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Presidential debates offer candidates an unparalleled opportunity to present their stances on issues and pitch themselves and their vision for the country. In advanced democracy, presidential debates could move the needle and flip the margins a little bit and influence elections outcome, especially in a close race that is likely to happen in Nigeria’s consequential presidential poll on January 16, 2027. That is why, for instance, in the United States, presidential debates have become for decades, a staple of campaigns. And history has shown that live television debates can have the power to sway undecided voters and solidify public perception of the candidates.
All of this raises an important question: why has it become the ‘occupational disease’, the habit of many presidential candidates in Nigeria, to dodge debates? Do they have something to hide from the public or is it a disrespect for the electorate? Standing on stage proves that a leader is strong and ready for the job. Nigeria has sunk into historic levels of dysfunction. And studies and conclusions have found that we are a nation disillusioned and even cynical about the performance of our political leaders and institutions, and those attitudes have been building for a long time, but has grown worse in recent years.
Statistics show that voter turnout in choosing our president peaked in 2003 general election at 69.1 percent. Since then, it has been all downhill, especially since the APC came power at the centre in 2015, with voter turnout at 43.7 percent, 34.7 percent in 2019. The lowest turnout was recorded in 2023 at 27 percent. The rest of the eligible voters engaged in what amounted to a boycott or ‘voter apathy’ because they didn’t believe their vote would count. The turnout could be worse in 2027. As another election nears, the situation in the country is worse than at time in our democratic history. There’s need for the presidential candidates to talk to Nigerians through debates. Just recently, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, and now, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress(ADC) threatened that his participation in any presidential debate ahead of the 2027 election would be conditional, on the attendance of President Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC). Atiku’s position was contained in a statement issued by one of his spokespersons, Kenneth Okonkwo. According to him, presidential debate should serve as an opportunity for both the incumbent President(Tinubu) and the opposition presidential candidates to present their policies and programmes to Nigerians.
That’s how it should be. It should no longer be the practice that involves only opposition candidates. Earlier, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Mr. Peter Obi, had spoken strongly in the same vein, saying “no presidential candidate should hide behind the high walls of power or rely on proxies or surrogates during campaigns”. In other words, Obi is saying that every presidential candidate, including President Tinubu, should avail the Nigerian electorate that physical presence both during the campaign period and through live television debate. Nothing else will do.
That’s what leadership entails. Leadership requires among other things, leading from the front, not from behind. Again, that’s the real meaning of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. As Obi said, “you cannot truly lead people you are unwilling to visit, listen to, and understand their problems”. That’s why the 2027 presidential election is consequential, like no previous ones. It’s a rare chance for all the candidates to present their records, ideas and programmes before the people they are asking for their mandate.
2027 is one election campaign that president Tinubu should not dodge the debate. Nigerians want to see their president come to them physically, not through proxies. If he dodges the debate, or AWOL on the campaign husting, he should pay the price. The “presidency”, to borrow the words of Gerald R. Ford(38th US President) “is not a prize to be won. It’s a duty to be done”. For over three years since he barrelled into office as president of Nigeria, Tinubu has carried on as if Nigeria is his fiefdom. The people matter little to him. His surrogates say he has “outperformed more than any former president.
His aides and supporters have also claimed without evidence, that since he was sworn in on May 29, 2023, that Tinubu has “displayed an ability and willingness to hold the bull by the horn”. That he has taken bold decisions and stuck to his guns no matter the push backs in the wake of such decisions. If indeed, these are real accomplishments that the President is proud of, that’s the more reason why he must not dodge the presidential debate with other candidates. He should come forward and defend his record. He should tell Nigerians why the present economic hardship has become exceedingly necessary.
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And a live television debate should afford Nigerians the opportunity to scrutinize the candidates’ background and allow the electorate to make an informed decision on Election Day. As former president Ebele Jonathan noted in his “Transition Hours” memoirs, “democracy is not just about fulfilling all righteousness by treating the people to the ballot biox that you bring out only on Election Day”. Democracy entails legitimacy and ensuring that the people have the necessary dividends. That’s why 2027 election should offer valid choices.
For an incumbent president seeking re-election, a debate provides a lifetime opportunity to seek the strength, the support, the voice and vote of the people based on a record of performance, not empty promises, of progress, not platitudes, a record of specifics, not deceptive smiles, a record any responsible leader should be proud to run on. It should be a record that shows steady progress, upward towards prosperity, peace and public trust, not retrogression.
If I were President Tinubu, I would accept the challenge of a debate thrown at him by Atiku and Obi, and use it to dispel allegations of heroin trafficking swirling around him and his presidency, and prove critics wrong that he hasn’t shown an absence of leadership and an absence of a grasp of what Nigeria is and what it ought to be. As the fire storm of his presidency grows both at home and abroad, it will be in the president’s best interest not to believe his legion of sycophants who have the habit of talking freely and telling him yarns that his victory is assured in 2027.
Wherever he is right now in Europe, this must be an uncomfortable moment for president Tinubu. The assurances of the APC governors of victory don’t reflect his real feelings. The governors know this, that Nigeria under the leadership of Tinubu is at a crossroads, with no hope renewed. Instead, despair has supplanted hope. Hardship and insecurity have taken over the land. Anger is eating deep lik acid. Nigeria is like an invisible force has entered the plane and everyone held hostage.
What Nigeria is going through today under Tinubu presidency is somewhat similar to what America went through in the 1960s and 1970s. And presidential debates moved the needle and flipped the margins a little in the direction the people wanted. The first nationally televised presidential debate in American history between John F. Kennedy(Democrat) and Richard Nixon(Republican) was considered one of the most significant because it entrenched the idea that appearances arhe an important part of presidential campaign.
The best known narrative about the debate is that Nixon, then vice president looked old and tired during the debate, while Kennedy, then a Senator from Massachusetts, appeared young and vibrant. Is President Tinubu “old, tired and sick”, as Atiku alleged? Let Tinubu show up. Altogether, the crux of the election this campaign period should revolve around one critical question: Nigerians, are you better off today than you were almost 4 years ago when Tinubu became president? It’s the kind of question that Ronald Reagan asked American during the last presidential debate with the incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Carter lost that election in 1980. The rest is history.
