Nigeria’s 2027 race now has a starting gun. The Tinubu re-election bid was formally flagged off in Kaduna on Saturday, where the president asked voters for a second term.
Why Kaduna Matters
Kaduna was chosen because the North-West holds a large share of Nigeria’s voters, and Atiku Abubakar beat Tinubu there in 2023. Campaign director-general Abdulaziz Yari said the choice was deliberate because of the state’s political weight in the North. To underline the delivery theme, Tinubu symbolically opened an 81-kilometre stretch of the Abuja-Kaduna highway during the rally.
Defending the Pain
Tinubu knows the mood in market squares from Lagos to Maiduguri. Since 2023, scrapping fuel subsidies and floating the naira have pushed up the price of almost everything. At the rally he turned the blame outward. He accused opposition figures of creating the hunger and poverty they now campaign on. His team leaned on numbers. Yari claimed foreign reserves had risen from about $33.9 billion to roughly $54.7 billion.
Reserves, though, do not fill a pot of jollof. Reports noted that Tinubu gave no specific figures at the rally showing how far hunger or poverty had actually fallen. His Independence Day speech had already drawn mixed reactions, and insecurity and mass kidnappings continue to worry many Nigerians.
What Voters Will Judge
The election is set for January 16, 2027. Ordinary Nigerians will likely weigh the opposition’s promises less than their own receipts. Is rent manageable? Can a trader restock without borrowing? Is the road to the village safe? As one analysis put it, these questions will matter more to many voters than the number of projects announced or commissioned.
The opposition also has homework. A divided field helps an incumbent, and the campaign is only days old. Expect Port Harcourt and Maiduguri next, as Yari has said the campaign will move through those cities. For now, Tinubu is betting that patience will win out over pain. Nigerians will decide whether that bet pays off.
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