Former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has urged young Nigerians to channel their passion for sport into political participation ahead of the 2027 general election.
In a statement issued as European football returned for the new season, Obi noted that millions of Nigerian youths would spend the weekend “glued to television screens, streaming matches, debating tactics, celebrating victories, and admiring the organisation, discipline, and excellence that make European football the envy of the world.” He asked why Nigerian football could not attain similar standards.
According to Obi, Nigeria has “produced world class footballers who have excelled in Europe because they found systems that reward merit, invest in infrastructure, ensure security, and are governed with competence and accountability.” He added that “great football does not exist in isolation. It grows where there is good governance.”
He argued that the stadiums, academies, transport systems, healthcare, security and institutions that sustain football elsewhere are the products of “leaders who make the right choices and citizens who insist on accountability,” stressing that Nigeria has the talent but has lacked leadership capable of creating room for that talent to grow.
Obi disclosed plans to spend the next 150 days engaging young Nigerians “wherever they gather, in town halls, campuses, online spaces, and even football communities,” with a message that the standards they admire abroad “can be built in Nigeria,” but that the process “starts with your vote.”
He painted a picture of a Nigeria with a competitive local league, full stadiums every weekend, well sponsored clubs, properly trained coaches, and young footballers who no longer view emigration as their only route to success.
“Nigeria will not emerge through wishful thinking,” Obi said. “It will emerge when young Nigerians decide that elections matter as much as football matches.”
He described the 2027 presidential election as more than a political contest, calling it a chance for young Nigerians to choose “a nation that exports talent because it is respected, not because its citizens are escaping failed governance.”
While encouraging youths to continue supporting their favourite European clubs, he reminded them that “the greatest match awaiting Nigerian youths is not in Europe. It is in Nigeria,” describing it as “the match for good governance,” and for “jobs, security, education, sports development, and national renewal.”
Unlike football, he noted, where only twenty two players take the pitch, “every Nigerian youth has a place in this match.” He called on young people to “stand up, mobilise, vote, defend your vote,” adding that just as they follow European football passionately every weekend, they could apply the same energy to building a Nigeria they can be proud of.
Obi said he would return with a similar message every weekend leading up to January 16, 2027, reiterating that “we can create world class standards right here at home.”
