TD Nigerians, Wake Up: Your NIN Is Yours. Your Taxes Are Yours. Your Vote Is Yours. None Belongs to Any Political Party.
There is something profoundly disturbing about the emerging picture of Nigeria’s political machinery.
It is no longer merely about politicians campaigning for votes.
It is about the apparent convergence of government institutions, citizens’ data, public revenue and partisan political operations.
And Nigerians should be alarmed.
Very alarmed.
WHO HAS ACCESS TO YOUR DATA?
Nigerians surrender some of their most sensitive personal information to government.
Names.
Addresses.
Biometrics.
National Identification Numbers.
Identity records.
The NIN has become deeply integrated into Nigeria’s identity-verification architecture, including electoral processes.
So when reports emerge that the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission has been assigned a senior data-management role in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign structure, Nigerians have every reason to ask:
Where exactly does government responsibility end and partisan politics begin?
This is not paranoia.
It is basic democratic hygiene.
No political party should ever have access to citizens’ government-held personal data simply because its officials occupy public offices.
If there are watertight safeguards preventing such abuse, show Nigerians the safeguards.
If there are not, Nigeria has a monumental institutional problem.
THE TAXMAN AS A CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISER?
Then comes another troubling development.
Reports identify Zacch Adedeji, Nigeria’s chief tax administrator, as holding a senior fundraising position in the APC campaign structure.
Think about that.
The man at the centre of Nigeria’s tax administration is simultaneously being associated with the fundraising machinery of the governing party.
At a time Nigerians are being squeezed by taxes, levies, inflation and declining purchasing power.
Coincidence?
Perhaps.
But democracy does not operate on “trust us.”
It operates on transparency.
The government must explain the firewall between public tax administration and partisan fundraising.
Because the Nigerian taxpayer is not an APC donor by default.
THE CAMPAIGN COUNCIL CONTROVERSY
And then there is the parade of politically controversial figures.
Jolly Nyame.
Joshua Dariye.
Both former governors were convicted of corruption and imprisoned before receiving presidential pardons.
Betta Edu became embroiled in a major public controversy over the handling of funds within the humanitarian ministry and was removed from office.
Ngozi Olejeme is facing corruption-related legal proceedings.
Their inclusion—or reported inclusion—in the Tinubu campaign structure has understandably generated outrage.
To be clear: a pardon is legally consequential, and an allegation is not a conviction.
But politics is also about judgment.
What message is being sent to millions of Nigerians who are told every day to make sacrifices, obey the law and trust government?
That political rehabilitation is easier for the powerful?
That yesterday’s scandals become today’s campaign credentials?
That loyalty to the political establishment can wash away almost any controversy?
Nigerians are entitled to ask.
THE GOVERNMENT’S ANSWER CANNOT ALWAYS BE: ENDURE
Since 2023, Nigerians have been told that the medicine will be painful.
Remove the subsidy.
Devalue the currency.
Raise revenue.
Increase taxes.
Accept higher prices.
Make sacrifices.
Endure.
But ordinary Nigerians have endured enough to ask the obvious question:
Where is the dividend?
Food prices remain crushing.
Transport costs have exploded.
Electricity is unaffordable for many households.
Businesses are struggling.
Young Nigerians are leaving.
Families are cutting meals.
Yet the political class continues to operate as though Nigeria is an endless political playground.
Campaigns.
Fundraising.
Appointments.
Power struggles.
Political defections.
And the Nigerian people?
Pay.
SINGAPORE BUILDS. NIGERIA ARGUES.
Singapore had no vast Nigerian-style crude-oil inheritance.
Yet it built institutions.
It invested in education.
It developed human capital.
It planned for generations.
Nigeria inherited enormous natural resources and enormous human potential.
Yet too much of our national conversation remains trapped in the primitive politics of who gets what, who controls what and who gets access to the treasury.
The difference is not simply oil.
The difference is institutional discipline and leadership accountability.
THIS IS BIGGER THAN TINUBU
This editorial is not an argument that every allegation against the Tinubu administration is true.
Nor is it an argument that every person associated with the APC campaign is corrupt.
That would be irresponsible journalism.
The larger issue is more fundamental:
Can Nigerians trust the institutions of the Nigerian state to remain independent of partisan political interests?
That is the question.
NIMC must be independent enough to protect Nigerians’ identity information.
Tax authorities must be independent enough to administer taxation without partisan considerations.
INEC must be independent enough to protect the integrity of elections.
Public institutions must serve citizens—not political godfathers.
NIGERIANS MUST PAY ATTENTION
Do not surrender your democratic vigilance.
Do not allow politicians to convince you that asking questions is treason.
Do not allow party propaganda to replace evidence.
Do not allow opposition propaganda to replace evidence either.
Demand documents.
Demand explanations.
Demand transparency.
Demand accountability.
And above all, protect your vote.
Because your NIN is not a political party’s property.
Your tax is not campaign money.
Your vote is not a presidential gift.
Your children are not born to finance the comfort of an elite political class.
Nigeria is not a private estate.
It is a republic.
And a republic belongs to its citizens.
The most dangerous thing Nigerians can do now is remain silent while the boundaries between state power and party power become increasingly blurred.
The second most dangerous thing is to believe that somebody else will stop it.
They will not.
Citizens must.
Because once a political party controls the narrative, the money, the machinery and potentially the data, the question is no longer simply who will win the next election.
The question becomes:
