Prince AdewoleAdebayo
*****Describes Summit as celebration of failure
Former presidential candidate and opposition figure, Prince Adewole Adebayo has delivered a scathing rebuke of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing its recent mid-term summit as “a celebration of failure.”
He accused the party of abandoning governance and insulting Nigerians with what he called “a pre-victory party for a game they haven’t even played.”
“What we saw today,” Adebayo said in a post-event interview with Trust TV, “was not a summit—it was theatre. They paraded applause, exaggerated achievements, and turned serious national suffering into stand-up comedy. That’s not leadership; it’s mockery.”
The event, billed as a National Summit to showcase the Tinubu administration’s mid-term achievements, featured a wave of self-congratulations.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio led the charge, hailing President Bola Tinubu as a political genius and “the sole candidate” for 2027. But while red carpets were rolled out and applause filled the air, not everyone was clapping.
Senator Akpabio praised Tinubu’s “political sagacity,” claiming lawmakers had “never had it this good.”
Senator Smart Adeyemi said,
“I just want to tell those saying a one-party system is dangerous—this is a party that is driving the aspirations of Nigerians. Where do you stand if you’re not in the vehicle that’s moving? Don’t blame people for jumping off a sinking ship when they have no life jackets. I’m proud of what we have and I expect more to come. That’s the game.”
Adebayo pushed back: “What about the woman in Bama who can’t pay hospital bills? The graduate in Kogi whose degree is gathering dust? Who are they governing—just themselves?”
Adebayo faulted the summit for lacking accountability or any real performance audit. “Nigerians deserve a mid-term report, not a campaign launch,” he said. He accused the administration of misusing public resources to serve party interests while citizens suffer under crushing inflation, rising insecurity, and unemployment.
“They’re using state money to brand private vehicles, inflate budgets, and treat the national treasury like a personal inheritance. It’s a betrayal of public trust,” he stated.
He took particular issue with President Tinubu’s controversial 2023 campaign remark—“Grab it. Snatch it. Run away with it”—which was replayed at the summit. Adebayo said such rhetoric only fuels public anxiety about electoral integrity.
“That’s not strategy—it’s gangster governance,” he said. “When leaders speak like that and institutions remain silent, it signals that might is right, and elections become meaningless rituals.”
Adebayo also criticized what he called the “dangerous sycophancy” around the presidency. “You know a system is collapsing when people start calling the president ‘next to God.’ That’s not loyalty—it’s fear,” he said. “The presidency has become a stage play. The actors are loyal to the script, not the suffering citizens.”
While APC loyalists hailed endorsements from governors and lawmakers as signs of broad support, Adebayo dismissed them as “elite endorsements in air-conditioned rooms,” disconnected from everyday realities.
“The game the president is playing is deadly,” he warned. “You don’t play games while the country bleeds. People want water, food, security, and dignity—not slogans, sarcasm, or a circus.”
He called on Tinubu to suspend all 2027 campaign activities and focus squarely on governance. “Forget 2027. Govern well today. Leadership is a sacred burden—not a game show. If we’re alive, we’ll meet at the polling unit. Until then, do the work or step aside.”
As the summit ended with fanfare and applause, Adebayo’s voice stood out—a voice of warning, not celebration. One calling for responsibility, not self-congratulation.
He rejected claims that the opposition is weak or disorganized, instead arguing that it is the APC that has failed to meet the basic responsibilities of governance. “The APC is running a permanent campaign,” he said. “It’s what in athletics is called a false start. Governance is not about posters and billboards.”
Adebayo lamented that while Nigerians struggle with insecurity, inflation, and poverty, the government seems more interested in scoring political points than solving urgent problems. He argued that the issue isn’t a lack of competence but misplaced priorities.
“President Tinubu once chaired the Senate Committee on Appropriation. What we’re seeing is not ignorance—it’s deliberate mismanagement,” he said.
On the state of the opposition, he emphasized that ideology and solutions should take precedence over party names. “Nigerians don’t care about the name of a party—they care about survival. Food, transport, security. If we agree on values, we can collaborate. If not, each party should build its base.”
He stressed that opposition politics should be about principles, not political deals. He accused the APC of gaining power without a concrete plan to govern. “Even their leaders admitted it—their strategy was ‘grab, snatch, and run.’ But power isn’t something you snatch. It’s something you build—with people and purpose.”
Calling for a new political culture, Adebayo urged Nigerians to demand leadership based on competence and unity, not money or slogans. “Divisions will disappear when people realize that good leadership matters more than big pockets or loud voices.”
He appealed to the president to show compassion, take the job seriously, and address pressing issues like hunger, insecurity, and access to clean water. He noted that some children have lived their entire lives in IDP camps due to violence, and that even Abuja is not immune to kidnappings.
“Visit those suffering communities,” he said. “Look into the eyes of the children in IDP camps. Then ask yourself: do endorsements and slogans still matter?”
Adebayo warned that unless the administration redirects its focus to real governance, Nigeria will continue to drift under a government more concerned with elections than results. He cautioned that if the people remain neglected, they may lose faith in democracy itself.
He also condemned opposition figures who pretend to oppose the government publicly but support it privately. “That behavior is both dishonest and dangerous,” he said.
He ended with a somber appeal to the president:
“Forget politics. Forget me as your opponent. God gave you this power to help people. Use it well. Tomorrow is not promised. Be serious. Do the work.”
Adebayo also dismissed the fanfare around Tinubu’s endorsements, saying Nigerians aren’t interested in political maneuvering—they want food, safety, and hope.
“This is not a game of endorsements. It’s a matter of life and death,” he said.
He criticized the administration for treating serious national issues—like student loans, oil reforms, and subsidy removal—as political stunts.
“This is not a game. It’s people’s lives.”
Adebayo warned that the president cannot celebrate spending while ignoring the hardship caused by policies like the naira float and fuel subsidy removal.
He also dismissed the government’s local government reform claims, stating that funds remain manipulated by governors who ignore constitutional rulings. “They gerrymander councils and plant loyalists before releasing funds. That’s not reform—it’s control,” he said.
He criticized Tinubu’s student loan scheme, calling it poorly planned and disconnected from the real problems in education. “Before you talk about loans, students must first be in school. Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children—that’s already a failure.”
He noted that the loans cover only tuition, ignoring bigger issues like poor infrastructure, lack of teachers, and underfunded institutions. “Reform should begin with scholarships and affordable education. Loans should be the last option, not the first.”
In closing, Adebayo reiterated that the president must stop trivializing national issues. “From student loans to oil reform and subsidy removal—this is not a game. It’s people’s lives.”