Notwithstanding President Bola Tinubu?s political sagacity, the array of bigwigs being paraded by the opposition coalition on the platform of African Democratic Congress appears to be a major political obstacle to the ruling All Progressives Congress. However, forming a strategic political alliance with the National Leader of New Nigeria Peoples Party, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, may be a master stroke by APC to curtail the threat of the opposition ahead of the 2027 poll. Adedayo Akinwale writes.

Is political gladiators and opposition leaders close ranks and realign ahead of the 2027 general election, the question on the lips of many is who inherits former President Muhammadu Buhari?s 12 million bloc votes in the North following his recent demise.

Though the 2027 general election is about two years away, the political activities that will culminate in the presidential election have already started.

The recent unveiling of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the platform of choice adopted by the opposition leaders to challenge President Bola Tinubu?s re-election has changed the political dynamics in the country.

Without mincing words, things are no longer at ease in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) due to the threat posed by the party. While the ADC parades political bigwigs that are not strange to Nigeria?s political terrain, the threat posed by the party is a major headache for both the president and the ruling party.

Some of the arrow heads of the opposition coalition are: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai; former Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi; former APC National Vice Chairman, North West, Dr. Salihu Lukman; ADC?s interim National Chairman and former President of the Senate, David Mark; former Cross River state Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke and his Osun state counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; among others.

A close look at some of the leaders of the opposition coalition showed that they have been around the corridors of power for more than two decades and most of them contributed in no small measure to the current predicament the country finds itself in. One is forced to ask whether the coalition is formed with the best interest of Nigeria at heart or because of the personal interests of the opposition leaders.

While some of them are not without baggage, the threat posed by opposition leaders who have decided to combine forces together are real.

The berth of ADC as the platform of choice of the opposition leaders prompted the President to take a hard decision to sacrifice the former National Chairman of the party, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje. The move was part of Tinubu?s political exigency plan to desperately form an alliance with the former Governor of Kano state, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Ganduje was subsequently replaced by the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda.

It?s a known fact that If Ganduje remains at the helm of affairs as the national chairman of the ruling party, Kwankwaso?s defection to the ruling party won?t come to fruition, considering the animosity between the duo.

As far as the North is concerned, the only politician that can command the kind of followership like Buhari is Kwankwaso. His Kwankwasiya movement that he has nurtured over the years has metamorphosed into a strong political force in the North.

To break the ranks of the opposition coalition, Tinubu does not need a soothsayer to know Kwankwaso will no doubt be a good asset for his re-election in 2027.

Surprisingly, despite Ganduje?s resignation, Kwankwaso has refused to defect to APC as expected. His delay which was already causing apprehension for the President was made worse when he launched a tirade of attacks last week, accusing the administration of President Tinubu of ignoring the north.

?Let me advise the federal government on the distribution of federal resources. From the information available to us, it?s like most of the national budget is now tilting in one direction in this country.

?Let me advise those who are struggling by all means to take everything to remember that some of the issues that we have in this part of the country today have to do with the lack of enough resources and mismanagement of the little that comes in. That is why we have insecurity, we have poverty and so on. It is happening here mainly, but like a desert, it would go everywhere,? Kwankwaso had said at the Kano State Stakeholders? Dialogue on the 2025 Constitutional Amendment.

But in a swift response, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Mr. Sunday Dare, described the allegations as wrong. He listed 43 projects spanning the health, road, rail/metro, agricultural, waterway/trade, energy/gas, housing and national programme sectors being executed or already in place in the north.

Following Kwankwaso?s recent attacks on his administration, rightly or wrongly, Tinubu took matters to his hand last week when he met with Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, a close ally of Kwankwaso, who is also the national leader of the opposition New Nigeria People?s Party (NNPP).

Jibrin, who represents Kiru/Bebeji federal constituency of Kano State in the House of Representatives, held a closed-door session with the president at his office in the Presidential Villa, Abuja. However, he refused to give details of the meeting while briefing the State House correspondents.

?I came to see Mr. President and, of course, the long-term friendship that the president has also enjoyed with the national leader of the NNPP, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. So I do not think it?s anything surprising to see me here to see the president, to greet him, check on him, and also discuss some national issues that I believe are in the interest of the people of this country,? he had said.

With the cloud of uncertainty hovering around the ruling party, it is no-brainer that Tinubu needs to form a political alliance with Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 elections. With Buhari?s 12 million bloc votes up for grab in 2027, embracing a man like Kwankwaso remains politically expedient ? not for optics, but for what he represents ? a rare breed of political courage, and a deep well of influence among the people. His grassroots appeal and followership are unmanufactured. It was earned through years of service, sacrifice, and speaking when others chose silence.

Kwankwaso is not just another name on Nigeria?s long political register ? he is a major force to be reckoned with. His recent criticism of government has made him a mirror through which the North sees its silent anguish reflected with clarity and courage.

As the 2027 elections draw near, the political establishment should be reminded that the North will remember who spoke for them and who kept silent. It will remember who stood tall and who bowed so easily.

Kwankwaso may not be everyone?s favourite politician, but he remains one of the few whose politics is powered by principle, not puppetry. He is living proof that courage is not dead In Nigerian politics?it is just rare.

In the Nigeria political scene, Kwankwaso has been around for some time. He was a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, a two-term Governor of Kano state, an ex-Minister of Defense, a former Senator and ex-chairman Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), he sure has an enviable political curriculum vitae.

Considering the fact that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is doing everything within its power to woo Peter Obi back to the party and may eventually emerge as the party?s Presidential candidate in 2027, and with the possibility of Atiku winning the ticket of the ADC, a Kwankwaso?s alliance with the APC and Tinubu might be the master stroke to eliminate the threat of the coalition come 2027.

If this happens, the country might witness a repeat of what happened during the 2023 presidential poll. (THISDAY)

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