Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has cautioned politicians against heating up the polity ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying no political office is worth the life of any Nigerian.
Sanwo-Olu spoke on Thursday at the 7th Annual Lecture of Freedom Online Newspapers, themed, “2027: Elections, Economy, Security and Nigeria’s Future.”
The governor said the 2027 campaign season was already taking shape, predicting that opposition politicians would increasingly make the removal of fuel subsidy a major campaign issue.
He, however, defended the policy, saying subsidy removal was necessary to save the Nigerian economy and urging political leaders to place the country’s long-term interests above electoral considerations.
The Chairman of the occasion and former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the 2027 election should be viewed beyond a contest for political power and as an opportunity to strengthen nation-building.
Mohammed argued that politics should not override governance, stressing that the true measure of democratic progress was the ability of elections to strengthen institutions, attract investment and guarantee peace.
He also emphasised the link between security and economic development, noting that businesses and investors could not thrive in an environment where safety was not guaranteed.
Former Ogun State Governor, Senator Gbenga Daniel, similarly described security as an economic issue and a critical component of the nation’s economic infrastructure.
Daniel urged the Federal Government to diversify the economy beyond oil, identifying Nigeria’s young population, entrepreneurial culture, technology sector, financial institutions and creative economy as areas with significant potential.
He said the priority should be to transform these sectors into productive jobs, higher incomes and improved living standards, particularly for young Nigerians.
“They need more than speeches. They need skills, employment, access to capital, technology, and a society in which enterprise and hard work can lead to a better life,” Daniel said.
In his welcome address, the Publisher of Freedom Online Newspapers, Gabriel Akinadewo, said Nigeria appeared trapped in a four-year election cycle without a corresponding four-year development cycle.
Akinadewo noted that Nigeria would attain 28 years of uninterrupted civilian rule by May 29, 2027, describing the milestone as significant.
He called for a political system in which elections would consolidate development rather than become a recurring distraction from governance.