2027 and the Politics of Endorsement in Nasarawa State
By God'spower Ede
As the All Progressives Congress inches toward its primaries in Nasarawa State, a peculiar theatre has opened. The stage is not the dusty campaign ground of Awe, nor the bustling markets of Karu, nor the yam barns of Keana. It is, instead, the curated frame of a smartphone camera.
Aspirants, old and new, have become curators of optics. They shop, not for policy endorsements, but for photo endorsements. They queue, not at town halls, but at the gates of the “high and mighty,” jostling for that one golden frame: a handshake, a half-smile, a thumbs-up from a political masquerade whose shadow looms large in the state.
The polity now brims with whispers of “preferred aspirants.” In hushed tones, party faithfuls trade names of those “anointed” by unseen hands. The currency of the season is proximity — how close you stood to the godfather, how tight the embrace, how convincing the grin in that pose.
But here lies the rub: since when did a pixelated pose translate to political power?
Democracy was never meant to be a photo contest. Elections are not won in the echo chambers of VIP parlours; they are won in the hearts of the farmer who needs fertilizer, the market woman who needs security, the youth who needs a job. The ballot box has no memory of selfies. It remembers only sweat, service, and sincerity.
What becomes of the aspirant who has no godfather to lean on, no camera to flash, no “big man” to lend him borrowed legitimacy? Is he to be priced out of the democratic marketplace because his album is empty? If we reduce politics to a gallery of endorsements, we enshrine laziness and exile merit.
Thankfully, the law is wiser than the lobbyist. The Electoral Act prescribes direct primaries, and the APC, alongside other parties, has adopted the same. This is the great equalizer. It returns power to the people — the farmer in Toto, the trader in Lafia, the teacher in Akwanga. It says, in clear letters: Go and look for votes, not vignettes.
Endorsements, in truth, are not evil. A word from a respected elder can sway hearts. But when endorsement becomes a substitute for popularity, when a snapshot becomes a strategy, then democracy is seduced by laziness. And laziness, history tells us, never wins enduring elections.
To the aspirants scrambling for frames: leave the photo studios and enter the streets. Test your popularity where it matters — in the wards, not in WhatsApp groups. For 2027 will not be decided by who stood beside whom, but by who stood for the people when it mattered.
In Nasarawa, the people are watching. And this time, they hold both the camera and the ballot.
God'spower Ede is a Senior News Editor with the Nasarawa Broadcasting Service NBS.
