When Deceit Wears The Mask Of Devotion: The Politics Of Election-Season Remembrance

 

"Tomorrow is here," they proclaim, wrapped in the glossy banner of a staged photo-op. But for the discerning people of Enugu State, tomorrow is nothing more than an overdue invoice delivered by a regime whose political clock only ticks when an election cycle draws near. The recent "Unite Against Crime and Terrorism" rally was not a spontaneous uprising of Enugu’s youth standing for peace. It was a carefully choreographed exercise in political illusion, a desperate assemblage of unsuspecting corps members and a handpicked contingent of students, conscripted to play the role of a satisfied populace. 

To dress up outsiders and a rented minority in the robes of Enugu’s vibrant youth, and call it "youth empowerment" is not statecraft; it is political cynicism elevated to an art form. 

Philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli observed that a ruler who relies on expedient theater rather than genuine affection governs only on borrowed time. For nearly four years, Governor Peter Mbah operated under a policy of total abandonment. The very youth who are today hailed as "partners in building a safer Enugu" were left to navigate a desert of economic neglect, rising insecurity, and institutional silence.

Where was this urgency for partnership in Year One? Where was this paternal care in Year Two? Where was this elephant gift when real Enugu youths were pleading for sustainable industrial hubs, functional vocational frameworks, and genuine security across our rural communities? The answer is simple: he only remembers you when he needs you.

It is a curious law of political gravity that neglect suddenly transforms into benevolence the moment ballot boxes appear on the horizon. After nearly a full term of keeping the doors of governance firmly shut against the people, the administration has suffered a sudden, suspicious wave of collective panic. 

Board seats, advisory roles, and public service positions that sat vacant for years, starving the governance structure of fresh ideas, are suddenly being distributed like cheap handbills. A governor who was largely unreachable to local student unions, community leaders, and indigenous youth movements suddenly discovers the value of "youth partners" provided they are bused in, photographed, and handed a quick stipend

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The alleged ten million naira reportedly associated with the gathering, if established, would raise legitimate questions about whether such spending represents a meaningful investment in the future or merely a transactional gesture ahead of an election.

True governance is built on continuity, respect, and enduring structural legacy, not seasonal transactional crumbs. You cannot starve a community more than three years and expect them to applaud because you tossed them a crust of bread five minutes before twilight. 

The people of Enugu State, our youth, our hardworking artisans, our neglected public servants, and our forgotten elders, are far too politically mature to be deceived by late-stage charades. Renting a crowd to parade as the voice of Enugu’s youth does not alter the reality on the ground: the real youth of Enugu are at home, unpaid, unconsulted, and fully aware. One will ask, where is NYCN, NYC, YAN and others. So "Tomorrow" is not an abstract slogan to be weaponized when your term is expiring. 

Tomorrow belongs to those who showed up yesterday, stood firm today, and refuse to be bought by the desperate, last-minute epiphanies of a fading administration.

Signed 

Hon. Nebo Chukwujekwu Emmanuel

State Secretary NDC

Enugu State