Nigeria, Jan. 30 -- As Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 general elections, the familiar noise has started to return. Political alignments are shifting, consultations are intensifying, politicians are already campaigning; even if the whistle signaling electioneering has not being blown by the electoral umpire, INEC, and speeches are beginning to sound suspiciously familiar. Once again, Nigerians are being prepared for another round of promises. Big promises. Grand promises. Emotional promises. And for many citizens, a weary question hangs in the air: must we go through this cycle again?

Since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, electoral promises have followed a predictable pattern, lavish at the point of seeking votes, vague d...