27/08/2026
The 2027 presidential campaign has now officially begun, and the three major figures are Tinubu, Atiku and Obi.
The Sun Nigeria +1
🇳🇬 1. ECONOMY & COST OF LIVING
TINUBU
What he has done: Removed the petrol subsidy and substantially changed the exchange-rate regime. These reforms have been welcomed by investors and international institutions, but they have also contributed to enormous pressure on household purchasing power. Reuters describes the resulting cost-of-living crisis as a major political vulnerability for the administration.
His argument: The reforms were painful but necessary to put Nigeria's finances on a more sustainable footing.
The question Nigerians should ask:
After all this sacrifice, when will ordinary Nigerians actually feel substantially better off?
ATIKU
Atiku is arguing for a more production-driven economy and has recently proposed restoring a form of petrol subsidy—a position that both Obi and others have criticised.
Strength: Long experience in economic and private-sector matters.
Weakness: Nigerians need to know precisely how he would finance subsidies without recreating the problems associated with the old system.
OBI
Obi's message is strongly centred around production, discipline, reducing waste and investing in human capital. He argues that Nigeria has the resources to prosper but needs competent and purposeful leadership.
Business Day
Strength: His economic message is relatively straightforward: move Nigeria from consumption to production.
Weakness: The crucial test is whether his approach can be executed successfully on the enormous federal scale.
My assessment of the issue:
There is no easy winner. Tinubu has the strongest evidence of actually implementing major economic reforms; Obi has one of the clearest alternative economic philosophies; Atiku has substantial economic and private-sector experience.
🔐 2. SECURITY
This is where I think every candidate deserves very serious questioning.
Nigeria is still experiencing devastating insecurity. Just this week, President Tinubu ordered security agencies to respond to a mass kidnapping in Niger State involving hundreds of people according to initial reports.
TINUBU
Advantage: He is already president and therefore has direct control over the military, police and security architecture.
Problem: After more than three years in office, Nigerians can legitimately ask why kidnapping, terrorism and armed criminality remain such major problems.
ATIKU
He can argue that he would bring a different approach to security and governance.
Question: What exactly would he do differently from previous administrations, and how quickly?
OBI
His approach places considerable emphasis on tackling poverty, unemployment, education and economic opportunity alongside conventional security measures.
That's important—but poverty reduction alone cannot defeat armed groups. Nigeria also needs intelligence, policing, military capability, border control and functioning justice systems.
My assessment:
None of the three has yet demonstrated a convincing solution to Nigeria's security crisis at the national level. Tinubu has the strongest advantage in experience because he is already in charge—but that also means he carries the greatest burden of accountability.
🏥 3. HEALTHCARE
This is particularly important because Nigeria loses enormous numbers of people to preventable and treatable conditions.
Tinubu's administration says it is improving healthcare access and investment, while opposition figures dispute the scale and impact of those improvements.
Atiku, for example, has recently attacked the government's claims on healthcare and education.
What I would demand from ANY candidate:
Functional primary healthcare centres
Affordable medicines
Better salaries and working conditions for doctors and nurses
Serious investment in cancer treatment
Emergency medical services
Maternal and child healthcare
Health insurance that actually works
A strategy to stop medical professionals leaving Nigeria
The candidate who can give Nigerians a measurable five-year healthcare plan—not just promises—is the one to take seriously.
🎓 4. EDUCATION
Nigeria doesn't simply need more university graduates.
We need educated, employable young people.
Tinubu points to reforms and investment in education. Obi talks heavily about human capital and productivity. Atiku has also made education reform part of his criticisms of the current administration.
The real questions should be:
How many classrooms will you build?
How many teachers will you train?
What happens to the universities?
What will you do about ASUU strikes?
How will technical education be expanded?
How will a young graduate find employment?
⚡ 5. ELECTRICITY
This should be treated as an economic issue, not simply an infrastructure issue.
A manufacturer cannot compete globally if electricity is unreliable.
A hospital cannot function properly without power.
A small business cannot survive endless diesel costs.
So I'd ask each candidate:
How many megawatts will Nigeria realistically add? By when? Who pays for it? And how will you make distribution companies accountable?
A candidate who simply says “we will provide constant electricity” hasn't given Nigerians a plan.
💰 6. CORRUPTION & ACCOUNTABILITY
This may ultimately be more important than whether someone is APC, ADC or NDC.
Nigeria doesn't only have a revenue problem.
Nigeria has a management and accountability problem.
I would want every candidate to answer:
Will you publish your assets?
Will your ministers publish theirs?
Will government contracts be transparent?
Will politically connected people be prosecuted when they steal?
Will your government publish how public money is spent?
Will you strengthen EFCC and ICPC independence?
Will you tolerate corruption among your own supporters?
INEC has now published candidates' particulars and supporting documents, putting greater attention on candidates' backgrounds and qualifications.
👥 7. YOUNG PEOPLE & JOBS
This may decide the election.
Nigeria has a huge young population, and young Nigerians are increasingly frustrated by unemployment, inflation and insecurity. Recent reporting describes economic hardship and insecurity as major voter concerns.
The next president shouldn't simply promise:
“I will create millions of jobs.”
Ask:
Where will those jobs come from?
Agriculture? Manufacturing? Technology? Construction? Energy? Healthcare? Export industries?
That's the level of detail Nigerians deserve.
🧠 8. LEADERSHIP COMPETENCE
Here the three men are very different.
Tinubu: Extensive political and executive experience, including Lagos and the presidency.
Atiku: Extensive national political experience and former vice-president.
Obi: Former Anambra governor, with a political message built heavily around financial discipline, productivity and accountability.
The argument for Tinubu and Atiku is experience.
The argument for Obi is a different style of governance and economic thinking.
The question is whether Nigerians want continuity, experienced opposition, or a substantial change in governing philosophy.
🇳🇬 9. NATIONAL UNITY
This one is often ignored during campaigns.
Nigeria needs a president who can make a Yoruba person in Lagos, an Igbo person in Enugu, a Hausa/Fulani person in Kano, an Ijaw person in Bayelsa and every other Nigerian feel:
“This government belongs to me too.”
The 2027 campaign is already attracting concerns about ethnic profiling, misinformation and personal attacks.
I would therefore judge candidates heavily on who they appoint, how they speak about other regions and whether their politics brings Nigerians together or divides them.
🏆 So who is strongest?
If we score them by category rather than telling people who to vote for, I would describe the picture like this:
Issue
Strongest argument
Executive experience
Tinubu
National political experience
Atiku
Economic reform already implemented
Tinubu
Alternative economic vision
Obi
Private-sector/economic experience
Atiku
Accountability/anti-waste message
Obi
Existing security authority
Tinubu
Need for a new direction
Obi
Established political structure
Tinubu/Atiku
Major question mark
All three—but different reasons
And here is the most important conclusion:
There is no candidate who should receive a blank cheque.
Tinubu must answer for the results of the government he has already run.
Atiku must answer for what makes his long political experience different from the political establishment Nigerians are tired of.
Obi must answer for whether his ideas can be translated from political messaging into the machinery of a federal government of more than 200 million people.
And Nigerians should not allow tribe, religion, social-media popularity or insults against opponents to replace evidence.
The 2027 election should ultimately be:
“Show me your record. Show me your plan. Show me how you will pay for it. And tell me how I will know whether you have succeeded.”
That is the conversation Nigeria deserves. 🇳🇬
