A Vote For Coalition Against Bad Governance And Inept Leadership -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

When the All Progressives Congress (APC) regime came to power in 2015 with the mantra of change, Nigerians expressed hope of a positive change. But, it was not to be.  And so when Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu came with his renewed Hope agenda in 2023, it was greeted with skepticism by many given his antecedent and the antics of the party’s adherents. And sadly, Tinubu has proved his critics right. The past two years has been the most turbulent in the annals of Nigerian politics. The renewed hope has turned to renewed hopelessness. Nigeria is at a crossroads. There is political tension and uncertainty in the air. The Nigerian political economy is in shambles. The citizens are disoriented and disillusioned while a small number of individuals are riding rough shod on the hapless citizens.

Worse still, those at the helm of affairs are impervious to the plight of the people, their focus being on how to tighten their grip on power. From the outset, the focus of the Tinubu regime is centered on how to consolidate its hold on power. The Nigerian hard-worn democracy is threatened as the other arms of government seem to be in limbo. The judiciary is compromised. The National Assembly operates as a parastatal under the executives while the opposition has been infiltrated and weakened and the country speedily sliding into a one-party state.

Last week, the nation’s political gladiators led by the former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar who was the presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last general election and Mr. Peter Obi formerly of the Labor Party and some bigwigs from the ruling APC came together under the aegis of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to form a formidable coalition to wrestle power from the APC. It is against this scenario that I welcome whole-heartedly the new political coalition against the oppressive APC regime. It is a welcome development as the new arrangement is already generating interest in the embattled citizens and rattling members of the ruing APC.

Clearly, wrestling power from the ruling party is not going to be an easy task given the authoritarian and anti-democratic tendencies of the regime. We know the antics of the ruling party. It is expected that they will plant moles in the new party to foment trouble and sow crisis therein. It is also possible that they may use inducements, coercion, court cases and other judicial razzmatazz to frustrate the activities of the new coalition.

As new realities emerge, it is expected that political realignment and engagement become necessary. Politics is a game of power and pursuance of interest. To get this power and meet the interest of many disappointed Nigerians, members of the new coalition should close ranks and pursue with vigor the task of wrestling power from the current regime. The new political group has the opportunity to defeat the obnoxious APC regime that has brought hardship and misery to Nigerians if it puts it acts together. First, they must begin by mobilizing and sensitizing Nigerians on the need for a change of government in 2027. Following the misconduct of the Independent National Election Commission’s (INEC) controversial handling of the 2023 presidential election, many Nigerians were disappointed and vowed never to participate in future elections. So, the first step is to educate Nigerians on the need to do their civic electoral duty. Secondly, the new coalition should be courageous and bold in pointing out to the public the many ills and infractions committed by the current regime. Thirdly, the coalition should push assiduously for electoral reform that will make rigging difficult. Fourthly, the ADC leaders should reach out to professionals and intellectuals, not election-riggers and political pettifoggers, that will bring out ideas that will be of benefit to the people.

Furthermore, and more importantly, the party should select a very credible candidate as its presidential flag bearer if it has any hope of defeating Tinubu and his APC at the polls in 2027. The party needs a leader with clout as its standard bearer. The party needs a statesman, a patriot, a detribalized person that is acceptable across the nation. The party needs a candidate with a track record of performance in private and public sphere, a bridge-builder that will work for the unity of the country. The party does not need anyone with a sectional agenda. So, capability, general acceptability, pedigree and patriotic zeal should be criteria for selection. To make the selection process credible and democratic, it should be thrown open and not zoned to any particular region.

If the mandate of the new political arrangement is to sack the APC regime from power, the new coalition will not have any choice but to select the most suitable candidate for the assignment. Whoever loses in the primaries should stand behind the selected candidate. Disagreements will be counter-productive. Fielding other candidates other than one will also be counter-productive for that will mean vote-splitting. Block vote especially from the North will be required to sack the current regime given that Tinubu is from the South. Therefore, the selection of a political heavy weight from the North like His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, who is highly respected and acceptable across the country will be strategic.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK