“Street Boys,” in Nigerian parlance, has long been used as a derogatory label for the poor, the uneducated, and the underprivileged.

Today, however, educated elites and supposed leaders of thought, have suddenly embraced it as a campaign slogan: “Street Boys 4 Star Boy.”

Is being a “street boy” now a badge of honour?

Or it is being used as a tool for manipulation?

This slogan amounts to little more than a political branding built on the exploitation of the very people it claims to represent.

Leadership is not about romanticising poverty or appropriating the identity of the disadvantaged for electoral gain.

Leadership is about creating opportunities so that no young person is forced to live or struggle on the streets.

A government exists to take people off the streets, not to celebrate life on the streets.

If educated people still proudly identify as “street boys,” it is not a campaign slogan to applaud – it is an indictment of the government.

The streets deserve jobs, quality education, security, and opportunity – not catchy slogans.

The streets deserve solutions, not slogans.

Sir Othello ✍️

NDC Candidate, Lau Constituency, 2027.