A legal practitioner and businessman, Azubuike Ihemeje, has voiced strong criticism over the state of governance in Nigeria, accusing some political supporters of prioritizing personal gain and tribal loyalty over the welfare of ordinary citizens.
The businessman lamented what he described as the worsening living conditions across the country, questioning the basis on which some individuals continue to campaign for the continuation of the current administration.
According to him, many of those pushing for the regime’s reelection have failed to provide any convincing evidence that the government has improved the lives of Nigerians.
“You’ve thrown all your reputation into promoting a regime that has brought untold misery and destruction of lives,” he said. “Yet you are desperately branding for its continuation without any proof that it has improved the living conditions of the suffering masses.”
The Portland CEO further alleged that many political supporters are motivated more by personal benefit than by the collective good of the nation.
“All your concern is for your own pocket first,” he stated. “Every other person can go to hell.”
He argued that the supporters are not campaigning based on tangible achievements such as improved security or better economic conditions. According to him, the country still struggles with terrorism, displacement of communities, and economic hardship.
“You are not promoting the reelection because the regime has successfully fought terrorists or driven armed criminals out of the country,” he said. “You are also not defending improved minimum wages when workers are still earning a paltry ₦70,000, an amount that cannot even feed a family for a day.
“Nigeria is still the only oil-producing country where citizens buy fuel and diesel at extremely high prices,” he said. “As I speak, there is still no electricity. I just bought diesel at ₦1,800 per litre and they are already saying it may rise to ₦2,000.”
Beyond the energy crisis, he listed poor infrastructure and failing public services as evidence of what he described as ineffective leadership.
“Our public infrastructure remains in shambles,” he said. “Our highways are still death traps, healthcare facilities are in deplorable conditions, and the country is still largely in darkness.”
The businessman also condemned the growing use of tribal sentiment in political discourse, arguing that it distracts from the real issues affecting Nigerians.
“The only message you keep repeating is tribalism,” he said. “You want people to support an incompetent mandate simply to prove that your tribe is not fighting the tribe of the failed president.”
He described the focus on ethnic loyalty as narrow-minded and damaging to national progress.
“What kind of parochial thinking is that?” he asked. “Every time you speak, all you talk about is tribe against tribe, instead of addressing the suffering of the masses.
“Deep down you know there is no hope,” he said. “Yet all you continue to promote is tribe, tribe, and tribe.”
