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Rescuing our country from dictatorship our goal — Mark
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Prepare for defeat, Tinubu remains till 2031 — Presidency
By Folorunso Alagbede, Abuja
The 2027 Presidential election is still about 19 months away, holding on February 20, 2027.
But the political atmosphere is increasingly charged with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the coalition of opposition parties scheming and plotting to retain or wrest power respectively.
The question on the lips of many Nigerians is whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will succeed himself or his office will be taken away from him by the coalition elements.
The new coalition of opposition political parties in the country, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, is confident it will unseat the incumbent President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The former Senate President Senator David Mark who held sway as chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has been named as the Protem National Chairman of the ADC, while a former Governor of Osun State and one time core loyalist of Tinubu, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the interim Secretary to lead the ADC push to wrest power in 2027.
Public curiosity revolves around the probability of the coalition making good its goal of unseating President Tinubu from the Aso Rock Villa come 2027.
Ahead the 2015 general election, a coalition spearheaded then by key figures including Tinubu, had adopted the All Progressives Congress, APC, and in 2013, the APC successfully defeated the then incumbent President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, sending him packing from the presidential villa and paving the way for the emergence of former president, General Muhammadu Buhari, rtd.
Buhari governed for two terms of eight years before leaving office in the year 2023.
Based on precedence, the current coalition of opposition political parties may be having a ray of hope to clinch power if they are able to convince Nigerians that their manifesto is better than that of the APC, the party currently in power, to be able to improve the socio-economic conditions of the citizenry.
The snag is that the political atmosphere prior to the 2015 general election was definitely different from the current one.
Considering the caliber of politicians that have come together in the coalition of opposition parties, it is not impossible to spring a political surprise, come 2027.
These politicians include former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Governor of Anambra and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, during the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi, former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, erstwhile Governor of River State, Barrister Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and Chief Tom Ikimi among others.
As the activities of the ADC coalition of opposition parties picked up, opinions have been divided on how far the coalition can go, depending on the side of the divide the assessor is.
In his inaugural speech at the official unveiling/adoption of the ADC by the coalition group in Abuja earlier in the month, the interim National Chairman and erstwhile Senate President, Senator David Mark said
that the ADC is on a mission to “rescue our country and save our hard-won democracy.”
According to Mark, a retired army general and Telecommunication Engineer, “We are gathered here this afternoon in pursuit of our shared mission to rescue our country and save our hard-won democracy.
“Let it be known to all, that this coalition of national political opposition groups goes beyond gaining political power. It is a concerted effort to rebuild the crumbling pillars of Nigeria’s democracy.
“Today marks the beginning of what we believe would be a long, difficult and tedious journey.
“However, it is a journey that we are prepared to undertake, united in our collective belief that no price or sacrifice is too high in the service of our fatherland.
“It is on record that within two years of the current administration coming to power, it has hijacked all democratic institutions, and sent our country on a creeping descent into total civilian dictatorship.
“The blatant destabilisation and infiltration of all major opposition political parties is aimed at achieving only one objective, to enhance total state capture and leave Nigerians with no alternative or options in 2027.
“This coalition is to prevent our country’s descent into a one-party state.
“We have never seen a government so much at home with corruption, a government that disdains accountability in all ramifications. A government more concerned with the next election rather than the survival of the ordinary Nigerians. A government so totally consumed with politicking that governance is abandoned, while the majority of our people wallow in hunger and poverty.
“We have never seen this level of insecurity across the length and breadth of our nation. Bandits and kidnappers kill Nigerians at will and on daily basis. “Yet, this ongoing tragedy has not moved the government to any action that would stop these mindless killings and stem the tide of needless bloodshed. Indeed, the Nigerian people deserve a government that protects them and make them feel safe in their own homes.
“Equally disturbing, is the total emasculation of the legislative institution. Never in our history, have we witnessed a National Assembly where legislators, the trustees of the very bastion of our democracy, saddled with the sacred duty to protect Nigerians from misuse of executive power, are reduced to cheerleaders and praise singers of the President, head of the executive arm.
“Without doubt, the transformation of Nigeria’s National Assembly to a mere appendage of presidential authority is a dangerous conspiracy against the Nigerian people.
“It is the reason why the government is able to get away with various whimsical, unconstitutional policies and actions or inactions that have reduced more Nigerians to abject poverty and widened the boundaries of insecurity and fear.
“It is imperative to state that our democracy has a history, which is the reason why we all affirm that the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain. “Today, the labour of our heroes is under vicious attack and our Republic faces a mortal danger.
“This coalition is therefore for all Nigerians who share in our belief that all of us, the young and the old, man and woman, rich and poor, living with disabilities or not, town dwellers or villagers, we all have the patriotic duty to save our country”, Mark said.
On the other hand, one of the spokespersons to President Tinubu and former Minister of Sports, Dr Sunday Dare cautioned politicians coalescing under the ADC with the intention of unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 to abandon their aspirations and prepare for 2031 instead.
Speaking in Abuja penultimate week, Dare dismissed the emerging opposition bloc as a collection of “disgruntled politicians” driven by “avarice ambition” rather than national interest or genuine concern for justice.
According to him, “The Presidency already rests with the region rightfully due. And that’s where it will be till 2031”.
He insisted that Tinubu remains firmly in control, with his democratic credentials and governance record unmatched by any member of the new coalition.
Dare argued that the politicians rallying around the ADC were not motivated by any desire to correct injustice in the political system, as they claim, but a selfish desire to access public funds.
His words: “There is no injustice to redress—only avarice ambition to satisfy the cravings of a few for the control of the National treasury”.
Dare specifically described the new alliance as lacking the discipline and national purpose that powered the APC merger over a decade ago.
According to him, “In 2013, the merger that birthed the APC was driven by selflessness, national interest, and strategic discipline. The leaders at the time were willing to set aside personal ambitions for the greater good.
“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, despite commanding the loyalty of several sitting Governors, chose to wait. He bided his time, played the long game, and focused on building a viable political platform,” he explained.
Highlighting Tinubu’s political strength, Dare added: “He had never lost an election, and he didn’t have to force his way in.
“Today, no one in this coalition commands that kind of loyalty or trust. Not one of them could genuinely unite a ward, let alone a country. No one comes close to parading the democratic credentials of President Bola Tinubu.”
The Presidency dismissed the opposition’s adoption of the ADC, describing the move as a poor immitation of the historic 2013 APC merger.
Speaking in the same vein, the Ondo State chapter of the Grassroots Movement for Tinubu (GMT) dismissed as inconsequential the political coalition around the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other fringe parties, saying it poses no threat whatsoever to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term ambition.
The Director General of GMT in Ondo State, Saka Yusuf-Ogunleye, said those behind the coalition lack the political weight and moral authority to challenge the growing support base of President Tinubu across Nigeria.
According to him, “No amount of political meetings or emergency alliances among failed politicians can stop the will of the people. Tinubu is on course.”
The direction of the 2027 general election, fast inching closer, is uncertain. The political gladiators themselves are not unmindful of this fact. Only time will tell.
