04/06/2026
Once you agree to unlearn much of what you think you know about Nigeria and allow me educate you on how this country truly works, your entire perspective will change.
This is not arrogance. It is a bitter reality.
One of the biggest mistakes many Nigerians make is believing elections are won on social media, television interviews, manifestos, or intellectual debates.
Politicians know better.
That is why they keep talking about "structure."
Peter Obi once described many of these structures as criminality. Whether you agree or not, one thing is certain: these structures exist, and they are where the real political game is played.
The average Nigerian sees an election. The politician sees a network.
Now let me open your eyes a little.
It is estimated that over 60% of Nigerians live in poverty. Some figures are even higher.
Think about what that means.
Out of every 100 Nigerians, more than 60 are struggling to survive. Their priority is not political ideology. Their priority is food, rent, school fees, transport fare, and the next meal.
Now remove the politicians, political appointees, contractors, powerful business interests, and others who directly benefit from the current system.
Then remove another large group of educated and relatively comfortable Nigerians who are frustrated, disillusioned, and have long stopped believing their votes can change anything.
Many of them no longer vote.
Some will spend hours arguing online but will never spend thirty minutes at a polling unit.
This is the secret many politicians understand.
The battle is not fought where most Nigerians are looking.
It is fought at the grassroots.
It is fought through local networks.
It is fought through influence, dependency, loyalty, patronage, and control of communities that the political elite have spent decades cultivating.
That is why those in power often appear impossible to defeat.
Not because they are loved by the majority.
Not because they are geniuses.
But because they understand the structure better than those trying to remove them.
The day Nigerians truly understand how these local structures operate is the day many political myths will die.
And when that day comes, we may finally begin to understand why the same people keep winning while the country keeps losing.
I will explain in my next post how these structures actually work and why defeating them is far harder than most Nigerians imagine.
Follow carefully.
