Only Nigerians Can Stop Tinubu In 2027 – Amaechi
Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that stopping President Bola Tinubu from winning re-election in 2027 would require collective action by Nigerians, not wishful thinking.
Speaking in Abuja on Thursday at the presentation of the 2025 Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey Report by the Africa Polling Institute,
Amaechi stated, “The only way you can stop Tinubu from being the president of Nigeria in 2027 is to run an election of Nigerians versus the bandits. If you think you will just sit down and do that, may God be with you.”
He criticised citizens for grumbling in private while failing to challenge elite dominance, adding, “The elites who are stealing Nigerian money are not up to 100,000 but you have 200 million Nigerians who can fight 100,000 men. You sit down in your house and complain and grumble. What makes you think the elites would move their hands completely? Who told you the elites don’t know how you are feeling? They know you are not happy. But you are helpless not because the elites made you helpless, you made yourself helpless.”
Amaechi cited examples of countries like Bangladesh, Peru, and Chile where mass protests toppled unpopular leaders.
He said, “Go to Bangladesh, right? The day they got tired of that woman, what did they do? They chased her out. Go to, is it Peru or Chile? Nigeria is the most docile society I’ve seen in my life. Please tell me, has there been any revolution without blood? Any revolution without blood is a failure.”
He revealed that he once considered leaving Nigeria, saying, “I told my wife, I want to Japa like you people do. They will give me official visa to come and stay in their country, any country. She said, no, we can’t leave Nigeria. Because Nigeria is lovable. It’s lovely.”
Amaechi also lamented the lack of unity among civil groups, recalling how the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) used to jointly pressurise the government. According to him,
“Now, NLC can’t even mobilise their people. Why? Ethnicity. I’ve spoken to them before. I even told them, I will join you in the protest. They said they can’t. So, Nigeria is totally collapsed.”
He further said the civilian political class has inflicted more suffering than the military, stating, “We pushed away the military and brought in the politicians. The politicians have shown they are worse than the military.”
Using his time as Rivers State governor as an example, he explained how economic distress leads to crime.
“The moment I see robbery, kidnapping, I know that there is no money in society. So the Commissioner for Finance pays contractors, pays those who are owing. When you pay, what happens? The base is workers. The base is people who are suppliers who are supplying goods. They in turn go to the market. They buy goods. They pay the tailor, they pay the doctor. The money goes around. And then the crime rate will reduce,” he said.
Presenting the survey, Executive Director of the Africa Polling Institute, Professor Bell Ihua, said 83 percent of Nigerians have little or no trust in Tinubu’s government, 80 percent distrust the National Assembly, and 79 percent distrust the judiciary.
He urged government officials to take the findings seriously, saying, “This report has very telling information. Citizens are united in shared struggle based on economic realities. The government needs to act based on this scientific data to rebuild public confidence.”
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
