BACK IN THE GAME

The Jigawa conversation by some clerics and top politicians on the 2027 election is significant, reckons ADE SAMUEL 

In Nigerian politics, loyalty is valuable, but loyalty backed by political intelligence, strategic thinking and the ability to build relationships is an even greater asset. Some recent political engagements in the north offer a glimpse of strategists who know elections are often won long before voters arrive at the polling booth.

The reported endorsement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term by more than 500 Islamic scholars, preachers and clerics from across the country, following a closed-door meeting in Jigawa State involving six northern APC governors and Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, is therefore politically significant. It points to a growing conversation around the President’s 2027 re-election bid and the mobilisation of influential stakeholders ahead of the contest.

At the centre of this engagement is Ibrahim Kabir Masari, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Political Matters. His assignment places him at a critical intersection between the Presidency, political actors and the broader network of stakeholders whose opinions can influence public sentiment. His effectiveness will inevitably be measured not only by what he says, but by the relationships he builds and the political outcomes those relationships can produce.

 Masari’s strength appears to lie in his appreciation of Nigeria’s complex political architecture. In the North especially, political engagement extends beyond party structures to include religious leaders, traditional institutions, community leaders, political stakeholders and grassroots networks. Understanding these layers requires political maturity, patience and considerable political intelligence.

The Jigawa gathering should therefore be viewed for what it represents: a major political development. Bringing together more than 500 Islamic scholars, preachers and clerics from across the country, alongside six northern APC governors and other senior political figures, is no small feat. Their collective endorsement of President Tinubu for a second term sends a strong signal about the level of political engagement already taking place ahead of 2027.

More importantly, the development demonstrates the importance of building broad-based support around the President and sustaining relationships with influential stakeholders. Such a significant gathering should not be treated as a one-off engagement. The conversations must continue, the relationships must be nurtured, and the stakeholders must remain consistently engaged until the ultimate political objective is achieved.

For President Tinubu, this kind of engagement can become an important pillar of the 2027 political strategy. Religious and community leaders possess significant influence within their respective constituencies, and maintaining an open channel of communication with them will be essential. Consistent engagement allows concerns to be heard, messages to be clarified and shared political objectives to remain firmly in focus. Kabir Masari’s ability to understand political currents, connect stakeholders and sustain conversations across different constituencies places him in a strategic position. The task is not merely to bring people together, but to ensure that the relationships established translate into enduring political mobilisation.

The Jigawa meeting also reminds us that political victories are built through sustained engagement. A single endorsement, however impressive, is only the beginning. What matters is the commitment to return to the table, deepen the relationship, listen continuously and keep the conversation alive until the desired outcome is secured.

For the Tinubu camp, the gathering provides both momentum and responsibility. The goodwill demonstrated by these influential voices must be respected, reciprocated and strategically nurtured. The road to 2027 will require consistency, discipline and a willingness to engage every important constituency with sincerity and purpose.

If recent developments are anything to go by, a laudable political groundwork is already being made. The Jigawa gathering is an important step in the long political journey towards 2027.

 Samuel, a policy and political analyst, writes from Abuja

Letter

WOMEN’S ADVOCACY AS NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA

Women’s advocacy in Africa has reached a point where we must ask an important question: Are we building a movement that will outlive individual advocates, or are we creating platforms that rise and fall with personalities? 

The distinction is important. When advocacy for women’s inclusion becomes too closely identified with an individual, political party, social class or personal ambition, it can easily be misunderstood as a struggle for positions. But when it is anchored in institutions, laws, national development and measurable benefits for society, it becomes much more difficult to dismiss.

The ultimate objective should not simply be to put more women in office. It should be to build societies in which competent women have a fair opportunity to contribute alongside men, and where their participation improves governance, families, communities and national development.

Nigeria does not have to look outside its borders to understand the power of collective women’s action.
The Women’s War of 1929, also known as Ogu Umunwanyi, remains one of the most significant examples.
Another powerful historical case is Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and the Abeokuta Women’s Union.

Women’s inclusion cannot therefore become an elite conversation about appointments in Abuja or state capitals. The market woman, farmer, widow, young graduate, entrepreneur, woman living with disability and rural girl must be able to recognise herself in the advocacy.

Nigeria’s challenge is particularly striking because women constitute roughly half of the population and electorate, yet remain severely underrepresented in political decision-making.
This should not be treated simply as a “women’s problem.” When a substantial part of a country’s human capital is inadequately represented where budgets, laws and development priorities are determined, the country potentially loses knowledge, experience and perspectives that could improve decision-making.

One mistake that can weaken women’s advocacy is presenting every discussion as a confrontation between women and men.
Men remain critical stakeholders in political parties, traditional institutions, religious organisations, businesses, families and government. Sustainable change therefore requires strategic male allies.
This does not mean weakening the demand for equality. It means recognising that social transformation becomes stronger when those who currently occupy positions of influence understand that women’s progress does not require men’s failure.
A woman entering Parliament does not diminish democracy; she broadens it. A woman becoming economically productive strengthens household income. A girl receiving quality education expands the future productive capacity of her community.

When women become employers, taxpayers, community leaders and educators of another generation, society receives the multiplier effect.

History then teaches essentially the same lesson: movements become transformational when the cause becomes bigger than the personalities leading it.
The women who came before us were not merely asking to be celebrated as powerful women. They challenged systems that affected thousands of other women. That should remain the spirit of modern advocacy.
Nigeria does not need women’s inclusion simply so that we can count more female faces around conference tables. We need women included because no nation can sustainably develop while limiting the contribution of half of its human resources.
Women’s advocacy must therefore cease to be perceived as a personal pursuit, an elite project or a competition with men. It must become a broad national movement involving government, political parties, traditional and religious institutions, civil society, the private sector, men, women and young people.
The real victory will not come when one woman gets an appointment or another receives an award. Victory will come when inclusion no longer depends on who is advocating, who is in power or who knows whom, because fairness, opportunity and representation have become part of the institutions of the nation.
At that point, women’s inclusion will no longer be merely a women’s agenda. It will be a Nigerian development agenda.

Dr. Jumai Ahmadu, Director, Reform Coordination and Service Improvement Department, FCTA