- Opposition Leaders Are Unserious About Wrestling Power From Tinubu
- Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso, Others Fighting Survival Battle
- Opposition Leaders Must Develop Alternative Political Platform By December 2024
While the 2027 General Elections are still some two and a half years away, indications have emerged that it may be a Herculean task to wrest power from the incumbent President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
This is the candid opinion of a former National Vice Chairman of the party, Dr Salihu Lukman who has expressed his displeasure at the “unserious” attitude of opposition political parties leaders.
He disclosed that if the opposition political leaders must wrest power from Tinubu and the APC, they must develop an alternative political platform by December 2024.
Lukman made this known in a statement issued Monday where he stressed that while the situation in the country has deteriorated, there was hardly any definitive engagement with the clear objective of mobilising Nigerians to effect a change in 2027.
Hear him; “It has become necessary to draw the attention of opposition political leaders in the country that the current care-free or unserious disposition could produce the disastrous outcome whereby Nigerians may be unable to change the government of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
“The reality is that if by the end of December 2024, no structured engagement has commenced based on a strategic initiative to develop the alternative political platform, oriented based on the selfless disposition of opposition political leaders, it simply means that any opposition to APC and President Asiwaju Tinubu in 2027 will be based on personal ambitions of individual political leaders.”
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Lukman noted that so long as the relationship among political leaders in the country is limited to support for personal ambition to emerge as candidates, it signposts a looming danger and prospect of producing a government worse than the current one.
“Irrespective of whether the government is led by Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Sen Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso or any of the orphaned leaders of APC, any successive government that emerged based on personal ambition of political leaders risks being worse,” he said.
He lamented further that all the perceived political leaders are currently embroiled in a survival battle which may hamper their chances.
“It is quite appalling, for instance, that PDP leaders are antagonistic to Alh. Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi is in the midst of a helpless survival leadership battle in LP and Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is oversighting a directionless NNPP whose roof is being torn apart by none other than its own so-called leaders.
“And all the other parties, including SDP and PRP have adopted a monarchic behaviour, sitting in their comfort zones waiting for disgruntled and aggrieved opposition political leaders to come to them for some ‘royal’ covers.
“Perhaps, it could also be a case of waiting to harvest good political businesses through dealmaking in 2027, which is the standard political practice in Nigeria since the commencement of the current Fourth Republic.”
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Lukman said these issues have “emboldened” Tinubu and the APC.
“Part of the reality is that opposition political leaders in the country are stuck to old political ambitions and, to that extent, therefore, only strategising to manipulate their emergence as candidates for election in 2027,” he said.
“This has become the singular determining factor for political consultations in the country.
“Consequently, there is almost zero trust among opposition political leaders, which has become a thick barrier to political consultations in the country.”
He added that any government that emerges out of personal ambition would be worse than Tinubu.
The Matrix reports that Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso are currently embroiled in a survival battle.
PDP, Atiku’s political party is currently facing an internal crisis which is threatening the soul of the party with the gulf in the party widening each day.
The story is not different in the Labour Party where Obi and the leadership of the party, the Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC) also not seeing eye to eye.
For Kwankwaso and the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), the center can no longer hold.
