Too early, too late

I was caught off-guard when the vice president announced her intention to run for the presidency in 2028. Not because ambition is unusual in politics --it never is-- but because the timing felt strangely premature. We are still about two years away from the official campaign season, and yet the political noise has already begun to swell. Time does move quickly, yes, but this felt less like foresight and more like a rush to occupy space before the conversation was even ready.

What made the moment even more jarring was that it coincided with another announcement (this time from her father, a former president) declaring his refusal to face the confirmation of charges before the International Criminal Court. He maintained that the arrest was invalid, questioned the court’s jurisdiction, and reiterated long-standing arguments against its authority over the country. Two announcements, bound by blood and politics, released on the same day. One looking far into the future, the other still entangled with the unresolved past. It is hard to believe this overlap was accidental.

Political analysts often say that the early bird has an advantage. Declare early, define the narrative, condition the public. There is some truth to that. Name recall matters. Visibility matters. Momentum, once built, is difficult to stop but there is also a danger in moving too early. This is exhausting the public, of cheapening the process, of turning governance into a permanent campaign.

I do not advocate for early proclamations, nor do I want to preempt the electoral process that still, at least in theory, belongs to the people. Elections are meant to be moments of choice, not conclusions reached years in advance through repetition and spectacle. When candidacies are announced too soon, they risk turning public office into an inherited expectation rather than a responsibility earned.

More importantly, the country has far more pressing concerns than the political chessboard of 2028. We are grappling with questions that demand immediate answers: Who is accountable for the controversial flood-control projects that failed when they were needed most? Where did the money go? Why do the same patterns of negligence and silence keep repeating after every disaster? Corruption, as always, refuses to die down. It mutates, it hides behind procedures, it waits for the next news cycle to move on.

Here we are, already distracted by slogans not yet written, promises not yet made, and elections still far away. There is something unsettling about leaders looking too far ahead while the ground beneath us remains unstable. At times, it feels as though the country is always late in addressing its problems, but somehow always early when it comes to campaigning.

Too early to ask for our votes. Too late to answer for our failures. Perhaps timing is not just about strategy, it is about sensitivity. It is about knowing when the nation needs vision, and when it needs accountability. Right now, we do not need another declaration of intent. We need clarity, responsibility, and answers that have long been overdue.