A political analyst has argued that former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi remains Nigeria’s best option for 2027, insisting that only Obi has the capacity to reset the nation’s failing political and economic system.
In a statement titled “Claude Ake: Why We Need Peter Obi,” released on Tuesday, the writer said Nigeria’s worsening economic crisis and deepening governance failures demand a complete political shift rather than a continuation of the current order.
“The tragedy of economic development is that whereas it is the nature of economic crisis that should determine the kind of politics you need, it is the nature of politics you have that determines if you will transform your economy,” the statement read.
According to the analyst, Nigeria’s economy has continued to reinforce “a terrible politics” that is incapable of delivering meaningful transformation.
“Nigeria’s problem is that its economy has reinforced a terrible politics that is incapable of transforming its economy. Things have fallen apart in Nigeria,” he said.
He accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of implementing reforms that worsen poverty while enriching the political elite.
“Today, we have series of economic reforms that impoverish the people while they boost revenue for the ruling class. It is now official. In the last three years, the Tinubu administration has generated a lot of revenue from taxing the people through removal of subsidies, selling oil at high price and borrowing so much money,” he stated.
He further alleged that despite increased government revenue, the country has seen little progress in infrastructure and social investment.
“But its budget is not funded and there are no investment in social and physical infrastructure. The World Bank has concluded that much of the revenue is stolen. Poverty is growing; cost of living is rising, unemployment is increasing and real income and energy consumption are fast declining,” he added.
Describing Nigeria as trapped in what he called a “development incubus,” the analyst warned that the country risks total institutional collapse if the current political pattern continues beyond 2027.
“Nigeria is collapsing in every significant sense. Poverty is increasing. The difference between those in power and the people is increasing. Unemployment is increasing. Insecurity and hopelessness are increasing too,” he said.
He also raised concerns over rising authoritarianism, claiming that Nigeria now resembles “an electoral autocracy” and increasingly reflects the features of a criminal state.
Referencing late political economist Claude Ake, the writer said Nigeria’s crisis is rooted in what Ake described as a “confused agenda and improbable strategy.”
He argued that the only solution is to “inaugurate a new politics that is not centered on survival, power or accumulation.”
According to him, among all likely contenders for the 2027 presidential election, only Obi has shown the personal record and political pedigree to lead such a transition.
“Any Nigerian who is barely educated and honest knows that of all those who could be President in 2027, only Mr. Peter Obi has proved that he can easily inaugurate a new political economy not centered on survival, power, or accumulation,” he said.
“We have an option to start afresh with Peter Obi or recycle the perennial betrayal of the hope of national development. In this sense, it is Obi or nothing.”
