A BAND OF POLITICAL RELICS WITHOUT DIRECTION

THE COALITION OF CONFUSION: SEASON 3.

As the 2027 general election begins to take shape, the airwaves are once again filled with echoes of recycled promises from familiar faces—Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, David Mark, and Abubakar Malami. These men, draped in the garments of political experience but soaked in contradictions and historical inconsistencies, have begun a new orchestra of confusion aimed at unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But one must ask: What do they offer beyond recycled rhetoric?

AMAECCHI’S ONE-TERM PROMISE: TOO LATE FOR REDEMPTION

Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, recently pledged to run for only one term if given the opportunity to be president in 2027. He anchors this on a so-called “power-sharing principle.” But Nigerians remember too well Amaechi’s political doublespeak during the APC primaries in 2022—how he ran against the very man he now demands accountability from, President Tinubu. He now raises questions about fuel subsidy savings, yet conveniently ignores that since subsidy removal, allocation to states and LGAs has increased by over 400 percent, with verifiable impacts across regions.

One wonders: Is Amaechi unaware of the massive infrastructural projects being executed from these funds? Or has he suddenly forgotten the economic realities Nigerians endured under the previous administration he served in?

PETER OBI: MR. ELOQUENCE WITHOUT EXECUTION

Peter Obi is another name that continues to ring hollow promises. Like Amaechi, he too has floated the idea of a one-term presidency. But Nigerians are not deceived by sweet speeches anymore. Obi's track record as governor of Anambra may look impressive on paper to the undiscerning, but his inability to carry his former cabinet into his 2023 presidential bid tells a deeper story. Even his former running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, is no longer on the same page with him—proof that all is not well within his camp.

Obi's recent dalliances with weak coalitions like the ADC faction, absent of structure and consistency, further confirm that he is not a team player but a solo actor in a political drama that requires cohesion.

ATIKU ABUBAKAR: THE PERENNIAL CANDIDATE WITH NO ENDGAME

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, now a five-time presidential contestant, continues to wear out his political relevance with every failed bid. His desperation for power is legendary, and his alliances are transactional at best. His continuous flirtation with political turncoats only proves that his agenda has always been about himself and never the Nigerian people.

DAVID MARK & MALAMI: SYMBOLS OF THE OLD GUARD

David Mark, once Senate President, is another name being whispered in the shadows of the so-called coalition. He represents everything Nigerians want to move away from—a system of entitlement and silence during national decay. As for Abubakar Malami, the former Attorney General of the Federation, who oversaw some of the most controversial legal decisions in Nigeria’s democratic history, one would think that if justice were truly blind, Malami should be answering questions in a courtroom, not plotting a political comeback.

COALITION WITHOUT CONVICTION

What binds these men is not ideology or a shared vision for national development—it is a singular obsession to reclaim power by all means. They lack a unifying candidate, a coherent plan, or a believable message. They talk about unseating the current administration but have yet to tell Nigerians what they would do differently, or why Nigerians should trust them after decades of failed leadership, contradictory alliances, and policy somersaults.

Their so-called coalition is not a force; it is a farce—a fragile alliance of spent political figures, united only by bitterness and ambition, not by integrity or innovation.

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THOSE WITH PURPOSE

In contrast, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continues to navigate the nation through turbulent reforms, with verifiable gains in revenue redistribution, state empowerment, and infrastructure development. While there is room for growth, it is undeniable that the Nigeria of 2025 is in motion—not perfect, but not stagnant either.

If the best Amaechi, Obi, Atiku, and their fellow relics can offer is another cocktail of one-term fantasies and phantom coalitions, then they should save Nigerians the time and retreat into reflective silence. The nation is tired of leaders who want power without purpose.

Nigeria doesn’t need another promise of one term. Nigeria needs leaders of one vision: progress, stability, and a future not built on confusion. 

Comrade Michael  Abu, a social activist, theologian, policy political/political analyst, and blogger writes from Orhionmwon LGA, Edo State_