Kemi Seba’s Candidacy: The Flame of Ambition or The Illusion of a Flash in the Pan?
On January 5, news broke like a thunderbolt in the already charged sky of Beninese politics. Kemi Seba, a controversial figure of radical Pan-Africanism, declared his intention to run for the highest office in 2026.
SUMMARY
A choice he presented as a response to the pressing call of “his supporters”, and as a promise to ignite the established system, until its foundations are consumed.
But six months later, the silence is total.
The revolutionary noise has given way to a strange silence. The promised ignition now looks like a spark swiftly blown out by ground realities.
The Seba case is fascinating in more than one way. Charismatic for his followers, controversial for his critics, he has become over the years a globalized ideological agitator, more comfortable in airports than in electoral districts. His flamboyant activism, sometimes mystical, sometimes outrageous, rests on a constant denunciation of the West, Francafrique, neocolonialism. But in his attempts to embody absolute rupture, he may forget a basic political truth: a country cannot be conquered from exile.
However, Kemi Seba no longer sets foot in Benin. And without real national anchorage, without a credible coalition, without a policy-driven speech (and not a posturing one), a candidacy announcement becomes a performative act disconnected from reality. The Beninese electorate, increasingly demanding, wants concrete actions, not prophetic videos filmed in Paris or Dakar.
The obstacle of sponsorship: the republican guillotine
Then there’s the unyielding filter of the law. Sponsorship, enforced by the electoral reform, is a political trial even before the campaign begins. And it is not enough to have thousands of followers to get the support of members of parliament or mayors under the influence of the power or established political forces.
Who will sponsor Kemi Seba? Which Beninese elected official will take the political risk of supporting such a divisive figure, often perceived more as an ideological troublemaker than a budding statesman?
Even his most fervent supporters are silencing themselves. The project already seems mired in a structural credibility deficit.
The time for clarification
If politics is an art, it requires discipline, constancy, and clarity. However, to date, Kemi Seba remains in strategic obscurity, between a revolutionary posture and presidential ambitions. This double talk is starting to wear, even among his most fervent supporters.
In Benin, people are starting to talk about a “joker’s candidacy”. Not out of gratuitous mockery, but because the genuine candidates, they, are moving in silence, forging alliances, investing in the land, honing their strategy. They are not content with formal declarations from abroad.
And since it was he who wanted to “start the hostilities”, it’s time for him to clearly state where he stands, what he is offering, how he plans to overcome the obstacles or if he has silently decided to abandon lighting the fire of his promises.
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