By Ikechukwu Samuel
Professor Okey Ikechukwu, Director of Development Specs Academy and member of the ThisDay Editorial Board, has challenged politicians seeking elective office in 2027 to move beyond broad promises and present Nigerians with measurable plans for jobs, economic prosperity and security.
Ikechukwu said candidates must attach specific figures, timelines, costs and policies to their campaign promises, arguing that voters should be able to determine whether governments actually deliver on their commitments.
Speaking on the economic challenges confronting Nigerians, he criticised the tendency of governments to announce job-creation figures without accounting for employment losses occurring within the same period.
“Recall that governments always tell you how many jobs they have created. ‘Oh, this government has created 300,000 jobs.’ The government that is talking, does it know that 425,000 jobs were lost within the period? No, because it’s not tracking,” he said.
According to Ikechukwu, similar inconsistencies exist in official claims about business support and economic opportunities, with governments often highlighting new initiatives without measuring how many businesses have collapsed.
“Are you aware that in a particular area, 37 percent of the businesses have shut down for the last six years? You are not,” he said.
He argued that the challenge facing Nigeria is not necessarily a shortage of good policies or capable people, but the failure to measure the impact of policies and hold political leaders accountable for outcomes.
Ikechukwu also questioned the celebration of naira stability when such stability does not translate into improved purchasing power, investment or living standards.
“The narrative has become fundamentally dishonest,” he said, insisting that economic indicators should ultimately be judged by their effect on ordinary Nigerians.
He urged 2027 candidates to address food scarcity, fuel prices, transportation costs and poverty with practical measures rather than quick fixes, stressing that politicians must explain what they intend to achieve, how much it will cost and the results Nigerians should expect.
Beyond the economy, Ikechukwu identified insecurity, particularly banditry, as another critical issue that presidential candidates must address with concrete strategies.
He alleged that powerful economic interests connected to criminality continue to influence Nigeria’s banditry crisis, warning that political leaders must be prepared to confront the structures sustaining the problem.
“Banditry will stop. I will drive away all the characters in Zamfara,” he said, stressing that such declarations must be supported by a clear operational strategy.
According to him, “the core interests, economic interests around criminality in Nigeria, are managed” by influential elites, making the fight against insecurity more complicated than simply deploying security personnel.
Ikechukwu said a determined president would need to identify and engage individuals involved in criminal networks while simultaneously deploying intelligence and technology to track their operations.
“If I am in their position, I will call, I have gotten to that person, you have been in this thing for too long,” he said.
He added: “I can not blow you out of the water. I think younhave made enough money. Enjoy your proceeds and all of that, but we need to rescue and restore this place.”
However, he stressed that engagement alone would not solve the problem, insisting that sophisticated technology and intelligence should be central to the security response.
“The fellow who is kidnapping you on the road is probably paid 25,000 after collecting the money,” he said, arguing that technology could help security agencies identify and trace those involved in kidnapping operations.
“We have access. Technologies are available. That pose cannot be traced is a lie. We will trace them,” he declared.
For Ikechukwu, therefore, the 2027 election should be judged less by the volume of campaign promises and more by the credibility, measurable targets and implementation plans behind them.
His position places employment, economic welfare and security at the centre of the accountability debate, urging voters to demand evidence of what candidates intend to achieve rather than accepting political rhetoric at face value.
