THE GATHERING STORM AGAINST TINUBU

THE GATHERING STORM AGAINST TINUBU

The 2027 presidential election may still be two years away, but the gathering cloud and raging storm against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid appears to have began building up even before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could blow the whistle for the commencement of the race.

From the North to the South, and in every part of the six geopolitical zones, political drums have started sounding very loud to the deafening attention of many Nigerians.

The ubiquitous, hyperactive members of the coalition of opposition political parties, led by the duo of 2023 presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi respectively have equally been unrelenting in their plots.

Other political bigwigs propelling the coalition include former governors like Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi (Rivers), Mallam Nasir El-rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Emeka Ihedioha (Imo), Victor Ubong Attah (Akwa-Ibom), and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) among others.

The list also included former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, and former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, among many other unseen and unheard political stakeholders periodically brainstorming and strategising on how best to wrest the power from the incumbent President Tinubu.

From all indications, it is becoming obvious that the plots, conspiracies and hostilities to stop President Tinubu are coming majorly from the northern region of the country. While the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, seems to be leading the northern onslaught to dismantle and destabilise any form of physical and unforeseen opposition against Tinubu from the northern region, members of the coalition are not leaving anything to chance either.

Only recently, the APC National Chairman warned his northern political stakeholders nursing any ambition to contest against President Tinubu in 2027, to sacrifice such ambition, because, according to him, there is no vacancy in the Aso Rock Villa, in 2027.

Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam El-Rufai, had through his verified X handle claimed that the North would give President Tinubu the same treatment meted out to former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. Apparently responding to the threat, Ganduje emphatically maintained that the party would religiously follow the zoning arrangement by ensuring that “the North-South power sharing formula,” is strictly be adhered to.

Only last week, the former Kano State Governor, again, warned that no amount of gathering of the opposition political parties, arrangements or gang up could stop the good people of Nigeria from re-electing Tinubu as President, in 2027.

“Forget the recent political gatherings and ranting from some politicians who presently do not have any identifiable political base. Their gatherings from LP, PDP, SDP and others are peopled with different political ideologies and selfish political interest that can never agree on any issue politically,” Ganduje said.

Interestingly, Ganduje is not alone. He is in the same boat with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who recently proposed a two-million match for Tinubu’s re-election, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume and a founding member of APC, Osita Okechukwu among hundreds of others.

On his part, Okechukwu had assured that the economic hardship Nigerians are experiencing under President Tinubu will ease off before the 2027 presidential election because some of his economic policies will start bearing positive fruits.

“The truism is that President Tinubu has done well diplomatically; he is a friend of the West and a friend of the East. This means that he has the support of the international community to cushion the rough economic edges with Foreign Direct Investments and loan-backed projects,” Okechukwu argued.

But, despite their “no vacancy in Aso Rock Villa,” mantra, those who want to displace the APC are not relenting.

Tag it a political strategy to gauge public opinions, or part of the instrument to intimidate political opponents, the ‘no vacancy’ mantra has actually come to stay in the Nigeria political lexicon.

Those propagating it, believe, albeit wrongly, in the myth that the incumbent President must always be re-elected at all costs, no matter how unpopular they may be.

Unarguably, Nigerian political history is replete with cases of certain individuals flattering and ass-kissing the incumbent and using the propagation of “no vacancy mantra” to drum support for him.

Recall that in 2002 during the build-up to the 2003 presidential election, now late Tony Anenih declared defiantly that; “there is no vacancy in Aso Rock” because according to him, nothing would stop the then-President, Olusegun Obasanjo from being re-elected for a second term in 2003, emphasising: “the incumbent is in the ring and nobody can dislodge him.”

But, if it worked out perfectly in his favour as planned then, it was an entirely different kettle of fish in 2015, when, despite similar warnings from Anenih, then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, lost to Muhammadu Buhari against the expectations of many Nigerians.

It will not therefore come as a surprise to many now that in the build-up to the 2027 presidential election, the cloud and storm have already started to gather and clash against President Tinubu’s re-election on a daily basis, despite the usual warning from supporters on the certainty of his retaining power.

The hostilities have come majorly in the form of the gatherings by members of the coalition of opposition political parties, alignments, realignments, and endless speculations of where the pendulums will swing.

