The 2025 National Summit: Political Theatre in Place of True Reform
By Prof. Dr. Nwolisa Okanga
As Nigeria lurches towards the 2027 general elections, the recent National Summit offers little more than a political distraction from the country’s deepening democratic crisis.
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In July 2025, the Nigerian government staged what it called a National Summit — a two-day event purportedly aimed at charting solutions to the country’s mounting challenges. Yet, for many Nigerians both at home and abroad, this gathering was less about reform and more about deflection — a symbolic spectacle under the guise of national engagement, held by an administration deeply mired in allegations of corruption and manipulation.
The summit, convened under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership, has done little to change perceptions that this government is more interested in retaining power than addressing Nigeria’s foundational problems. With a record marred by unresolved identity controversies, certificate forgeries, and widely questioned electoral victories, Tinubu’s administration lacks the moral authority to lead such a process in good faith.
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A Distraction, Not a Dialogue
As Nigeria’s 2027 general election draws nearer, the timing of this summit cannot be ignored. It appears designed less to solve problems and more to shape narratives — a calculated effort to present an illusion of reform while diverting attention from worsening poverty, economic stagnation, and public disillusionment.
This is not the first time Nigeria has flirted with national dialogue. The 2014 National Conference, held under President Goodluck Jonathan, was one of the most comprehensive in the country’s history. It tackled core issues — from federal restructuring to resource control to electoral reform — and delivered a detailed communique. Yet when the APC took power in 2015, the document was shelved and forgotten.
If the current government was truly committed to reform, it would revive those far-reaching recommendations rather than spend public resources replicating what already exists.
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Diaspora Voting: Perennially Postponed
One of the key points raised in the summit’s communique was diaspora engagement. As a member of the Nigerian diaspora, I find this both predictable and disappointing. Time and again, the idea of diaspora voting is raised rhetorically but never pursued meaningfully. Nigerians living abroad send billions of dollars home annually — a lifeline to the economy — yet remain politically invisible.
Under an administration accused of benefiting from electoral malpractice, how can we expect serious progress on diaspora voting? If the votes cast within Nigeria are subject to manipulation, how can those cast from thousands of miles away be counted — or trusted — under the current system?
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Legislative Complicity
The National Assembly, under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has failed to provide the necessary oversight or independent voice that a healthy democracy demands. Rather than initiating reforms, amending the Electoral Act, or debating structural change, the legislature has largely functioned as a ceremonial extension of the executive.
If there were genuine political will, electoral reform could have already taken shape through legislative action — not summit communiques that end in political oblivion.
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Beyond Symbolism: The Call for Real Reform
Nigeria does not need another summit. It needs leadership with the integrity, vision, and courage to implement long-overdue reforms. The issues — restructuring, free and fair elections, diaspora inclusion — are well-known. What is missing is the political will.
As citizens, both within Nigeria and across the diaspora, we must resist being pacified by staged events and headline-friendly announcements. The Tinubu-led APC government, like others before it, is playing on the desperation and weariness of the Nigerian masses. We must not allow theatre to substitute for substance, or distraction to replace accountability.
Nigerians deserve more than performance politics — we deserve a functioning democracy.
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About the Author
Prof. Dr. Nwolisa Okanga is a Nigerian academic and political commentator based in Belgium. He writes regularly on governance, diaspora rights, and democratic reform in Africa.
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