In the current era of Nigerian politics, allegations of political hijacking have been surfacing, raising serious questions about the originality of the agendas put forward by various candidates. In a recent interview with Seun Okinbaloye on the latest episode of the podcast ‘Mic On For The Independent Mind’, Omoyele Sowore revealed that some of his ideas have been hijacked by the political class, thereby relegating people with innovative ideas to the margins of power.
Sowore stressed that the student loan initiative currently being rolled out was not what he had initially proposed. Indeed, he had suggested grants of N100,000 per semester for Nigerian students, an idea that was dismissed as impossible. However, the proposal was converted into loans once it was taken up by the Tinubu government.
Moreover, Sowore mentioned that he had proposed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Expressway project in 2018, during his campaign for the presidency in 2019. This idea, intended to boost the Nigerian economy, was also taken up by the Tinubu government, but with modifications that seemed to serve other interests than those initially envisaged.
This tendency to co-opt the ideas of lesser-known candidates and adapt them to suit vested interests raises concerns about democracy and genuine political innovation. It would seem that innovative ideas and solutions proposed by political outsiders are too often ignored or transformed to serve the interests of the ruling elites.
This raises the question of whether citizens should pay more attention to unconventional candidates and their innovative ideas, rather than systematically glorifying the ruling class without sound governance tenets. It is essential that democracy allows space for the emergence of new and creative ideas, which could actually bring about significant and positive changes in the lives of citizens.