Tinubu’s “Era Of Empty Promises Is Over” A Promise That Rings Hollow

Tinubu’s “Era of Empty Promises Is Over” A Promise That Rings Hollow.

By Comr. Muhammad Shuaibu Daabu (Katakpa).

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by his deputy, Kashim Shettima, made a grand declaration at the commissioning of a rehabilitated road in Gwagwalada: “The days of empty promises and abandoned projects are behind us.” While this might sound noble and inspiring on paper, Nigerians must interrogate the truth behind the optics. Is this really a new era, or just another recycled narrative to cover old failures in new garments?

Let us begin with the obvious. A single road project, however symbolically branded, cannot undo decades of institutionalized neglect, chronic corruption, and failed governance. All of these are conditions that Tinubu’s own political lineage has helped to entrench. Gwagwalada residents, like millions across Nigeria, deserve good roads. But they also deserve leaders who speak with sincerity, not lofty words wrapped in political theatre.

When President Tinubu’s administration says “we are not just rehabilitating roads; we are rehabilitating trust,” one must ask: trust from whom, and on what grounds? Trust, unlike tarmac, is not laid in days or built through ribbon-cutting ceremonies. It is earned through consistency, truthfulness, and measurable improvement in people’s lives. This administration, plagued by economic hardship, skyrocketing inflation, naira depreciation, and rising insecurity, has hardly made any convincing case that a trust renaissance is underway.

It is particularly ironic that Tinubu’s representative praised Minister Nyesom Wike, the same Wike whose political career is riddled with contradictions, questionable alliances, and the noise of self-promotion. This is a man who, just months ago, was fighting the very political establishment he now serves. If Wike is the face of Tinubu’s “disruption equals progress” mantra, then we should all be worried. The Nigerian people have witnessed far too many so-called disruptors who bulldozed public interest in the name of reform, only to leave behind deeper wounds and wider inequality.

The road was described as a “corridor of dignity” and a “path to safety for school children.” Poetic, yes, but dignity and safety cannot ride on patched asphalt alone. They require functioning schools, quality healthcare, access to potable water, job opportunities, and security of lives and property. All of these remain in dire condition under Tinubu’s watch. The government must do more than perform development; it must deliver it holistically.

President Tinubu’s speechwriters also threw in a populist gem: “No community is too far to be seen and no one too far to be heard.” Again, another beautiful soundbite that clashes violently with reality. Ask rural farmers who can no longer transport goods due to insecurity. Ask unemployed graduates whose voices have been buried under the weight of unkept campaign promises. Ask victims of violence across the Middle Belt and North West. They have been shouting for years and no one has heard them.

What this event exposes is the troubling over-celebration of mediocrity in Nigerian governance. Roads, schools, and hospitals should be basic responsibilities, not political milestones. They should not be turned into camera-ready opportunities to peddle self-congratulatory rhetoric.

Nigeria is tired. Tired of speeches that inflate hope and deflate expectations. Tired of leaders who speak of inclusion while governing through exclusion. Tired of political propaganda masquerading as transformation. If this administration truly wants to mark the end of empty promises, it must begin by being honest with itself and with the people.

A new era is not announced. It is proven with jobs, with justice, with security, and with sustained, inclusive progress that reaches beyond Gwagwalada photo opportunities.

Until then, this promise, like many before it, remains as hollow as the ones it claims to replace.