Nigeria, Aug. 5 -- The recent revelation that the 2026 federal budget contains 5.85 billion earmarked for the construction of palaces in non-existent kingdoms illustrates the widening disconnect between government and the citizens it claims to serve. At a time when millions of Nigerians are struggling with inflation, unemployment, failing public services, and worsening economic hardship, palace construction should be the least of our national worries.

By no stretch of the imagination are palaces a priority. It is a luxury that symbolises the ironic interplay of elite satisfaction, eroding public trust, and widespread deprivation. To now know that no palaces exist is the height of looting and plundering of public resources.

Yet the abs...