In a political climate where the powerful silence dissent, every act of resistance becomes an act of patriotism. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) may not be revolutionary, but its refusal to vanish from the 2027 ballot could be the most consequential act of national courage since Nigeria’s return to democracy.

The ADC is no stranger to Nigerian politics. It is not new, not young, and not without baggage. Yet, at a time when it mattered most—when President Tinubu’s vision of a one-party state seemed inevitable—they said the one word many feared to utter: a capital No that echoed like thunder.

And that single word, in the current political atmosphere, is no less than a lifeline for our democracy. In refusing to be bulldozed, bought, or buried, the ADC did not just save itself.

It may have saved the Republic.

We were already treading a dangerous path—President Tinubu’s legacy in Lagos, where he presided over two decades of political sterilization, budget secrecy, and democratic suffocation, was beginning to scale nationally.

Unfortunately, once-vibrant governors have been nearly silenced, to the consternation of Nigerians. Even members of the National Assembly, who ought to stand tall, have been reduced to a choir of yes-men. The opposition—our democracy’s bastion—has been fractured and infiltrated. Critical state institutions now align, not with the Constitution, but with Tinubu’s personal ambition. Even before seeking a second term, he already enjoys unquestioned, uninterrupted control of the state. This is not a democracy under construction; it is a palace under siege.

The ADC matters—even if you don’t like its members or believe in its ideology. Let’s be honest: no one is throwing a party for the ADC.

They are not poster children for change. But they are the ones who didn’t step aside.

And sometimes, that is the only difference between a nation that lives and one that loses itself.

Their continued existence on the 2027 ballot does three critical things:

It breaks the illusion of inevitability around Tinubu’s reign.

It keeps political competition alive.

It gives the people one more shot at reclaiming their future.

Democracy does not always need angels. Sometimes, it just needs survivors who won’t quit.

This is the time for Nigeria’s middle class to wake up.

This is a call to our thinkers, builders, and believers: the engineers, doctors, and entrepreneurs exhausted by bad governance. The students and graduates whose brilliance is wasted in joblessness. The diaspora citizens who look back home with dread and disbelief.

You do not have to love the ADC. But you must understand this:

If Tinubu succeeds in erasing choice, your country disappears next.

If there’s no one left to vote for, what will be left to live in?

We are not asking you to wear ADC colours. We are asking you to celebrate the principle they’ve upheld: the principle that no man, no matter how rich, ruthless, or revered, should own Nigeria.

This is not a victory for the ADC.

This is a victory for the idea that our democracy still breathes.

And in 2027, that breath may be the only thing standing between us and a political tombstone.

Ibrahim-Imam, a prominent voice on national unity, development, and good governance, writes from Abuja. (The Guardian)