Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, says President Bola Tinubu can only be prevented from securing a second term in 2027 through direct citizen action, not passive discontent.
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of the 2025 Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey Report by the Africa Polling Institute, Amaechi urged Nigerians to stop relying on wishful thinking.
He declared, “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.”
Amaechi criticised citizens for privately complaining while allowing themselves to remain powerless under elite dominance.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Citing global examples of people-powered political change, he referenced Bangladesh, Peru, and Kenya.
“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 said.
Amaechi also revealed his own frustrations, adding that he considered leaving the country at one point.
“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,” he said.
Recalling the past strength of joint actions by student unions and labour organisations, he lamented the current weakness of collective protest.
“There was a joint meeting between ASUU, NLC, and NANS. Where would I go? Who would be president of ASUU? Who would be president of NLC? Who would be president of NANS? So that when NANS spoke, ASUU would give the government one week, and NLC would give two weeks before joining in.
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 stated that Nigerian politicians have performed worse than the military in addressing citizens’ needs.
“We pushed away the military and brought in the politicians. The politicians have shown they are worse than the military,” he added.
Reflecting on his tenure as governor, Amaechi linked rising crime with economic hardship, suggesting a solution rooted in stimulating the local economy.
“I was once a governor. 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.”
Presenting the 2025 Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey, the Executive Director of the Africa Polling Institute, Professor Bell Ihua, revealed that public trust in government institutions is critically low.
“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,” Ihua stated.
He called on policymakers to treat the findings as a wake-up call to reform governance and reconnect with citizens.
