_“A proxy is not a replacement; they are a sacred custodian of your voice when you cannot speak.”_ — Unknown
It appears that the battle for the 2027 Presidential Election hinges on a controversial political stand-in. But the fact remains that Nigerian voters deserve direct access to the candidates themselves, not merely campaign operatives; to leaders, rather than their representatives. The reason is straightforward: democracy depends on dialogue between citizens and those seeking their mandate. Surrogates must not become barriers to that exchange, but regrettably, as political preparations for the 2027 general elections begin to take shape, a clear transformation is emerging at the highest level of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The party’s flagbearer, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, appears poorly positioned to present his disastrous first term to Nigerians as a basis for seeking a second term. Consequently, his wife, the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has increasingly moved beyond the traditional, exclusively ceremonial boundaries of the unconstitutional Office of the First Lady and assumed a prominent, forceful campaigning role on her husband’s behalf.
The underlying philosophy of Nigeria’s operating Constitution is entirely different, and it expressly sets out the expectations concerning a President’s family. The Constitution contemplates that a President requires a peaceful and supportive home environment to remain in the proper frame of mind for the demanding task of governance. This may explain why it assigns the President’s wife no formal responsibility beyond that of wifery. Its framers also anticipated that some Presidents would have multiple wives and sought to avoid using the Constitution to generate disputes within families. However, despite this, the wives of successive Presidents have continued to assume powers for themselves, thereby creating an unconstitutional office of the First Lady.
Across important geopolitical centres lately — from high-stakes town hall meetings in the South-West to major women’s empowerment rallies in Owerri and Awka, Imo and Anambra States respectively — the First Lady’s message has shifted from measured social advocacy toward direct political persuasion. Last week, the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, maintained a prominent presence in the two Igbo states of Anambra and Imo, making an aggressive effort to promote her husband. She accepted various traditional titles and, as a woman, even violated tradition by using her traditional fan to receive greetings from traditional rulers and titleholders—an act no woman should undertake: standing to receive greetings from chiefs as a woman. The traditional rulers who sycophantically violated their customs will have matters to answer for before the gods.
More troubling still is that these hired Igbo rulers compromised their traditions on behalf of someone who had previously displayed extensive hostility toward Ndigbo—a woman who has remained at the centre of public controversy because of specific comments concerning the Igbo ethnic group (Ndigbo). The two most prominent and widely condemned statements attributed to her about Ndigbo are: “We Don’t Trust You Igbos.” During the March 2019 governorship and state assembly elections in Lagos State, a video showed her engaging extensively with voters. In another highly controversial video in which she discussed Igbo political alignment and cultural integration in Lagos State, she made a further statement that was xenophobic and ethnically divisive. Her supporters argued that the remarks were delivered in a lighthearted, colloquial manner and had been taken out of context. However, it is widely understood that people often reveal their true feelings through so-called jokes: “We will appeal to all the deities of Lagos to drive Igbo people away. Those Igbo who did not marry Yoruba people will become our inheritance. Considering how much we love the Igbo, you now want to ruin everything. You are not the only tribe here… But the Igbo are proving difficult. We will inherit you.”
Because these so-called jokes were politically characterised as “harmless banter” or “innocent jokes,” Igbos, along with their businesses and assets in Lagos, have faced various forms of pressure. This is the same woman who now wants Igbos to reject their son, who is by far a better candidate and chose her husband, whose first tenure has turned Nigeria upside down in every respect. Yet, in pursuit of votes, she suddenly recalls that “Igbos are very nice people. My best friend in secondary school was an Igbo girl… In high school and at tertiary institutions, we were all identified as Igbo because they said I resembled an Igbo girl.”
The First Lady’s growing visibility in the political arena has further fueled debates across Nigeria’s media and political commentary circles about the President’s physical presence on the campaign trail, his stamina, and his broader capacity to govern. By taking a prominent role at public appearances and political events, the First Lady functions as an energetic surrogate, enabling the administration to sustain strong political visibility nationwide. From an editorial standpoint, the First Lady’s forceful leadership of the 2027 campaign provides a notable case study in the use of political surrogates. Her active involvement lends the campaign narrative substantial legislative credibility. In Nigerian politics, when a spouse or senior proxy assumes the central role at political rallies, critics quickly portray that arrangement as a shield for a presidential candidate whose vitality or stamina is waning. Opponents will continue to cite her prominent public role as evidence that the administration is relying extensively on surrogates to compensate for a visibility deficit.
Yet whether understood as a tactical proxy campaign or as a complementary political force, Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s early appearance on the 2027 campaign trail indicates that the contest for the next presidential term will rely significantly on the First Lady’s network and personal political capital. It is worth recalling that she attended a church gathering in the United States at which President Donald Trump was present, seeking, both domestically and internationally, to counter efforts to undermine her husband’s reputation and to engage audiences he is unable to reach because of either physical or moral incapacity. Nigerians deserve the opportunity to see, hear, and question the man seeking their mandate. They deserve direct interaction, not stand-ins; personal explanations, not surrogates. If the President is pursuing another four-year mandate, the campaigners should allow him to appear before Nigerians, defend his record, if any, account for his failures, outline his plans, and persuade the people that he is prepared to serve another term.
The 2027 election must not become a referendum on who can campaign most energetically on the President’s behalf. It should instead be a referendum on the President himself—his record, his capacity, his vision, and his preparedness to lead Nigeria for another four years. Nigerians are not electing a campaign team. They are choosing a President. The very pertinent question, however, is whether a surrogate presidential candidate merits Igbo votes, even if he satisfies the other requirements, particularly given the evident deficiency in every respect.
Igbos are on record to always vote on merits, not on sentiments. Igbos are the least people to ever support someone in the name of “you are from my tribe.” If you don’t merit it, you get no support. They voted OBJ [Obasanjo] over Ojukwu in 1999 and 2003, voted Yar’Adua in 2007, and Jonathan in 2011 and 2015. If they are dying for Peter Obi today, it’s because he is the best in the circumstances. Igbos are not ethnic voters; they pay close attention to competence, achievement, and the track record of candidates. God help us.
