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Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kaduna & Enugu: A Tale Of Four Cities

Published

7 years ago

March 24, 2019

Editor

By Professor Akinjide Osuntokun

There has been so much controversy on who owns Lagos in recent times between the indigenes and the non-indigenes, between “omo Eko” (indigenes ) and “ara Eko” ( residents), that a little knowledge of the history of Lagos may remove the blinkers from our eyes.The indigenes of Lagos have a saying “Awori lo l’Eko” meaning Lagos belongs to the Awori. The Awori were the original settlers of Lagos and their settlements still exist in various Awori settlements from Iddo, Iganmu, Apapa, Isheri, and so on up to Otta. These Awori settlements were founded around the 12th century during the evolution of similar political entities in Yorubaland.It was not until the 15th century that Oba Ewuare the Great sent an expedition to the island now known as Lagos for the purpose of making it a slave port for evacuating war captives to Europe through the Portuguese, the first Europeans to make contact with the Benin Empire. The Bini settlement or camp (Eko) was separate from the Awori villages and settlements and there was no attempt by the Bini camp to lord it over the Aworis. Waves of people from neighboring Ijebu, Remo and Egba territories came to Lagos virtually overwhelming the Awori and the Bini camp. But since they were all of the same culture there was no acrimonious contention about indigenous rights and the rights of newcomers. The Bini group hunkered down around their settlement at Igha Idugaran (pepper farm ).The prestige of the Benin Empire made the settlement to be respected and the place grew into a kingdom replicating in a small way the royalty of Benin and its palace chiefs on the island the Portuguese named Lagos, but which the Yoruba’s, appropriating the Bini word for camp, called Eko. The independence of the Awori settlements on the mainland continued to be respected even until today and throughout the colonial period. The sister Empire of Oyo also put down a toehold at Ajase, west of Lagos, which the Portuguese called Porto Novo for the same purpose of the slave trade. Benin influence on the island of Lagos is a historical fact, but this does not mean Lagos is not part of Yorubaland. The Benin influence extended to the dynasties of such places in eastern Yorubaland like Ado, Ikere, Ita Ogbolu, Igbara Oke and Akure.This does not make the people from these towns Bini.The fact, for example, that the ruling monarch in England is German does not make England part of Germany. Also the Bini inspired monarchy in places like Onitsha and the western periphery of Igboland does not remove the fact that Onitsha and kingdoms west of Onitsha are part of Igboland. Neither does the replacement of the Ogisos in Bini by an Oduduwa Dynasty make Bini part of Yorubaland. What is important to note is the dynamic relationship of people in the Bight of Guinea in the past, and that the whole area shares a common cultural similarity.
When the British took over Lagos and its mainland in 1861, after naval bombardment of the town, they signed a Treaty of Cession with the Oba who surrendered his suzerainty to the British Crown. From that time onwards the people of the Crown Colony became British subjects while the rest of what later became Nigeria was “terra incognita,” at least for a while until the heyday of European imperialism of the 1880s to 1900s.
At the amalgamation of all British territories in Nigeria with the colony of Lagos in 1914, with Egbaland remaining still independent until its independence was abrogated at the outbreak of the First World War, Lagos became the capital of Nigeria .

The then Governor-General hated Lagos with it’s “insalubrious climate and seditious press” and its “trousered Niggers, dressed in Bond Street attire, who send their laundry for dry cleaning in England,” and decided to build a new capital in the centre of the country. He found this centre on River Kaduna, which gave the new capital its name. Lugard embarked on feverish development of Kaduna using the same tax on “trade gin” banned from the North, as well as revenue from custom levies and proceeds from palm kernel, palm oil and cocoa trade. The development of Kaduna continued during the Great War at a less frenetic speed as before. The whole idea of moving the capital to Kaduna was ended by Sir Hugh Clifford, a different kind of governor from Lugard. Sir Hugh Clifford, the successor of Sir Fredrick Lugard, said he was not prepared to administer Nigeria from a “specially fabricated isolated centre in the middle of the country.” Development of Kaduna was however never quite abandoned and its effect is the well planned Kaduna city, compared with the chaos of Lagos. Hugh Clifford tried to improve Lagos by developing the so called “Ikoyi plains” in the 1920s.

Contemporaneous with the Kaduna project were two other new towns built by Nigeria. Port Harcourt was conceived by Sir Fredrick Lugard as an alternative if not an outright replacement for Lagos. Lugard felt that the Lagos Port was too shallow and that its development was constituting a drain on Nigeria’s exchequer. The principal officers in the Colonial Office in London were not persuaded about Lugard’s project, and to outwit them Lugard named the port after the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sir Lewis Harcourt. Sir Lewis fell for it and action for the new port began in 1913. The city around the port was well planned by British architects which accounts for the town’s sobriquet as “garden city.” Any visitor to Port Harcourt, before the deluge of people from the hinterland, would have described it as “little Lagos.”

