen to their communities.
They listen to candidates, but they also consider their personal experiences.
They hear endorsements, but they make their own judgments.
They observe political alliances, but they ultimately decide whether those alliances deserve their support.
The lessons from Osun and Anambra should therefore encourage political leaders to pay greater attention to the people themselves.
The important question should not only be, “What are the political leaders saying?”
It should also be:
“What are the people saying?”
But What Has Happened to the Ebira Political Mind?
This is where the present situation among the Ebira people deserves serious examination.
Before the 2023 election, there appeared to be a stronger sense of political conversation, mobilisation, common direction, and collective assessment among Ebiras. People spoke openly about their expectations, their interests, and the kind of political future they wanted.
Today, however, one can not help but ask:
Why are Ebiras not thinking, speaking, and reasoning politically the way we did before the 2023 election?
What has changed?
Why does our current political vision appear so different from what it was before 2023?
Have our political objectives changed, or have our circumstances changed?
Why is there seemingly less collective discussion about our common political interests?
These are not questions intended to accuse or condemn anybody. They are questions for honest introspection.
An elder recently compared some aspects of the present political situation with the events surrounding the 1982 re-election bid of the late Alhaji Adamu Atta. Whether or not one agrees entirely with that historical comparison, it provides an opportunity to reflect on how political circumstances can change and how the mood of a people can evolve.
The important issue is not simply whether history is repeating itself. The important issue is whether we, as a people, are paying sufficient attention to the lessons history provides.
Have Our Vision and Mission Changed?
Before 2023, many Ebiras appeared to share certain political aspirations and spoke with greater clarity about what they wanted to achieve collectively.
Today, however, there seems to be a growing difference in our vision, mission, and political direction.
If our vision has changed, we must ask why.
If our mission has changed, we must identify when and how it changed.
And if our collective interests remain the same, then why are our political conversations and positions becoming increasingly different?
A people without a clear political vision can easily become subjects of other people’s political calculations.
Therefore, the Ebira people must return to the culture of political dialogue, consultation, intellectual debate, and collective assessment.
We must learn to disagree without becoming enemies.
We must learn to support or reject political choices based on reason rather than emotion.
And we must understand that political disagreement does not have to become personal hostility.
A Call to the ICC Leadership
Against this background, I personally call on the leadership of the Independent Campaign Council (ICC), under the leadership of its Convener, Alhaji Adams Onota, to sincerely revisit and critically assess its political engagements before the election that brought His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, to office.
The ICC should revisit its records of the various interest groups it engaged, the people and communities that identified with the campaign, the political consultations conducted, and the various visits undertaken before the election.
Such a review could help answer an important question:
Are the people who were politically engaged before the election still thinking the same way today?
If not, why?
What has changed?
Have their expectations changed?
Have their circumstances changed?
Have the political realities changed?
Understanding these changes is more important than simply assuming that yesterday’s political calculations will automatically remain valid in 2027.
Political mobilisation is not a permanent contract with the electorate. The people continue to observe, evaluate, and make judgments based on their experiences.
The Reality Within the APC
Within the APC, as in every political party, there are different interests.
There are loyal supporters, aggrieved members, critics, opposition elements, and individuals whose public statements may differ from their private opinions.
Some individuals may publicly praise their leaders and the government while privately expressing dissatisfaction with certain policies or actions.
The government must, therefore, be careful not to measure public acceptance solely through public praise.
Sometimes, the most important political messages are found in quiet conversations within communities, among traditional institutions, party members, youths, women, and ordinary citizens.
A government that genuinely wants to understand the political mood must create channels through which people can communicate honestly, even when the message is uncomfortable.
Our Traditional Rulers Must Also Be Heard
Our traditional institutions occupy an important position in our society.
The government should, therefore, encourage an environment where traditional rulers can freely communicate the genuine concerns of their people.
During our survey, one traditional ruler recalled that vehicles were provided to traditional rulers during the administration of Governor Ibrahim Idris but observed that many of those vehicles are now parked and no longer functioning.
Whether the issue is vehicles, infrastructure, welfare, security, or other community needs, such observations should be treated as feedback rather than simply as criticism.
The government that listens to uncomfortable truths is stronger than the government surrounded only by praise.
The traditional institution can serve as an important channel for understanding what is happening at the grassroots, provided those voices are allowed to reach the government without unnecessary restrictions.
A Message to Those in Government
I am not writing this article to attack the government, the APC, or any individual.
I am writing to open the eyes of those in government and the corridors of power to realities that may not always reach them through official channels.
Political leaders must understand that public silence does not necessarily mean public satisfaction.
Likewise, public praise does not always represent private conviction.
A government should constantly ask himself what the people are saying when the cameras are absent, when political rallies are over, and when there is no official audience.
The 2027 election will provide another opportunity for the people to express their judgment.
The lessons from the Adeleke experience, the Accord Party leadership’s position, developments in Anambra, and other political experiences are clear:
Political parties can make endorsements. Leaders can make calculations. Campaign organisations can mobilise. But the people retain the final decision.
Let Ebiras Return to Collective Political Thinking
The greatest question before us is not simply:
Who will win in 2027?
The greater question is:
What do the Ebira people want?
What is our vision?
What is our mission?
What are our collective political interests?
What have we learned since 2023?
Why does our political thinking today appear different from what it was before the 2023 election?
And what kind of political future do we want to build for the generations coming after us?
These questions require honest answers.
We must not allow temporary political interests to destroy long-term collective vision.
We must not allow personal disagreements to replace political reasoning.
We must not allow political endorsements to silence the voice of the people.
And we must not assume that the political mood of yesterday will automatically remain the political mood of tomorrow.
The Ebira people have a long history of political consciousness and participation. We must preserve that tradition by returning to consultation, critical thinking, unity of purpose, and genuine engagement with our people.
The 2027 election will not only be a contest between political parties and candidates. It will also be a test of our political understanding, our collective vision, and our ability to determine what is truly in the best interest of our people.
Parties may endorse.
Leaders may campaign.
Political actors may calculate.
But in a democracy, the people have the final word.
Let us, therefore, listen to the people before the people speak through their votes.
– Comrade Abduljelil Adabara El-Okene is a Nigerian writer, analyst, and administrator known for his contributions to intellectual discourse, critical analysis, and administrative affairs.
