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
MY ADDRESS TO MARK THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 2027 PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CAMPAIGNS
21 August 2026
Dear Compatriots,
Members of the Press,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
Wednesday, 19 August 2026, marked the official start of the campaign period for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
There is no doubt that this is a defining moment for our democracy. This moment gives Nigerians the opportunity to assess the records, ideas, and plans of those seeking their mandate to lead their country at a time of grave uncertainty in our rapidly changing world.
I consider myself quite privileged to be one of those seeking your mandate to deal with these challenges facing our country.
I enter this contest with one firm conviction: Nigeria can work, and Nigeria must work.
Nigeria faces several serious challenges. Some of them are indeed of existential proportions.
According to the IMF, 63%, or over 140 million Nigerians, live at or below the national poverty line, while humanitarian agencies estimate that 35 million people will need food assistance during the 2026 lean season. About 3.6 million Nigerians remain internally displaced, largely because of conflict and insecurity. Each year, millions of young people enter the labour market, yet too many struggle to find productive opportunities. Weak infrastructure, unreliable power, insecurity, and the excessive cost of doing business continue to burden households and constrain enterprise.
These are more than statistics. They reflect the daily realities of Nigerian families, farmers, workers, students, and businesses.
Yet I do not believe Nigeria lacks the ability to overcome these challenges. We have the people, resources, market, talent, and enterprise. What we must do now is turn these strengths into security, productivity, and shared prosperity.
LEADERSHIP MUST DELIVER RESULTS
My successful private-sector experience, studies in institutions of repute on policy and business matters, and my service as Governor of Anambra State have shaped my understanding of public leadership. Government must manage resources responsibly, set clear priorities, and measure the outcomes of its decisions. Public office is not a reward; it is a responsibility to the people.
In Anambra, I prioritised the foundations of long-term development: education, healthcare, infrastructure, fiscal discipline, and institutional capacity. I do not present that record as perfect, but as an experience from which Nigerians can draw their own conclusions.
Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso brings a different but complementary governing experience.
As Governor of Kano State, he focused strongly on education, technical training, scholarships, infrastructure, and human-capital development. His administration’s investments in education and skills showed an understanding that the people are a state’s most important long-term resource.
Our experiences are different, but our conclusion is the same: Nigeria must invest in its people and manage public resources with discipline.
BUILDING AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS
Nigeria needs more than reactive reforms. We must focus on the questions that matter:
Are Nigerians better off than they were four years ago? Can they afford food, education, and healthcare? Can businesses produce, expand, and create jobs? Can young people find productive work? Can farmers work safely and get their produce to market?
Don’t let someone kill you! Imagine this killer didn’t show up at court, only for us to find out that she’s been released and has left the country!
There’s no Justice in this fokken country!