“Then They Will Shout Rigging” — Patrick Doyle Criticises Opposition parties Over Lack of Focus

Veteran Nollywood actor Patrick Doyle has criticised the nature of Nigeria’s current election cycle, arguing that political debates continue to focus more on personal attacks and tribal rivalry than substantive issues affecting the country.

In a Facebook post, Doyle said discussions around the economy and political system had received limited attention, while candidates and their supporters remained focused on matters he described as less relevant to governance.

“This election cycle is no different from previous elections in that substantive issues around the economy and polity hardly get a mention in the debates. Rather, the buzz revolves around personal insults and tribal rivalry,” he wrote.

Doyle said the ruling party had not made radical promises to voters, but had instead pointed to its claimed macroeconomic gains as evidence of competence and promised to consolidate them while working towards translating them into improvements at the microeconomic level.

He described the approach as a way of avoiding unrealistic promises and expectations.

According to Doyle, opposition parties had also failed to adequately challenge the ruling party’s economic claims or present what he considered a detailed blueprint for Nigeria’s development in the short and long term.

“The opposition have neither forensically debunked the ruling party’s macroeconomic claims nor have they articulated their blueprint to chart a course for Nigeria in the near or long term future,” he wrote.

He further criticised what he described as the opposition’s focus on controversies and social media activity, rather than presenting policy alternatives to voters.

“When they are not chasing after FBI documents they are engaged in social media content creation,” Doyle stated.

The actor also commented on campaign preparations, claiming that the ruling party appeared to be the only party that had inaugurated a campaign council at the time of his post.

He questioned what he described as a recurring pattern in Nigerian politics, where political actors raise allegations of electoral malpractice after an election despite what he sees as inadequate preparation and engagement with substantive campaign issues.

“Then after the elections are held and the ruling party holds sway, these same derelict political masquerades will have the temerity to shout rigging. I just wonder,” he concluded.