The political antagonism has even escalated in recent times through furious attacks on President Tinubu over his recent declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State and the recent defection of certain chieftains of the ruling party like Mallam El-Rufai, who joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The gathering cloud has equally manifested in the ultimate confirmation by the coalition of the opposition parties last week that they are on a mission to deny President Tinubu a re-election in the 2027 presidential poll.

In their recent hostile attacks, some of them had descended very hard on President Tinubu, vowing to do everything humanly possible to stop his re-election in 2027.

Leading the attacks, Mallam El-Rufai, had while expressing disappointment over President Tinubu’s failure to meet up with the expectations and confidence they reposed in him, lamented that he and others supported him despite his legal and ethical controversies, particularly the disputed authenticity of his academic credentials.

El-Rufai said: “What pains me the most is that we supported and had confidence in this government, believing that it would deliver results. We saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges, and thought if he could replicate that at the national level, it would be worth it. We all knew about his issues in Chicago, but we overlooked them, thinking his governance experience in Lagos would benefit Nigeria. But unfortunately, he has failed.”

The attacks became fiercer after the declaration of the emergency rule in Rivers with virtually every single person in opposition descending very heavily on President Tinubu.

Among them were Peter Obi and Atiku who variously described it as “unconstitutional and reckless,” accusing Tinubu of disregarding the rule of law and showing a “dangerous willingness” to trample on democracy.

“The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State is not just reckless, it is a clear attempt to return us to a state of nature and tighten its grip on power at all costs. It has plunged us back into a state of lawlessness, hugely undoing the progress we have made in these 26 years of democratic journey. It is a degrading back door imposition of martial rule on a strategic part of the federation with all the implied negatives,” Obi noted.

Interestingly, last week, the opposition group, confirmed the official commencement of the coalition, even as they condemn the emergency rule, urging Nigerians to resist what they call President Tinubu’s “brazen assault” on democracy with the emergency rule in Rivers State.

Led by Atiku, who also read the address at a press briefing in Abuja last week, the coalition said: “This action is not only unlawful but also a clear subversion of democracy and imposition of autocratic federal control over a duly elected state government.”

“We strongly condemn this development and call on all Nigerians of good conscience to resist this brazen assault on the constitution of our country and the institutions of our democracy. If President Tinubu had conveniently disguised his true intentions in the past, his broadcast to the nation betrayed his bias and fell far below the standard of comportment expected from his exalted office.

“We call on all Civil Society Organisations, political groups, and Nigerians of good conscience to stand firm in the defence of this democracy that we have all toiled to build,” the group said.

Atiku, along with other opposition figures, equally declared during that press conference that the gathering marked the official beginning of the coalition, emphasising: “Yes, this is the birth of the coalition of opposition ahead of 2027.”

But, like the Biblical promise to Israelites that God will plant confusion in the enemy camp, several hurdles like the uncooperative stance of LP leader, Obi, who has become the beautiful bride, to settle for anything less than the plump presidential ticket, Atiku’s inordinate ambition to re-contest and the violation of the North and South zoning convention, are already working against the arrangements by the coalition to actualise their target of destabilising the ruling party.

A member of Atiku Abubakar’s inner caucus expressed deep frustration of how Obi’s uncompromising stand is destabilising the coalition in a chat with Daily Sun recently, emphasising: “Those close to Obi should help convince him to bend over and accept the arrangement by the coalition.”

He further said “What is certain is that he (Obi) cannot do it alone, and his biggest mistake will be thinking that the 2027 presidential election will be like the last one in 2023. Former President Muhammadu Buhari tried it and he succeeded in getting 12 million in his vote bank at every attempt. Still, it was worth nothing until he joined the coalition.”

In what looked like nailing it all, former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, had recently dismissed the possibility of any coalition unseating President Tinubu and the ruling party in the 2027 presidential election.

Hear him: “This is just a gathering of certain individuals with political ambitions; none of them has officially consulted their party leadership. The coalition of opposition figures is a good development, as seen in their recent meeting under what they call an opposition alliance. However, none of the key figures involved represents their party leadership,” Shekarau noted.