With the outbreak of the First World War it became difficult to get British ships to bring coal from Newcastle to Nigeria. Coal was absolutely necessary to run the railways which criss crossed the country from Lagos to Kano and from Port Harcourt to Jos. Coal was also needed to fire the generators to light up the European Government Reserved Areas ( GRA). It was in this circumstance that the colliery in Enugu was developed. The native Wawa people were too primitive to work in the mines, so people were recruited from all over the country to work in the Enugu coal mines. Enugu owes its well planned lay out to its colonial origin.

Another town that developed around the tin and columbite mines on the Plateau was Jos. In fact, the European impact was such that a certain part of Jos was known as “Anglo Jos,” perhaps until recently. There is no doubt that our British colonial heritage brought together a heterogeneous population, many of whom had very little in common. This has led to bloody frictions in Jos between the indigenes and the Hausa, who claimed that they built Jos. Old Jos was an amalgam of Hausa, Birom, Naraguta, Yoruba, and Urhobo – the Igbo were late arrivals after the tin mines had become unprofitable. It seems a modus vivendi now exists between the natives and the Hausa in Jos. Enugu has not experienced too much conflict between the indigenes and other Igbo settlers, with the exception of resentment of the natives against those who exploited their backwardness to alienate their land to themselves during colonial and post-colonial rule, when Enugu was the capital of the entire Eastern Region.
Port Harcourt’s indigenes in Diobu and the Nkwerre people resented the dominance of the up country Igbo during the colonial and post-colonial period. In fact, up till the 1940s, Port Harcourt was reasonably cosmopolitan. The Nigeria Civil War and the creation of a Rivers State allowed the local people to ventilate their feeling against their Igbo neighbours by seizing their landed property and converting it to their own use under the rubric of “abandoned property.” When the war ended, the Rivers people, even though a large percent of them speak the same language with the Igbo in the hinterland, refused to give up the properties of the Igbo.

Now to Lagos, the big elephant in the Nigerian room. Lagos is like New York, the big apple which everybody wants to have a bite from. Lagos, since 1861 up to the amalgamation of all British territories to form Nigeria, became a frontier of opportunity for Yorubaland and others immigrants from all across West Africa, as well as the returnees from Brazil and Sierra Leone. After the amalgamation, Lagos was opened to all comers from the whole country.The colonial and post-colonial governments have spent considerable amount of money to make the place liveable. Facilities such as new port, new airport and housing estates to decongest the unwieldy urban sprawl of Lagos sprang up. Those who were displaced by the Civil Ear and other ethnic conflicts up country always found a home in Lagos. Incredibly, people tend to find a way of living together in spite of differences in socialization from urban to a village type of life. Now it seems to be coming under severe strain by those who want to use the force of population to seize control from the owners of the place, using spurious arguments about how one can move from one state to another in America to contest elections. Africa is an old continent, and not like America that is a recently settled country. Unitil recently you couldn’t become a German except by blood! It is foolish to deny the power of ethnicity in African politics as much as we deprecate it. It will be unreasonable for me to enjoy the right to contest in Lagos and in Ekiti at the same time, or as Igbo propagandist TV has been threatening that an Anambra man will be the next governor of Lagos. Ideally that should be wished for through evolution, but not by threat of unproved superiority of one ethnic population and tax contribution over those of the quiet majority who have been very generous to non-indigenes whose properties were preserved for them during the Civil War with accumulated rents collected, unlike what happened in neighboring states. We need to build on the trust that existed in the past and respect each other.There is no need for ethnic bellicosity and jingoism, because at the end of the day, it is the poor people who merely eke out an existence who will suffer. We need to preserve past civility and not rock the boat because of electoral politics. “A ki je meji laba alade.” Nobody disputes the ownership of Kaduna, Enugu and Port Harcourt. Why is Lagos different?

Professor Akinjide OsuntokunPhD, OON., FNAL, FHSN, is a Professor Emeritus of History and International Relations and Bapitan of Oyo.

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Dickson Defends NDC Registration, Dismisses Irregularities Allegations

Published

1 day ago

May 5, 2026

Eric

National Leader of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Seriake Dickson, has defended the legitimacy of the party’s registration, dismissing allegations of irregularities and urging Nigerians to ignore what he described as propaganda.

Dickson, a former Bayelsa State governor, in a X post on Monday said the party’s formation was the result of a long-standing process dating back to 2017, contrary to claims that it was recently granted recognition without due procedure.

“For the record, the annexures show that we initiated the registration process for the NDC as far back as 2017 and that INEC granted approval at that time before the process was halted,” he said.

He added that the party revisited and updated its application when the Independent National Electoral Commission resumed registration of political associations.

Dickson’s comments come amid controversy triggered by allegations from Umar Ardo, convener of the League of Northern Democrats and promoter of the All Democratic Alliance, who accused the electoral body of unlawfully registering the NDC in violation of constitutional provisions and its own guidelines on DCL Hausa.

Ardo claimed that while his group and others met all requirements for registration, they were ignored, whereas the NDC was allegedly recognised under questionable circumstances.

