The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has criticised Nigerian politicians for peddling unrealistic promises during election campaigns merely to secure votes, rather than preparing citizens for the practical realities of governance.

Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at a public symposium jointly organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and The Kukah Centre, the cleric noted that politicians routinely use glossy imagery and grand narratives to sell visions of prosperity, only to abandon those pledges and resort to excuses once sworn into office.

To highlight the sharp disconnect between campaign rhetoric and actual leadership, Bishop Kukah shared an anecdote about a politician who won an election after dazzling voters with campaign visuals of tarred roads, bridges, modern housing, and well-dressed schoolchildren.

Three years into his tenure, however, frustrated residents confronted him over the complete absence of the promised infrastructure—only to be told that campaign promises should not be mistaken for governance.

"You are confusing campaign with governance. What I did was purely a simple campaign. Governance is a difficult part," the politician reportedly replied.

Kukah noted that this mindset mirrors a familiar pattern across Nigeria's political landscape, where elected officials plead ignorance of economic realities immediately after taking the oath of office.

"And this is why we have Nigerian politicians turn around, once they have been sworn in and after telling us all the things they want to do, and say, ‘We didn’t know that the treasury was so empty.’ Then, they start giving one excuse after the other," he said.

While fault-finding with the political class, Kukah stressed that the electorate bears a responsibility to interrogate campaign promises and evaluate their feasibility rather than accepting political messaging at face value.

"The point I am making is that it is the business of politicians to seduce, deceive or tell us things we can’t do just to win our votes. But we are sufficiently knowledgeable, and our experience should help us to test the limits of the claims that politicians make," the bishop stated.

He urged Nigerians to look beyond ethnic, religious, and class divisions when making electoral choices and to demand continuous accountability rather than waiting until election cycles end.

ID