By Abidemi Adebamiwa
As the 2026 and 2027 elections draw closer, a familiar pattern returns. Politicians who vanished after the last election suddenly become visible again. They attend community meetings, visit markets, and speak passionately about the people they ignored for years.
It feels familiar because it is.
Election season politics often resembles a landlord who disappears all year. The roof leaks. The walls crack. The toilet fails. Calls go unanswered. Tenants complain quietly and learn to survive.
Then rent time arrives.
Suddenly, the landlord remembers your number. He calls every morning. He speaks gently. He promises to fix everything next week. He even claims the materials have already been purchased.
You pay the rent.
After that, nothing gets fixed.
Instead, stories begin.
The plumber traveled.
The cement finished unexpectedly.
The road was sealed.
Next week becomes next month. Months turn into years. The house remains the same.
That is how politics works.
For four years, many communities endured neglect. Roads collapsed. Hospitals weakened. Jobs disappeared. Insecurity grew. Leadership went silent.
Now elections are near again, and the same leaders have returned with fresh slogans and familiar smiles.
This is where citizens must think clearly.
Leadership is not seasonal. It cannot appear only when votes are needed. Service is not a speech. It is consistency.
The 2026 and 2027 elections are not sympathy exercises. They are evaluations. Votes should not reward stories. They should reward results.
It is 2026 already. The next four years push Nigeria toward 2030. Many voters may not be here then, but the consequences of today’s choices will remain.
What we accept today becomes what our children inherit tomorrow.
With time, one should expect wise tenants to start reflecting on the value of paying rent for a house that never gets fixed.
Because excuses cannot raise a future.
Abidemi Adebamiwa is the Managing Editor @ Newspot Nigeria
