The Need For The Opposition To Come Together For A Purposeful Democratic Coalition To Rescue Nigeria And Save Our Democracy -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

The 2027 general election is fast approaching but the Nigerian political horizon is quite gloomy. The tension in the polity began in 2023 when the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) headed by Yakubu Mahmood imposed Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Nigeria in the most controversial election ever held in the history of the country. And Tinubu, a man of scars and scandal with inglorious antecedent has worked tirelessly to impose his will on the people rather serve the interest of the citizenry.

From the outset, Tinubu left nobody in doubt as to what his intention was. From the infamous “emi lo kan” (it is my turn to rule) declaration, to the instruction given to his thugs to “grab, snatch and run away” with ballot boxes, it was clear that Tinubu was never interested in fair play or obeying the rules of political engagement. He professes politics of bitterness, acrimony and recrimination. And he does not believe in politics of national unity; he was quoted in the past to have said that he never believed in one Nigeria. To Tinubu, politics is a zero-sum game, a do-or-die affair. That is why he declared publicly during the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria visit to him recently that: “all is fair politics”.

Clearly, the expression: “All is fair in politics,” should not come from the mouth of a statesman let alone a sitting president. That is to tell the world the mindset of the man sitting at Aso Rock superintending over the affairs of over 200 million Nigerians. And that to me is a criminal mindset. Does it surprise anyone that Tinubu is fighting tooth and nail to stop the American FBI from releasing his historic files that may contain part of his criminal past? If the contents of the file is anything good, Tinubu would be the one to sue for it to be released.

The purpose of the foregoing analogy is to let you know the character and the mindset of the man Nigerians are up against in 2027; a man who brooks no opposition and cares not about anyone. He wants to have his way and turn the country into his personal fiefdom as he did in Lagos. First, he introduced a phantom reform and suffocating economic policies that intended to pauperize the people and make them helplessly dependent so as to make it possible to buy them during election time. Secondly, he weakened the state institutions and turn them to his personal companies of errand boys. Thirdly, he tried to turn the country into a one-party state by instigating mass defections into his party using monetary inducement and the anti-graft agencies to coerce some others.

And after that, he turned his attention to the opposition parties with a view to destabilizing them and set the stage for him to contest in the 2027 presidential election as the sole candidate. He planted moles in the main opposition parties, destroying both the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and Labor Party (LP), the parties that contested against him in the 2023 presidential election. And when some political bigwigs left those parties and established alternative political platforms, Tinubu again used his stooges to fight the new parties with court cases.

And as it stands now the Nigerian Democracy is threatened with the activities of Tinubu, his henchmen and button boys. All the 31 All Progressives Congress (APC) governors have declared that they have no other project except to deliver Tinubu in the forthcoming election. Governance has stopped, every project must cease except to work for Tinubu. And all are trying to outdo the other in the act of trying to show their preparedness to deliver Jagaban, the emperor of Lagos. The thugs, the area-boys, agbero and all the known political touts have all been mobilized and put in overdrive.

Indeed, the signs of impunity and unwillingness of the APC to play by the rules is everywhere. Last weekend, in the home of Rotimi Amaechi, when he buried his late mother, Ezinne Amaechi, Wike chose the same day to host his political city-boys in the same neighborhood, creating traffic gridlock and blocking dignitaries that had come from all over the country for the burial. Two days ago, it was reported in the press that thugs loyal to the APC were mobilized to block Peter Obi’s convoy and prevented him from going to visit victims of terrorists attack, something the state governor who claims to be a reverend father could not do. No political party is allowed to display its advert bill board in Lagos where the Jagaban reigns, or in Abuja or Port-Harcourt where Wike is in control.

The implication of all of these is that the opposition is being intimidated. And they would remain helpless except they act and very fast too. First, members of the opposition political parties must as a matter of necessity come together. They must bury their differences and answer the call to rescue Nigeria from the monsters that have hijacked the nation. To save the nation from total collapse is a task that must be done and that will only be possible if power is wrestled from those wielding it now. In this circumstance, I think it would be necessary for the all the opposition groups to come together and support and field one credible candidate for the presidential election. I expect them to also pull their resources together, mobilize and sensitize the masses, invest in the technology and other devices that will help prevent rigging. I also want the members of the opposition groups to attract international attention to the plans by the APC regime to rig the forthcoming election and perpetuate Tinubu’s toxic leadership on the entire nation. And together we can reclaim our country and build the future that we deserve. Long live Nigeria!

To be continued.

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