Former Presidential Candidate Dumebi Kachikwu has sharply criticised Nigeria’s political class, asserting that the country remains trapped by professional politicians who perpetuate crises while offering no credible solutions.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Sunday Kachikwu examined the political landscape ahead of Nigeria’s 2026 elections, dismissing emerging coalitions and cross-carpeting politicians as opportunists with self-interest rather than genuine concern for the Nigerian people.
“What saddens me about the project called Nigeria is that most Nigerians can’t see through these people and see that we have a bunch of professional politicians who are out taking us for a ride.”
He argued that many politicians currently criticising the government were themselves part of the same system in recent years, moving from party to party and recycling rhetoric of failure without offering concrete alternatives. “Most Nigerians will find interesting is that the people making this call, we’ve got all those people, most of them, who were from within the ranks of ADC just a few weeks or some of them a few months ago, They metamorphose from party to party, and each time, all they say is that this party, this government has failed, and we need to take them out. In the last few years, every time any of these people have said this government is not working, we have never had a counter-proposal. We’ve never had any counter-solutions. Anybody saying this is what we will do if we’re in that position.”
Kachikwu also reflected on Nigeria’s previous elections, calling them a travesty and a tragedy due to the absence of meaningful public debate. “During the last elections, I said it was a travesty and a tragedy that we went into the election without having any robust debates. Perchance, if we had robust debates, this president would have been better prepared. We had against and counter-aggressors, and against all the issues, including against the Nigerian people. But they all avoided that debate.”
On the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kachikwu clarified the party’s ongoing internal disputes, which are now in the courts. “Concerning the ADC, we are in court, and we are listening to the court’s processor, Chuck Lang. So, in due course, the court will read and will know where ADC stands. First and foremost, that’s not the ADC. That’s a group of professional, multi-generational politicians who are attempting to hijack the ADC. Like I said earlier, they just will soon know, and will know the face of the ADC.”
Kachikwu warned Nigerians to critically examine politicians in the lead-up to elections. “Look at these people very, very closely and ask yourself, why the same group of politicians who have been there for the last two, three, four decades, the same people who have held public office, many of them have failed. And they come to speak to you today about the failure of government and governments. They built the foundation for our failure. All of them.”
While acknowledging President Bola Tinubu’s bold economic measures, including subsidy removal, Kachikwu criticised the administration’s broader approach to revenue generation and governance. “If his challenge is that this country doesn’t have enough revenue, why are you not able to expand your think-tank base so you can get the best of advice?”
Kachikwu also highlighted the country’s worsening security situation, describing Nigeria as effectively being at war on multiple fronts. “How many Nigerians realise that we are at war? And when you are at war, there is an all-time patriotic fervour. And who is going to share in that patriotic fervour? It is the government of today. For any government of today, everything they are doing is challenged in secrecy.”
Turning to Rivers State, Kachikwu called the political crisis there “a shame,” criticising the inability of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to manage his political godfather. “So if you chose to let Wike’s sponsor into office, if you chose to die with the devil, you cannot complain about who the devil is because you already know who the devil is.”
“If you say that you are acting out of principle today, then principle demands that you should come clean and tell us what is really happening in the states.”
Kachikwu further condemned recycled politicians running on a “change” agenda without substance, arguing that Nigerians have repeatedly been deceived. “You can’t set a house on fire and then tell us you want to put out the fire. Without a new generation of Nigerians who have never held public office, you will never see any change. These people have absolutely nothing to offer.”
Concluding his analysis, Kachikwu emphasised that political discourse must focus on solutions, not slogans, and called on citizens to demand accountability from all leaders. “We cannot continue to be taken on a ride by professional politicians who always say they are the solution. You are part of the problem.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
About the Author
