APC’s Campaign Flag-Off & The Illusion Of Support By Hauwa Yusuf.

The flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in Kaduna last weekend, 24th October 2026, has revealed a sharp disconnect between President Tinubu and ordinary Nigerians.

Truth be told, what Nigerians witnessed at the event in Kaduna was not a rally; it was theatre. A hollow spectacle characterised by a rented crowd bussed in and paid to cheer while being paraded for the cameras to create an illusion of support that does not exist on the ground. The empty enthusiasm of paid mobilisation could not hide the reality that Nigerians have disconnected from this government, as what was supposed to be a show of strength in terms of popularity and acceptance ended up exposing the party's disturbing desperation.

I was particularly struck by the President's speech. After over three years in office, they still do not have a message or a roadmap, just platitudes. To worsen the APC’s case was the President's appearance, which summed up the emptiness of the event. A speech lacking substance, lacking vision, and lacking any connection to the suffering of ordinary Nigerians, delivered in less than five minutes, did more damage than good.

After over three years in office, there is still no coherent message to offer the people of Kaduna, the North, and, by extension, Nigerians. The content of that short speech was even more insulting. The claims of progress are completely at variance with the lived reality of Nigerians. Where is the progress?

Beyond the economic figures, the most painful evidence of this administration's failure is the daily suffering of ordinary Nigerians. Families struggle to afford food, parents find it increasingly difficult to pay school fees, and healthcare has become unaffordable for many. The cost of rent, electricity, cooking gas and transportation continues to rise, while unemployment and underemployment leave millions of young Nigerians frustrated and hopeless. Small businesses are struggling to survive, and pensioners and vulnerable citizens are finding it increasingly difficult to meet their basic needs.

Insecurity has compounded these hardships, with families losing loved ones, communities being displaced, farmers abandoning their farms and children having their education disrupted. These are not abstract economic indicators; they are the lived realities of millions of Nigerians. What consolation does a campaign speech offer a hungry family, an unemployed graduate, a patient unable to afford medication or a farmer afraid to return to the farm? These are the urgent concerns that should occupy the attention of a competent President seeking the people's mandate.

Against this background, the Kaduna APC-Tinubu campaign flag-off demonstrated a disturbing disconnect between the government and the people it governs. Rather than acknowledge these hardships, demonstrate empathy and present credible solutions, the event appeared more concerned with projecting popularity than confronting reality. Leadership is not measured by rented crowds, campaign music or short, empty speeches. It is about whether citizens can afford food, access healthcare, educate their children, find decent employment and live in safety. Until this administration recognises and addresses these realities, no amount of political mobilisation can erase the suffering of Nigerians or restore their lost confidence.

On President Tinubu’s watch, over 130 million Nigerians have slipped into poverty. That is the real scorecard, not the lies told on a campaign podium. These are plain facts that do not require jigibola glasses to see.

To buttress what Nigerians are going through, former President Olusegun Obasanjo did not only accuse the President Tinubu-led APC administration of increasing hunger and poverty in the country, but he also added that inflation is over 300%. Mr President, this cannot be called progress; this is regression.

It must be repeated loudly that Tinubu's ignoble 3 years shamefully supervised an unprecedented level of insecurity. Kaduna itself, the host of the rally, has become a byword for kidnappings, banditry, and killings. Villages are emptied, highways are unsafe, and farmers cannot go to their farms, yet the government mounts a stage to celebrate itself.

The fuel subsidy debate ignited by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar exposes the anti-people nature of this government. Removing the subsidy without a cushion was sold as a reform, but what it has done is crush household income. With petrol now above ₦1,400 per litre, how can a family earning the ₦70,000 minimum wage survive? Nigerians simply cannot afford the pump price on their current incomes, and the government has no answer beyond more hardship and more uncomfortable lies to regain the trust of Nigerians who have lost faith in their leadership, just to secure their votes in the January 2027 elections. 

Nobel Prize-winning economist James Buchanan argued that politicians and bureaucrats, like individuals in other contexts, act in their own self-interest, which could lead to behaviours that may not align with the public good. The manner in which this current APC regime, led by President Tinubu, has treated policy issues with a direct bearing on the welfare of Nigerians exemplifies this argument. Democratically run countries all over the world risk rejection by the same people they govern if matters affecting their welfare are not treated as a priority. Is the APC still wondering why it is facing this unprecedented level of rejection by Nigerians?

The greatest issue of concern is the complete lack of transparency and the handling of public finances. This has led to queries and audits, resulting in troubling reports of missing funds and unaccounted-for loans running into trillions of naira, flagged by international partners like the World Bank. With a fuel pricing regime that has pushed petroleum beyond the reach of the average family, it is clear that this government has lost touch with reality. We need honesty, not rallies. Nigerians deserve better than rented crowds and empty speeches.

Little wonder Nigerians lined the streets of Kaduna, chanting “Bamayi,” Hausa phrase that literally translates to “we don’t want you,” in sharp contrast to what was going on inside the small-capacity stadium. This is a damning and irrefutable fact that Nigerians have moved on from the APC because of its unfriendly economic policies and deceitful economic propositions.

Hauwa Yusuf, writes from Abuja.