Nigerians are in for sheer theater. Politicians are at the worst possible best as the 2027 fever grips them.
It is about two years away, but it would be imagined that the elections are six months away. Those in and out of government are shooting from the hips.
It is one unraveling after the other. Nothing of substance. Nothing compelling. A display of avarice, intellectual ambiguity and a telling lack of understanding of the needs and moods of Nigerians.
Since opposition politicians coalesce under the African Democratic Congress, ADC, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, seems to have lost its bearing and messaging.
It has gone into overdrive and though its apparatchiks deny it, the panic is palpable.
After a lot of heaving and puffing, those who have become disgruntled by the administration of President Bola Tinubu finally found a willing platform. The major lights are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, former Senate President David Mark, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice under President Buhari, Abubakar Malami, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, former Governors Nasir El-Rufai, Rauf Aregbesola, Sule Lamido, Senator Ireti Kingibe, Senator Dino Melaye and a host of others.
The ADC new lynchpins say they are about ending the untenable suffering in the country and the main goal is to unseat President Tinubu, an objective the Presidency say is unlikely.
Nigerians are divided as always. They wonder if anything would change with the crowd under the ADC. Their fear is germane. These individuals have been in government before. Some of them as recent as until 2023.
What do their scorecards say? If the taste of the pudding is in the eating, then, Nigerians ought to be wary. But the dilemma is not as simplistic as it sounds. If those before had performed badly, what then is the verdict on the governing APC? Worst to say the least.
As things are at present, the contending parties need to better. What are their agendas going forward? How do they intend to achieve them? Though the road is still far, the various parties should realise that Nigerians are now the wiser and will demand concrete guarantees.
In the mix of the political cacophony, electoral reform remains fundamental. The INEC should push forward the issue of electronic transfer of result and put to rest the confusion with manual reliance.
It should ensure that the glitch that affected the transfer of results in 2023 is a mistake should never happen again.
Nigerians yearn for an electoral environment that is integrity-based, credible and foolproof to manipulation and fraud.
There is the possibility that any attempt to subvert the people’s will in the next election could fatal damage the country. And that scenario must be avoided at all cost.
For now, this newspaper urges all political actors to show decorum and stay on the issues.
