Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has declared that the only way President Bola Tinubu can be prevented from securing a second term in 2027 is if Nigerians actively rise to reclaim their country from elite dominance, which he likened to “bandits.”
Naija News reports that Amaechi issued the challenge on Thursday at the public presentation of the 2025 Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey Report by the Africa Polling Institute in Abuja, where he criticised citizens for being passive in the face of worsening hardship and elite manipulation.
He said, “The only way you can stop Tinubu from being the president of Nigeria in 2027 is to run an election of Nigerians versus the bandits.
“If you think you will just sit down and do that, may God be with you.”
He warned that change cannot come through wishful thinking or passive lamentation, noting that the same elites who have “plundered” the country are still pulling the strings, while Nigerians grumble privately.
Describing the political class as a small clique, Amaechi said, “The elites who are stealing Nigerian money are not up to 100,000, but you have 200 million Nigerians who can fight 100,000 men.
“You sit down in your house and complain and grumble. What makes you think the elites would move their hands completely? They know you are not happy. But you are helpless not because the elites made you helpless, you made yourself helpless.”
Citing global examples of citizens challenging power, the former minister said other countries have taken action in the face of injustice.
He said, “Go to Bangladesh. The day they got tired of that woman, they chased her out. Go to Peru or Chile. Nigeria is the most docile society I’ve seen in my life. Please tell me, has there been any revolution without blood? Any revolution without blood is a failure.”
Amaechi also revealed his own frustration with Nigeria’s condition, admitting he once considered emigrating, popularly referred to as Japa.
He further stated, “I told my wife I want to Japa like you people do. They will give me an official visa to stay in any country. She said, ‘No, we can’t leave Nigeria because Nigeria is lovable. It’s lovely.”
The former Rivers State governor lamented the collapse of organised resistance, recalling how student unions and labour groups once mobilised against unpopular government policies.
The former Governor of Rivers State said, “There was a joint meeting between ASUU, NLC, and NANS. Now, NLC can’t even mobilise their people. Why? Ethnicity.
“I’ve spoken to them before. I even told them, I will join you in the protest. They said they can’t. So, Nigeria is totally collapsed.”
Amaechi, who served under both civilian and military dispensations, asserted that the political class has deepened public suffering far more than the military ever did.
“We pushed away the military and brought in the politicians. The politicians have shown they are worse than the military,” he said.
Sharing insight from his time as governor, he linked spikes in crime to poor liquidity in the economy.
He said, “When I see robbery or kidnapping, I know there’s no money in circulation. Once we pay contractors, the money spreads, workers, suppliers, markets, doctors, tailors and crime reduces.”
Earlier, the Executive Director of the Africa Polling Institute, Prof. Bell Ihua, presented damning survey findings, revealing that 83% of Nigerians have little to no trust in the Tinubu administration, 80% distrust the National Assembly and 79% distrust the judiciary.
“This report has very telling information. Citizens are united in shared struggle based on economic realities. The government needs to act based on this scientific data to rebuild public confidence.” Ihua said.
