For the African Democratic Congress, one courtroom after another is providing a gripping battleground in its quest to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Barely two months to the 2027 general elections, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sacked the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, putting its chances of victory at the next general elections in grave jeopardy.
The judgment has affected the primaries conducted by the National Working Committee led by David Mark, effectively stripping former vice president Atiku Abubakar of his nomination as its presidential candidate.
Nigerian politics has always provided plenty examples of ruthlessness. There used to be a lot of bloodshed in politics just after Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999. These days there isn’t as much bloodshed, but all manner of underhand tricks still go into our politics. Chief among these is the ruling party using all means available to disrupt the opposition.
From the moment the APC contentiously won the 2023 general elections and started failing almost immediately, it knew it would face an uphill task in the 2027 general elections. Its worst fears appeared to be confirmed when the ADC was formed, initially bringing together Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the two runners-up in the 2023 election.
Once the ADC was formed, it was clear that the APC was panicking, and the attacks began almost immediately. Most of the attacks were generated from within the ADC, albeit by people largely believed to have been planted by the APC.
These attacks and the lurid promise of more to come tied into the chief reasons Peter Obi left the ADC for the NDC. Now, with this setback just months to the election itself, Nigeria’s flailing opposition faces a fight to give Nigerians options that have nothing to do with a government that has failed to meet the aspirations of Nigerians at all levels.
The ADC’s travails betray the pitfalls of playing opposition politics in Nigeria. Many Nigerians lack the mental fortitude to navigate the treacherous labyrinth of opposition politics, while many other Nigerians are available for peanuts to be used as pawns and saboteurs.
Despite the considerable political weight of Atiku, the ADC is running out of time to mount the kind of formidable challenge that can unsettle the ruling APC. Nigerians must also brace themselves for what is to come. It is now clear even to the blind that the battle to save the soul of Nigeria from the ruling APC will run through courtrooms on its way to going down to the wire. The fact that many Nigerians no longer trust the judiciary only adds to the growing intrigue.
But there is hope. Despite the many woes of the ADC, the NDC, where Peter Obi is the presidential candidate, offers Nigerians hope. As long as Peter Obi, a politician of rare class and grace, who is effectively a throwback to the good old days when Nigeria had selfless leaders willing to die in her service, runs, Nigerians will retain the choice to choose between darkness and light.
Ike Willie-Nwobu is a policy practitioner and social thinker. [email protected]