Media entrepreneur and host of the viral talk show #WithChude, Chude Jideonwo, has released part one of #Before2027, a new documentary that travels across Nigeria to examine how Nigerians across different communities are thinking about the next general elections. The documentary has already been screened across different geopolitical zones, including at KADIFF in Kaduna, the Yar’Adua Foundation in Abuja, the Growth Conference in Ibadan, and the Africa Professional Resource Mission Center in Delta State, alongside other screenings across the country. The documentary moves beyond political rallies and campaign speeches to ask a more fundamental question: after everything Nigeria has experienced since 2023, what matters to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections? How will they be voting? What change would they like to see? What progress have we made as a nation?
Directed by Chude Jideonwo and produced by Jennifer Mairo, #Before2027 takes viewers from communities in Plateau State affected by insecurity, to Oyo State where families have confronted kidnapping and the abduction of children and teachers, before arriving in Abuja to hear directly from a major political figure, former Rivers State Governor and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi. But the documentary is ultimately less interested in politicians than in the people who will have to live with the consequences of political decisions. After four years of lived experience, it asks questions about security, participation, trust, livelihoods, community, and the meaning of a vote.
At the centre of the film is a difficult examination of Nigeria’s democratic participation. The documentary revisits the 2023 elections and the millions of registered voters who ultimately did not cast their ballots, asking why citizens stay away from the polls and what might bring them back. With the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for 16th January 2027, #Before2027 arrives at a critical moment in the electoral cycle, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission. The film does not tell Nigerians who to vote for; instead, it gives citizens space to confront the questions that should shape their choices, and it gives political leaders a chance to hear what is shaping those choices.
Reflecting on the documentary’s purpose, Jideonwo asks Nigerians to look beyond the immediate choice of who will lead them and consider the future they are building for the next generation. “Every four years, we choose the people who will lead us. But as we think about the future, we must also ask ourselves: what kind of country are we leaving for the next generation? Before we make that choice again, we must remember what has happened and ask what needs to change.”
Produced in partnership by YNaija Studios and Joy, Inc., #Before2027 is built around a simple conviction: democracy cannot be understood only from the corridors of power. It must also be understood through the lives of the people living with the consequences of decisions made there. From Plateau to Oyo, Kaduna, Ibadan, Delta and Abuja, the documentary brings these voices into one national conversation, asking not only, “How did you feel in 2023?” but the harder question: “How do you feel now?”
Part Two of #Before2027 will be released soon, continuing the national conversation about the issues, experiences and expectations shaping Nigerians’ choices ahead of 2027.
WATCH DOCUMENTARY BELOW:
