Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has said Nigerians must accept part of the blame for the poor leadership they complain about, arguing that politicians are products of the society from which they emerge. Ndume spoke on Wednesday at the public presentation of Military Transformational Leadership in Action: The Buratai Era, held at the Nigerian Army Conference Centre and Suites in Asokoro, Abuja. He was responding to remarks by Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, who criticised the political class over the politicisation of ethnicity and religion and their role in Nigeria's security and governance challenges.
"Every blame is on the politician. And I'm a politician, though accidental, or maybe, forced or recruited into it. But I'm a realist. I live with the situation I find myself, and I'm proud of it," Ndume said. He argued that citizens must recognise their responsibility because politicians ultimately emerge from the electorate. "Politics is people; politics is one way to run democracy, and what is democracy? It's the government of the people, for the people, and by the people. From all discussions, now the blame goes down to us, and we are your product," he said.
The senator did not stop at assigning blame to the electorate. He also said citizens play a direct role in electoral malpractice, including rigging. "And by the way, you are to be blamed because even if it is through rigging, it is you people that do the rigging to bring us in. So, if you put us here, we are doing your bidding," he said. He urged Nigerians to examine the quality of people they support and the political processes through which leaders emerge. "You put garbage in, you expect something good out of it? It's not possible," he added.
Ndume also reflected on his own political journey, saying he had never been to a police station before entering politics but had subsequently been imprisoned twice. "I was a senate leader, I was a chief whip recently, I went to prison twice. Before I came into politics, I've never gone to police station," he said. He urged Nigerians to become more involved in politics if they want better governance, stressing that citizens cannot complain about leadership while remaining passive in the political process.
The event was the public presentation of a book on military transformational leadership, focusing on the tenure of former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai. The gathering brought together senior military officers, political leaders and other stakeholders to discuss leadership and national security. Sanusi, in his remarks, had criticised Nigerian politicians for exploiting ethnicity and religion to divide the country and for failing to address the security challenges confronting the nation. His comments set the stage for Ndume's response, which shifted the focus from the political class to the electorate.
Ndume's remarks are likely to generate significant debate in a country where citizens frequently blame politicians for corruption, insecurity and economic hardship. His argument that Nigerians are complicit in the election of bad leaders by participating in rigging, vote-buying and other electoral malpractices is a familiar refrain among some political commentators, but it has rarely been articulated so bluntly by a sitting senator at a public event. His statement that politicians are "doing your bidding" also raises uncomfortable questions about the relationship between voters and their representatives, and the extent to which citizens are willing to hold their leaders accountable.
The event came amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with parties and candidates positioning themselves for the contest. Ndume's comments are likely to be interpreted in that context, with some seeing them as a defence of the political class and others viewing them as a challenge to Nigerians to take greater responsibility for the state of the nation. For Ndume, the message was simple: if Nigerians want better leaders, they must change the way they engage with politics, the way they vote, and the way they hold their representatives accountable. Anything less, he suggested, would produce the same result. "You put garbage in, you expect something good out of it? It's not possible," he said.
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