Nigeria Has Everything It Needs to Prosper
Yesterday, I had the privilege of joining some presidential candidates and their representatives as a guest and panellist at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Our discussion focused on how to rebuild Nigeria and make it work for its resilient, hardworking, and long-suffering people.
I reiterated my long-held view that the poverty and hunger Nigerians face today are largely the result of years of mismanagement and corruption by leaders entrusted with our commonwealth.
With our vast human and natural resources, Nigeria has no business being associated with extreme poverty and hunger. We have no business importing food when we possess enormous agricultural potential.
With the right investment, policies, and political will, agriculture can become one of Nigeria’s greatest sources of wealth. Northern Nigeria’s vast farmland, in particular, can drive major economic transformation. If countries with fewer resources have transformed their agricultural sectors, Nigeria can feed itself, create millions of jobs, and export food to the world.
On fuel subsidy removal, I remain committed to the position I took in 2023: the subsidy system was riddled with corruption. My approach was to eliminate the corruption, establish the actual subsidy cost, and then carry out a carefully planned, phased removal.
Savings from subsidy removal should have been transparently invested in clearly defined, measurable development priorities, especially agriculture, healthcare, education, poverty reduction, and security. I remain convinced that subsidy removal must deliver real benefits to Nigerians; citizens should not bear higher energy costs while the savings remain unaccounted for or fail to improve their lives. Nigeria must focus its investments on what matters most: food security, healthcare, education, infrastructure, human capital, national security, and unity.
Nigeria has all it needs to prosper. What remains is competent, honest, and purposeful leadership that puts the common good above personal interests.
A New Nigeria is POssible, and Nigeria will be OK. -PO
Another week, and the kitchen is open
Now taking orders for Wednesday’s lunch pack.
Freshly made, delicious Ekpang will be available this Wednesday.
₦6,500 per pack.
Also available in 2L, 3L & 5L bowls.
Send a DM to order.
📍 Port Harcourt
I have consistently continued to respectfully appeal to those in office today to prioritise reconstruction and maintenance of existing roads and other infrastructure over commencing new ones.
I left someone in Onitsha on Saturday night to take the first bus to Lagos on Sunday morning. Until I left Lagos at 8 pm yesterday, he had not arrived in Lagos. He only arrived in Lagos at about 2 pm today. A journey that usually takes a maximum of 8 hours now takes nearly two days.
This is not just about bad roads. It is about lost man-hours, stranded passengers sleeping on highways, wasted fuel, damaged vehicles, delayed goods, and businesses losing millions of naira.
Nigerians do not need new projects just for the headlines. We need functional roads that make life and economic activity possible.
A government must understand that infrastructure is not necessarily about the size of the project; it is about the number of lives and livelihoods it improves.
A new Nigeria is POSSIBLE, and Nigeria will be OK. -PO
If INEC declares Tinubu the winner of 2027 presidential election, the following scenarios will play out:
1, The aggrieved candidates (Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar) will initiate muscular legal challenge, with lawyers cashing out big time.
2, Civil society groups, political supporters, and youth coalitions may stage some protests that would be suppressed swiftly by security agencies.
3, International observers, regional bodies like ECOWAS, and foreign governments will urge calm and “peaceful resolution via established legal channels”.
4, In the end, the Supreme Court will UPHOLD the result.
And there’s nothing further anybody can do about it, other than to complain loudly & bitterly in the media. That’s how Nigeria is wired.
#BitterTruth.
Beyond Football: The Match for a Better Nigeria
This weekend, Europe comes alive again with football. Millions of Nigerian youths will be glued to television screens, streaming matches, debating tactics, celebrating victories, and admiring the organisation, discipline, and excellence that make European football the envy of the world. But here is a question worth asking: Why can’t Nigerian football be just as good?
The answer is not a lack of talent. Nigeria has produced world-class footballers who have excelled in Europe because they found systems that reward merit, invest in infrastructure, ensure security, and are governed with competence and accountability. Great football does not exist in isolation. It grows where there is good governance.
The stadiums, academies, transport systems, healthcare, security, electricity, and institutions that support football are products of leaders who make the right choices and citizens who insist on accountability. Nigeria has the talent. What we have lacked is leadership that creates an enabling environment for that talent to flourish.
As I have decided, in the next 150 days, to engage Nigerian youths wherever they gather—in town halls, campuses, online spaces, and even football communities—my message is simple: The future you admire in Europe can be built in Nigeria. But it starts with your vote.
Imagine a Nigeria where our local league is competitive, our stadiums are full every weekend, our clubs attract sponsorship, our coaches receive proper training, and young footballers no longer see emigration as their only path to success.
Nigeria will not emerge through wishful thinking. It will emerge when young Nigerians decide that elections matter as much as football matches. Every goal scored in Europe is a reminder that excellence is possible. Every well-managed league is proof that systems work when honest leadership is in place.
The 2027 presidential election is therefore more than a political contest. It is an opportunity for Nigerian youths to choose the kind of country they want—a nation that exports talent because it is respected, not because its citizens are escaping failed governance.
Cheer for Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter, AC Milan, or any club you support. Enjoy every match. But when the final whistle blows, remember that the greatest match awaiting Nigerian youths is not in Europe. It is in Nigeria.
It is the match for good governance. It is the match for jobs, security, education, sports development, and national renewal. And unlike football, where only twenty-two players are on the pitch, every Nigerian youth has a place in this match.
Stand up. Mobilise. Vote. Defend your vote.
If Nigerian youths can passionately follow European football every weekend, they can also passionately build a Nigeria where our own football—and our nation—becomes a source of pride.
The journey towards better Nigerian football begins with the path to good governance. And the path to good governance begins with the decision of Nigerian youths to stand up and be counted in 2027.
Every weekend, starting today, I will come to you with a reminder of January 16, 2027, and our future. We can create world-class standards right here at home.
It’s in your hands, and that new Nigeria is POssible. -PO