American voters’ use of the ballot to demand accountability, challenge political power and remind elected leaders who truly owns democracy is a virtue that the pioneer Executive Director, #FixPolitics Africa, Anthony Ubani, wants the Nigerian electorate to imbibe.

On November 3, 2026, millions of American citizens went to the polls and delivered a political verdict that will be remembered long after the winners have taken their seats in Congress.

The Democratic Party won control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Republican strongholds that had resisted Democratic candidates for decades suddenly surrendered. Texas, Kansas and South Carolina recorded extraordinary Senate victories.

Across the country, Republican incumbents and candidates endorsed by President Donald Trump suffered defeats that few would have imagined possible two years earlier. Political commentators called it a blue tsunami, a description that captures the scale of the electoral upheaval. But it misses something far more important.

For Nigerians preparing for the 2027 general elections, Ubani noted, this is perhaps the most important democratic lesson coming out of America.

In 2024, American voters returned Donald Trump to the White House and gave Republicans control of Congress. They had reasons for making that choice. Trump promised economic recovery, lower prices, stronger borders and a government that would put American interests first. Two years later, voters were entitled to ask a simple question: how well had those promises been kept? For many Americans, the answers were deeply unsatisfactory.

According to Ubani, this lesson from America should resonate powerfully in Nigeria, where the relationship between the executive and legislature too often appears to be defined by political accommodation rather than rigorous oversight.

He said, “Our senators and members of the House of Representatives are not elected to serve as presidential loyalists or defenders of governors. They are elected to represent citizens. They must be judged by the quality of their legislation, the seriousness of their oversight, their scrutiny of budgets, their defence of constitutional principles and their willingness to question executive decisions when the public interest demands it.

“Loyalty to a President is not a substitute for loyalty to the Constitution. Party solidarity is not a defence for legislative failure. The Nigerian voter who understands this principle will no longer ask merely whether a legislator belongs to a preferred political party. The more important question will be whether that legislator has earned the right to continue representing the constituency.”

Perhaps the most striking demonstration of citizen power came from Texas, Ubani said. “For 38 years, Democrats had failed to win a US Senate seat in the state. Texas had become one of the strongest symbols of Republican political dominance. Then enter James Talarico. The 37-year-old Democratic candidate defeated Republican Ken Paxton, an influential Trump ally, in a contest heavily shaped by enormous campaign spending.

According to The Texas Tribune, Elon Musk committed more than $200m in support of Paxton’s ultimately unsuccessful effort. Republican-aligned organisations spent heavily to influence the outcome, while Talarico faced a formidable political establishment. Yet the voters delivered a different verdict.

“We must reject the idea that political candidates deserve our votes simply because they share our religion, ethnicity, language or regional origin. Religious conviction should inspire integrity, compassion and service; it should never become a substitute for competence or a shield against accountability. The same applies to ethnicity. A politician who shares my ethnic identity but presides over poor governance has not served me well. A leader who professes my faith but tolerates corruption has not earned my loyalty.

“And a candidate who distributes money during an election has not demonstrated the capacity to govern. The citizen who sells a vote for immediate gain weakens the very power needed to demand better governance tomorrow,” the leadership and governance expert stressed.

Noting that the Office of the Citizen is not an honorary title, Ubani described it as the permanent democratic office from which every legitimate political mandate originates.

He added, “Voting is one of the most powerful instruments of this office, but it is not the only one. Citizens must remain active between elections. They must question public spending, demand explanations for failed projects, monitor legislative conduct, insist on credible public information and organise peacefully around shared interests. A citizen who becomes politically active only during an election campaign has surrendered much of the opportunity to shape governance.”

As the 2027 polls inch closer, he urged Nigerians to begin asking harder questions of every elected official seeking another mandate.

“We need public scorecards that assess elected officials against their promises and constitutional responsibilities. We need open candidate debates, credible election information, transparent campaign financing and citizens prepared to protect their votes through lawful participation.

“Above all, we need voters who understand that they are not subjects receiving favours from political benefactors; they are citizens employing representatives.”

The most enduring image of America’s 2026 midterm elections, Ubani noted, is not a jubilant Democratic candidate or a defeated Republican incumbent; it is the ordinary voter walking into a polling station, considering the state of the country and deciding that those who exercise public power must answer for how they have exercised it.

“That is the democratic example Nigeria urgently needs. We cannot demand responsible government while excusing irresponsibility from politicians we support. We cannot condemn corruption in one party while defending it in another. We cannot complain about the cost of living, insecurity, unemployment and failing public services, then make electoral decisions without examining the records of those responsible. Also, we cannot continue treating elected officials as masters when our Constitution makes clear that their authority comes from us.

“The 2027 general elections offer Nigerians another opportunity to redefine and rebalance the relationship between citizens and political power. But that transformation will not happen simply because a new election arrives. It will happen when millions of Nigerians decide to act differently: to ask questions, demand evidence, defend electoral integrity, reject inducements, examine performance and exercise their votes independently.”