It started like a normal political debate. It didn’t stay that way for long.
At the Voice of the People (VOP) Media in Lagos, comprising VOPTV and VOP 90.3 FM on Friday, the town hall themed “My Candidate Is the Best” quickly turned into a heated face-off between Nigeria’s political blocs, each insisting it had the solution to the country’s biggest problems: insecurity, hunger, and a shaky economy.
By the end of the night, it wasn’t just about candidates anymore. It was about competing visions of Nigeria’s future.
“Tinubu never promised to end insecurity” — APC draws the first fire
The APC representative, Adeyemi Samson Ajasa, General Secretary of the City Boy Movement in Ogun State, came in defending President Bola Tinubu’s record, but his argument immediately sparked backlash.
General Secretary of the City Boy Movement (Ogun State chapter), representing the All Progressive Congress (APC)
His central claim was simple: Nigerians misunderstood the promise.
According to him, President Tinubu never promised to wipe out insecurity completely.
“He never promised you he would end insecurity,” Mr Ajasa said firmly. “The economy is coming back, the reforms are working… you don’t conceive a child today and expect delivery in one month.”
To him, the administration is doing the hard work of restructuring a broken system, even if Nigerians are yet to feel the relief.
He pointed to reforms, student loans, and youth programmes as signs of progress, insisting that quick fixes would have meant more borrowing and subsidy dependency.
But across the table, that explanation didn’t land smoothly.
Numbers were thrown back at him. Questions about rising killings, hardship, and survival dominated the room. And the tension in the studio began to rise.
“State police is the answer” — Obidient movement pushes structural change
If the APC defended continuity, the Obidient Movement went straight for restructuring.
Mr Olokwo Bienoseh Mathew, speaking for the Peter Obi camp, didn’t hesitate: Nigeria’s security system, he said, is outdated.
His solution was blunt, state police!
“We are talking about rejigging the security to the extent of having a state police. That state police is a panacea to stopping this problem,” he said.
Peter Obi-led Obidient Movement
For him, centralised policing has failed to match Nigeria’s growing insecurity, from banditry to terrorism.
He argued that governors are currently “toothless” when it comes to security control, and that the constitution must be rewritten to fix that gap.
He also leaned on Peter Obi’s record in Anambra, especially education indicators, as proof that governance can be more efficient at state level.
But the conversation wasn’t just about policy, it turned into a deeper argument about trust in leadership and whether decentralisation would solve or complicate Nigeria’s fragile security system.
AAC goes Nuclear: “This system only produces poverty”
Then came the AAC and the tone shifted completely.
Mr Soneye Lekan, representing the African Action Congress, rejected both APC and Obidient arguments as “different versions of the same failed system.”
His message was sharp, emotional, and unfiltered.
“People who have held several positions, they failed you mercilessly, ruthlessly!” he said.
“We are not building more billionaires in Nigeria. We want to build more self-sustained Nigerians.”
For him, Nigeria’s problem is not just insecurity or structure, it is ownership.
He called for nationalization of oil, gas, and power, arguing that critical resources should not sit in private hands while citizens struggle with fuel prices and poverty.
He also dragged the conversation back to education and insecurity, warning that a country producing millions of out-of-school children is “manufacturing future instability.”
At one point, the discussion became so heated that moderators had to step in as voices overlapped and tempers rose.
Three visions, one fractured reality
By the middle of the debate, it was clear: Nigeria’s political divide is no longer just party-based, it is philosophical.
- The APC defended reform and gradual recovery
- The Obidient Movement pushed decentralisation and restructuring
- The AAC demanded economic revolution and wealth redistribution
Each side accused the other, directly or indirectly, of being responsible for Nigeria’s current state.
And yet, beneath the arguments, one theme kept returning: insecurity, hardship, and frustration.
A country still searching
What made the VOP town hall stand out wasn’t just the arguments, it was the contrast in urgency.
- One side asked for patience.
- Another demanded structural redesign.
- Another called for a complete economic reset.
And somewhere in between all the noise was a simple truth: Nigerians are still waiting for answers that feel real in their daily lives.
As the microphones went off and the studio lights dimmed, the debate didn’t feel finished.
It felt like a preview.
A preview of what 2027 might look like, a louder, tougher, and more fiercely contested political battle.
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