As the distant drums of the 2027 general elections begin to thud across Nigeria, one suffocating question hangs thick in the air like harmattan dust: When will the elders finally pack up and go home? Nigeria has been hijacked by a cartel of old political landlords who treat the nation like family property and have turned government into a retirement home for recycled leaders. As they regroup for 2027, they are peddling the same tired lie that, only they have the experience to lead.
But look around; a crashing naira, soaring food prices, and grinding hardship. This is not wisdom; it is the shaky grip of godfathers out of touch with today’s reality.
In a country where over 70% are under 30, letting these same faces block younger, brighter minds is no longer just bad governance, it is national sabotage.
Take the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is reportedly 74, has already secured his party’s endorsement for a second term. His government sells a “Renewed Hope” agenda, but for millions of young Nigerians, that hope has been drowned by brutal inflation and painful economic reforms. His camp preaches continuity. But here is the real question: should the architects of today’s hardship be trusted to design Nigeria’s digital tomorrow?
The sickness is bipartisan across the aisle, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is currently 78, has clinched the ADC coalition ticket, calling 2027 his final attempt at the presidency.
After nearly four decades of chasing the same office since the early 1990s, his political ambition is literally older than most of the young people voting today. Atiku is no longer just a candidate, he is the living symbol of a generational logjam. When a man spends 40 years running for president, it is not persistence; it is a system that has refused to raise successors.
Even the so called alternative offers little relief. Peter Obi, 65, Labour Party’s 2023 flagbearer, is back for 2027 with a promise of a single four-year term to “reset” Nigeria. Rabiu Kwankwaso, 69, is already positioning for a strategic alliance with him. Yes, both men inspired millions of youths with talk of production-led growth and discipline.
But let’s be honest, they are products of the same old club just offering us a different version of the same old product.
When your new opposition entered public service before most voters were even born, you don’t have a youth movement. You have recycling in disguise.
But we cannot just blame the old men. We must look at the youth wings inside these big political parties. The sad truth is that the biggest enemies of the youth are often other youths. Instead of fighting for real change, many young politicians have turned themselves into praise singers, social media attackers, and bag carriers for old politicians. They accept small crumbs, contract promises, and mobilisation money to protect the very same system that is destroying their future. They behave like houseboys in the corridors of power, waiting for their turn to steal instead of dismantling the structure entirely.
There is a popular saying in Nigeria that says, “the game is the game.” Many people believe that to successfully enter the arena of Nigerian politics, you must first bow down and play by the old rules. They tell you that you must fraternise with old politicians, dance to their tunes, and accept their sponsorship just to get your foot in the door. The logic seems practical on the surface: use their money, use their platforms, get into power, and then change the system from the inside. But this is a dangerous lie. That exact mindset is what destroys our system completely. The moment you let an old political wag sponsor your journey into power, you have signed away your independence.
In Nigerian politics, there is no free lunch. If they buy your nomination forms, fund your rallies, and introduce you to their structures, they own you. They will keep controlling you, controlling your policies, and controlling the system through you. You will become nothing but a fresh face doing the dirty work of old masters.
The youth must refuse to be sponsored by the same old circle. If you want true change, you must fight on your own and be the change you want to see. The old guard has made the game too expensive on purpose.
The Not Too Young to Run Law lowered the age limit to contest, but the political parties immediately raised the prices of their nomination forms to millions of naira. This ensures that an ordinary, brilliant young Nigerian can never afford to run. The only young people who get a ticket under their sponsorship are the children of billionaires, the stooges of powerful godfathers, or handpicked puppets.
We saw what happened with former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello. He came in as a very young man, but his administration ended in massive controversies with the anti-graft agency, the EFCC. This proves that being young does not automatically make a leader honest or good. A young thief who is controlled by old patterns is just as dangerous as an old tyrant.
Therefore, as we approach 2027, the old guard will try a new trick, they will start presenting younger candidates to trick the public. But these will not be real leaders; they will be puppet youth candidates sponsored behind the scenes by political godfathers.
To save Nigeria, the average voter must learn how to spot and avoid these fake young leaders before they do more damage.
First, look at their political history and where their loyalty lies. A puppet youth candidate will never condemn the failures of the godfather who brought them up. If a young candidate is defending the bad economic decisions or the corruption of an older politician, that youth is already a compromised puppet. They are just a fresh face being used to cover old decay.
Again, look at their lifestyle and campaign funding. If a young person who has never run a successful business or created visible value suddenly appears with private jets, convoy vehicles, and billions of naira to distribute during primaries, you must ask questions. Real independent youths do not have that kind of money. That money belongs to a political godfather who expects to be paid back with public funds once the puppet gets into office.
Listen to their message. Puppet candidates talk in vague slogans and spend all their time attacking opponents on social media. They do not have concrete, independent plans for the economy, security, or technology. They rely entirely on the structure and commands of their masters.
So, how do we bypass this heavy financial barrier and avoid these puppets in 2027? Young Nigerians, who make up over 70% of the population, must stop treating elections like an emotional internet carnival. The old politicians do not win on X (formerly Twitter). They win in the small, local government wards where they pay delegates and handle grassroots logistics.
To break this cartel, the new generation must execute a systematic, hostile takeover of party structures at the foundational level.
We need a class of technocrats, tech founders, economic strategists, and structural planners who refuse to hold umbrellas or sweep floors for octogenarians.
The new generation must crowd-fund their own candidates. If one million youth contribute just one thousand naira each, they can easily raise one billion naira to sponsor clean, competent leaders under 50.
Young people must massively register as card-carrying members of political parties at the local ward levels. They must flood the grassroots rooms where decisions are made. 2027 should not be a year of begging old politicians to step aside, or should it be a year of selling your soul for their sponsorship.
The old guard has had its sunset. They have written their chapters in Nigeria’s history; chapters defined by squandered oil booms, systemic leaks, and broken promises. To ask them to step aside in 2027 is not an act of disrespect; it is an act of national survival.
Nigeria is bleeding out, and we can no longer afford to let the doctors of yesterday try to perform an open-heart surgery on the digital economy of tomorrow. It must be the year we make their continued stay politically, socially, and structurally impossible. The elders have eaten the grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge; it is time to revoke their license to govern.
It is time for the elders to step back into advisory elder-statesman roles and let a new, uncompromised generation take the wheel before we drive off the cliff.
*Boma Lilian Braide Esq is a tested Lawyer, Mediator, Founder & Advocate, Journalist and Policy Voice for Youths and Women.
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