Editor’s note: In this piece, Temitope Ajayi scrutinises the caller ADC realignment. He describes it arsenic a calculated effort by sidelined governmental actors to reclaim relevance nether the guise of coalition-building, without offering existent reform.
What was wide touted arsenic a imaginable seismic displacement successful Nigeria’s governmental terrain turned retired to beryllium a specified governmental puff of smoke.
For weeks, a set of aggrieved and wandering politicians had been climbing each disposable rooftop, megaphone successful hand, vowing to dethrone President Bola Tinubu travel 2027. Not due to the fact that the antheral is doing a unspeakable occupation connected the saddle. Not due to the fact that the system has worsened oregon information has wholly collapsed. No. Just due to the fact that they missed retired connected the appurtenances of powerfulness and cannot look to relation without the rubric “Your Excellency.”

Source: Twitter
Two years into his presidency, Bola Tinubu is tackling Nigeria’s multi-headed problems similar a antheral cutting down a mountainous terrain with a pickaxe, painfully slow, yes, but surely purposeful. Yet, the self-styled redeemers, who gathered nether the banner of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) successful Abuja connected Wednesday, main among them Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, person not projected a azygous caller idea.
Their lone strategy appears to beryllium crying louder than the bereaved, recycling worn-out clichés, and weaponising poorness they themselves helped fertilise implicit the past 25 years. This is not a governmental rebirth. It is much similar a poorly scripted sequel that is ill-fated. These absorption actors, having deflated their archetypal parties and mislaid the crippled arsenic credible voices, are simply utilizing the ADC arsenic a special-purpose conveyance for power-hunting. It is simply a governmental Uber for those stranded without relevance.
Nigerians person seen this movie before. In 2018, erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo, aft penning a bid of acidic letters to President Muhammadu Buhari, rallied his ain conjugation of the wounded nether the aforesaid ADC flag. That effort collapsed faster than a soufflé successful a thunderstorm. If past is immoderate guide, the caller ADC revival is different expedition successful governmental self-harm.
The information is the ADC gathering is ne'er a policy-driven renaissance. It is much similar a reunion of governmental exes with bruised egos. Jealousy, idiosyncratic bitterness, inflated ambition, and expired power are the glue binding this coalition. They are not retired to rescue anyone; they lone privation to rescue themselves from governmental oblivion.
To further recognize the theatrical prime of this attempted comeback, fto america conscionable the cast.
Atiku Abubakar: A walking lawsuit survey successful governmental promiscuity. He has changed parties much times than a chameleon successful a rainbow factory. Six failed statesmanlike bids successful 30 years, and helium is inactive convinced helium has a divine assignment with Aso Rock. By 2027, Atiku volition beryllium 80 years old. One wonders if helium sees the ADC arsenic a status program oregon a midlife situation task stretched into aged age.
Peter Obi: Running connected the altar of religion and ethnicity, our responsibility lines, helium came 3rd successful the 2023 statesmanlike election. He has not stopped lamenting with his acheronian presumption of the state helium seeks to govern. From each pulpit to podcast, helium hammers retired statistic similar a breached calculator stuck connected pessimism. The aforesaid antheral who vilified the “structure of criminality” has present joined forces with it, convinced that recycled alliances volition instrumentality him to the Promised Land. For a antheral who loves to chant “competence, capacity, and compassion,” his ain clip arsenic politician near much questions than bequest projects.
Senator David Mark: The caller “Protem Chairman” of ADC is our new-found politician who wants to prevention our hard-won civilian rule. How democratic! This is the aforesaid antheral who played a cardinal relation successful the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election. He spent 20 years successful the Senate, retired of which helium spent 8 years arsenic Senate President. He near Otukpo, his hometown, looking similar it missed each improvement memo sent since the 1980s. A antheral with this way grounds should not beryllium talking astir redeeming democracy. He helped hide it once.

Source: Twitter
Nasir el-Rufai: The diminutive erstwhile politician of Kaduna suffers from the well-documented “short antheral syndrome” and an adjacent shorter loyalty span. Denied a ministerial position, helium is present starring a governmental tantrum. Both erstwhile Presidents Buhari and Obasanjo reportedly said El-Rufai tin not beryllium trusted with a vending machine, fto unsocial nationalist leadership. Despite his knack for media drama, his electoral power is skeletally bladed helium would conflict to triumph a ward successful Kaduna today.
Rotimi Amaechi: Spoilt silly by the system. He is the dictionary explanation of entitlement. From being the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly to being politician to minister, without ever holding a real-life occupation similar an mean Nigerian, helium thinks Nigeria owes him a crown and garlands. Despite being Director-General of Buhari’s campaigns successful 2015 and 2019, helium failed spectacularly to present Rivers State to APC successful 3 elections. Each time, helium got beaten by Nyesom Wike with a stick, a smile, and a landslide. Amaechi is simply a synonym for nonaccomplishment successful matters of elections.
Rauf Aregbesola: As politician of Osun, helium engaged successful bizarre governance experiments that near the authorities much broke than Greece successful 2008 and near civilian servants unpaid. As Minister of Interior, his biggest achievements were announcing nationalist holidays and turning passport postulation into an Olympic sport. He erstwhile swore President Tinubu was 2nd lone to God successful his life. Now, helium wants to prevention Nigeria with Atiku successful a pack up against the antheral God utilized to elevate him to positions of nationalist prominence.
Bolaji Abdullahi: He is the maestro of good speech and zero conviction. One moment, he is with the PDP. Next, helium is with the APC, past backmost to the PDP. Now, helium is the mouthpiece of ADC. When Arise TV's Rufai Oseni asked if helium was keeping Saraki’s spot warm, it was not a excavation but a objective diagnosis.
To beryllium clear, this ADC assemblage is not connected a ngo to reinvent Nigeria. They are simply trying to reinvent themselves. No ideology, nary credible blueprint, conscionable a postulation of powerfulness retirees seeking roles and relevance similar actors auditioning for a remake of a amusement cipher watched the archetypal time.
And arsenic if their credibility shortage was not enough, their enactment operation itself is illegal. According to the 2022 Electoral Act, immoderate assignment of enactment officials indispensable beryllium done done a decently convened enactment normal oregon National Executive Council meeting, supervised by INEC. What happened successful Abuja was not a lawful normal oregon NEC gathering of ADC. It was a governmental drama skit without a script.
In the end, the alleged conjugation is thing but a choir of has-beens and never-weres singing off-key. They deficiency the fire, the discipline, the ideological clarity, and the wide question constituent that propelled APC to powerfulness successful 2015.
Rather than discarded everyone’s clip parading bushed slogans, the ADC pack should conscionable accidental what they truly mean: “We privation powerfulness due to the fact that we miss the perks.”
Unfortunately for them, Nigeria has changed. And Nigerians are watching and volition laughter retired large astatine the due time.
Temitope Ajayi is theSenior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu connected Media and Publicity.Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed present are those of the writer and bash not needfully bespeak the authoritative argumentation oregon presumption of Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng