‘If you want to lead Nigeria, your past must be clear’ — ACF

‘It is right and proper to bare your life journey’ — PANDEF

‘Contestants must present scorecards, not promises’ — MBF

‘Background checks raise moral issues, but law remains supreme’ — Afenifere

BY FRONTLINE REORTERS

As political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, leading socio-political organisations have thrown their weight behind calls for presidential aspirants and other politicians seeking elective offices to submit their antecedents, educational backgrounds, integrity and track records to public scrutiny.

The organisations, including the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF; Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF; and Middle Belt Forum, MBF, said Nigerians had a legitimate right to know the backgrounds and records of those seeking their votes before entrusting them with political power.

The ACF, which set the tone for the debate, argued that the qualification of candidates should not be reduced to the presentation of academic certificates, insisting that credibility, consistency, transparency and a candidate’s overall life history were equally important considerations in choosing those who would govern the country.

The position has, however, opened a broader debate over the extent to which the personal histories of political candidates should be subjected to public scrutiny, and where the line should be drawn between morality, public interest and the legal requirements for holding political office.

While PANDEF and MBF endorsed the ACF’s position, Afenifere introduced a qualification, warning that although background checks were desirable, moral judgments could be subjective and must ultimately be guided by the Constitution and other relevant laws.

‘If you want to lead Nigeria, your past must be clear’ — ACF

The Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Prof. Tukur Baba, stated the forum’s position while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show, saying anyone seeking the highest political office in Nigeria should be prepared to answer questions about his or her past.

“If you are presenting yourself for election to the highest office in Nigeria, holding lives together, being the Commander-in-Chief, it is legitimate to ask questions,” Baba said.

He argued that Nigerians were entitled to know the history of those seeking their votes, stressing that leadership demanded transparency and accountability.

According to him, the issue goes beyond whether a candidate possesses the required certificates.

“The certificate is not as important as the story itself. It has to be straight. It has to be consistent. If it is not, there is a problem,” he said.

Although Baba acknowledged that the 1999 Constitution does not specifically require presidential candidates to produce documentary evidence of every stage of their educational journey, he maintained that the absence of such a constitutional requirement should not prevent Nigerians from asking legitimate questions about a candidate’s background.

He criticised what he described as Nigeria’s weak leadership-selection process, saying the country had become too flexible in demanding accountability from political aspirants.

“We are simply flexible in our demands for accountability. There are no standards, and there are no standards because we do not demand standards,” he said.

Baba cited China as an example of a system where aspiring leaders undergo years of scrutiny and political progression before reaching the highest levels of government.

“In China, you cannot just come from nowhere. You start from the very word and you climb. They have a very leadership selection process that you go through many years before you get to that point.

“By the time you get to the point of leadership, everything is known about you. Everything is scrutinised,” he said.

However, Baba stressed that Nigerians were ultimately more concerned about the quality and impact of governance than certificates alone.

“What matters to them is the effect of good governance,” he said, identifying healthcare, education, housing, transportation and the welfare of households as issues of primary concern to citizens.

He asked: “At the end of the day, what goes into my pocket? How is my family protected? Would my wife go to the hospital and expect service? Would my children receive quality education?”

Baba consequently urged political actors to embrace transparency and give voters sufficient information to make informed choices in 2027.

‘It is right to bare your life journey’ — PANDEF

PANDEF National Chairman, Ambassador Godknows Igali, aligned the forum with the ACF, describing the demand for greater transparency as reasonable and neither targeted at any particular individual nor region.

Reacting to the ACF’s position that anyone seeking to lead Nigeria must have a clear past, Igali said it was only proper for people seeking public office to make their life journeys known to those they intended to serve.

“Well, absolutely. When a person presents himself for public service, it is right, proper, and fitting for him to make available to those he wants to serve, as much as possible, the journey of his life: what he has been and what he is today,” he said.

The former diplomat likened political leadership to a job application, arguing that aspirants should be able to present their records to the people seeking to employ them through the ballot box.

“I don’t think they direct it to any particular individual; rather, they have made it a global condition that you should tell us who you are, where you’ve been, and what you’ve done,” Igali said.

He added that a candidate’s history could provide voters with valuable insight into both the strengths and weaknesses the individual would bring to public office.

“People want to know what strengths you are bringing on board to the new office you seek, as well as what weaknesses can be discerned from knowing what you’ve been through and how you navigated it,” he explained.

Igali rejected the argument that a candidate’s present circumstances should matter more than his or her past.

“Some people may argue that we don’t care what the man has been before; what is important is where he is today. I think that view is incomplete. It is not fair to Nigerians,” he said.

He maintained that the same standard of disclosure expected from ordinary applicants seeking employment should apply, even more rigorously, to those aspiring to govern at any level.

‘Candidates must present scorecards, not promises’ — MBF

The National President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr Bitrus Pogu, also backed the ACF’s position, describing scrutiny of candidates’ antecedents as an appropriate starting point for determining their suitability for public office.

Pogu said aspirants should be judged primarily by their records, achievements and capacity to deliver, rather than by promises made during election campaigns.

“I think it is a very good starting point because one needs to have his scorecard to be endorsed by Nigerians. It is something which is proper anyway,” he said.

According to him, candidates seeking higher office should be able to demonstrate what they had accomplished before asking Nigerians to entrust them with greater responsibilities.

“One has to sell himself by his track record. You do not just come and start building from no foundation at all. It does not happen,” Pogu said.

He urged every presidential aspirant to submit himself or herself to rigorous public scrutiny so voters could properly assess the individual’s competence, integrity and capacity to lead.

“Everybody needs to subject himself to proper scrutiny by Nigerians. One should be able to say yes, he has a clean track record that Nigerians can say, yes, if this is brought forward, it can impact positively on the Nigerian state and Nigeria would be better off with him,” he said.

Pogu said a thorough examination of candidates’ antecedents would help voters make better-informed choices and reduce the likelihood of electing leaders without adequate knowledge of their records.

He also commended the ACF for shifting the conversation towards what he described as issues of national interest.

Afenifere: Law must ultimately prevail

Afenifere’s General Secretary, Chief Ademola Folarin, supported the idea of interrogating the backgrounds of candidates but warned that moral considerations could become subjective and contentious.

He said background checks were “desirable and useful” in assessing the suitability of candidates for public office but cautioned that morality often depends on individual perceptions and competing interests.

“Interrogating the background of electoral candidates, as part of the process to determine their suitability for public office, is desirable and useful, and this usually raises important moral issues,” Folarin said.

He, however, stressed that moral judgments must ultimately give way to the legal standards established by the Constitution and other statutes.

According to him, voters may hold differing opinions on a candidate’s moral standing, but legal qualifications are determined through clearly established constitutional and statutory provisions.

He argued that while there may be no universally binding mechanism for resolving disputes over morality, the Constitution provides established processes for determining legal eligibility for public office.

Ultimately, Folarin said, the real test should be whether a candidate is legally qualified, competent and capable of meeting the needs and aspirations of Nigerians.

The emerging consensus among the socio-political groups is that the 2027 election should go beyond campaign rhetoric, ethnic and regional considerations, with candidates expected to place their records, credentials, character and capacity before the Nigerian people for informed judgment.

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