BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
The fear that has enveloped the political class since the coalition of estranged political gladiators has kept the mouths wagging. The ruling party, APC (All Progressive Congress), calls the coalition a paper tiger and a conglomerate of failed political allies who have no political capital left. The coalition group sang their praises by getting to the stage of adopting a political party (ADC) for themselves. It could have been a very easy thing to do if not for the bad behavior of the ruling party, to try to crush any opposition to the extent of denying them a place to meet.
The coalition group was so smart that they were able to hide the places of their meetings and dialogue. Sometimes, they gave out a fake location and watched the ruling party disgrace themselves in the quest to stop the coalition. The ruling party said that they do not plan to make Nigeria a one-party state, but when their actions tend to weaken all the other opposition to the level that it would be a competition between a lion and a goat, common sense will prevail. The goat will simply run away on the day of the competition, or he will become a meal for the lion.
The best form of democracy is one with healthy opposition, as we can see in other geographies of the world. Under our watch, we have seen the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) destroyed, and we witnessed the same thing in the LP (Labor Party). Both parties, PDP and LP, could have represented the viable opposition have been weakened by the internal mechanisms fueled by the ruling party. Although PDP committed a mortal sin in 2023 by not allowing a southerner to be their presidential candidate. Of course, things do happen in politics that sometimes confuse our beliefs.
But to bring the whole house down because you lost out in the political game is a sign of immaturity. PDP is being destroyed by one person, LP is being destroyed by a group of people; hence, I support the coalition to provide a credible opposition. There are many gaps in the coalition, but you cannot run away from a war because someone might die (Ejiro mgbagbu aghara ogu). The coalition doesn’t look right to me, but I will encourage them to go on since there are some good fellows in that arrangement. I do not have the final vision or plan of the coalition, but the blind and the deaf know that the coalition is coalescing on one man (Mr. Peter Obi).I have seen other big names and faces on the coalition list, but that was not a call for celebration since those faces and names had been on the political terrain from 1992 to date. Some of them have been in the highest political office in the land, and they have not changed the lives of the Nigerian public an inch. They have this penchant for power, and when power eludes them, they will jump into another political party. Some of the people played a good political game when they were in power. Some of them I would not like to mention because they are the architects of the problem we find ourselves today. I am not excited about the coalition, but I support it in the sense that we are not going in the direction of a one-party system.
The Minister of the federal capital will eat PDD for breakfast, while Julius Abure will use LP for dinner. PDP, one can say, is a national party and has some clout because they have been in power for some years in Nigeria, but as for LP, some of us only started hearing about it when Peter Obi joined it. That was why people could not understand why Abure would be an ingrate to the point of fighting the man who resurrected the party. Anyways, some philosophers have opined that ingratitude is more natural to man than gratitude; therefore, the actions of Mr. Abure should not surprise anyone.
Going further, the coalition should know that whatever is being cooked, Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed should not be ignored. Both candidates should be in on every decision, and injury to one is injury to all. The Obidient-movement can sacrifice the Vice President (VP) position, but I doubt if they will sacrifice the presidential position to anyone. I am ready to forgive some of the faces in the coalition because of what they will bring to the table: not necessarily money, but votes, because they have cult followership like Mr. Peter Obi. But if their aim is to vie for any of the top three positions (President, Vice President, and Senate President) I will take exception to that. Our proverb states that rather than a full stomach and perish, let me be hungry and get home safe and sound (Kama iriju afo dachie uzo, kama kam buru onu).
The 2013 coalition and merger put Nigeria in a very bad shape because the coalition was formed by the BOT (Brigade of Thieves). And they are still dealing with Nigeria today.Finally, we need to see the agreements between these political classes that are coming together to wrestle power from the ruling party. If they do not want to make their agreements public, I will let them know that two prominent factors will destroy the coalition. The first and most important factor for this coalition to function should be making Mr. Obi the presidential candidate, which is the expectation of many Nigerians. I am not saying that Mr. Obi should be served on a platter of gold, but a free and fair primary election should be conducted to allow the most viable candidate to win. The second part of it that would destroy the coalition looks like the first one.
Atiku Abubakar should not contest for the presidency at all. He has the money to buy all the votes, but I advise him not to try it because if they do, APC will decimate them in 2027. We have seen many dramas during the APC birth; some of the politicians in that merger did not last one political cycle. One of their senators sabotaged the group and came out as the senate president, with the opposition party producing the deputy senate president. So, we know how the coalition can go south if plans are not well executed and people are not given what they are asking for.
The Nigerian people should not celebrate this coalition because it was made of the same people who have ruled us since 1999 without much change. We have not seen the last of the coalition, but I ask for patience because it is not yet Uhuru.