“The reason is that NDC obtained registration without applying, without meeting the requirements set by law, without meeting the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, and without meeting INEC’s guidelines,” Ardo said during an interview.

“With my experience in politics, I am fully aware that an ambitious project of this nature will attract distractions—rumours, gossip, propaganda, and even blackmail,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to remain focused on what he described as the party’s broader vision of national renewal.

The development comes amid growing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, following the defection of key opposition figures including Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to the NDC.

Dickson described their entry into the party as part of a broader coalition-building effort aimed at creating a strong ideological platform.

“What we are witnessing is a powerful convergence: my role as a party organiser and builder, alongside two political heavyweights with immense grassroots support, popularity and political experience,” he said.

He added that the party aims to build a durable political institution comparable to established global parties.

“As I have consistently stated, our goal in the NDC is to build an ideological political party, one that can be compared to the ANC in its finest years in South Africa, as well as established political parties across Europe, America, India and even the Communist Party of China,” he said.

Dickson also highlighted the party’s focus on youth and women, describing the NDC as a platform designed to promote inclusion and mentorship.

“The NDC is a party with a special place for young people and women, one that prioritises mentorship and prepares citizens for service,” he said.

He called on Nigerians to join the party and participate actively in its activities, including contesting elections.

“I call on all Nigerians to join the NDC, register, participate, and contest elections. Together, let us reclaim and rebuild our country,” he added.

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Peter Obi Only Had Interest in Presidential Ticket, Not in Party’s Policies – Abdullahi

Published

1 day ago

May 5, 2026

Eric

The National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Bolaji Abdullahi has accused Peter Obi of showing no interest in the party’s policy positions during his brief membership, saying he was only interested in obtaining the presidential ticket.

Abdullahi made this known on Monday during an interview on Arise News’ Prime Time programme, the same appearance in which he earlier described Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso’s departure from the ADC as a setback but not a fatal blow.

Abdullahi said the party had invested months in developing a manifesto with clear policy positions, but Obi never engaged with the process.

“You may invite His Excellency Peter Obi and ask him, what is the ADC position on fuel subsidy? What is the ADC’s framework on security? He doesn’t know, because he’s never been interested. They are just waiting for the tickets to be handed to them,” he said.

He said members of the ADC fell into three broad categories: those using the party as a mere platform to contest elections, those committed to ending what they described as the misgovernance of the ruling All Progressives Congress, and those genuinely interested in building a real political party anchored on policy.

Abdullahi appeared to place Obi in the first category, contrasting his conduct with the party’s expectations.

“If you say you want to contest election, and you believe in the country, in changing the country, you should know what your party stands for,” he said.

“No, no, no, absolutely. Maybe it’s a setback, but it’s a temporary setback. We are recalibrating, and we are going to come back stronger. The possibility of a three-horse race, has it dented our chances? Perhaps, but is it mortally so? No,” he said.

He also pushed back against suggestions that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had become the frontrunner for the ADC’s presidential ticket following the departures.

“This party ADC is not going to be an SPV for anybody,” he said, adding that former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi remained among the contenders.

Obi and Kwankwaso joined the ADC in March 2026 as part of a broad opposition coalition aimed at challenging the APC in the 2027 general elections.

Both men quit the party on Sunday, citing internal crises, court cases, and what they described as deliberate efforts to frustrate their participation in the electoral process.

They have since joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress, where they have called for an end to litigation-driven politics.

Obi had said his decision to leave was not driven by personal ambition but by the need to rescue Nigeria, describing the pattern of internal crises as one he had also encountered in the Labour Party.

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Will ‘Big Ego’ Bury Opposition Again?

Published

2 days ago

May 4, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Those, who are of the impression that the Nafiu Bala Gombe factor is the only crisis bedeviling the major opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), should probably begin to rethink. The reasons are obvious; the cankerworm of treachery, me, me and me factor, wings of undemocratisation, and loss of focus have continued to haunt the nascently developing party, and observers are of the agreement that the process may again go the way of 2023 if the constant bickering of who takes what continue to fester.

It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court has been judicially lenient to the ADC, in its judgment regarding leadership, where the popularly advocated David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola leadership was sustained. But the judgment, much as it brought a temporary relief, did not in any way drive away the crisis that the party has continued to ‘bring upon itself’ since its elaborated second launch in July, 2025.

While Nigerians had seen the ADC as a veritable alternative, a much better option to the existing ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with its attendant and alleged failed policies, which have subjected the Nigerian people to untold hardship from day one when the ‘subsidy is gone’ declaration was made, it has hitherto failed to reciprocate the confidence reposed on them by putting their house in order and jettison person desires fir Nigerianism.

But from every indication it’s beginning to appear that the ADC came, not unprepared, but under-prepared, creating loopholes that have energized the infiltration of elements of destruction bent on ensuring that the party is not on the ballot paper come 2027. The Nafiu Bala Gombe angle is consistently fighting to ensure that the agenda comes to pass. The ADC has however, pointed accusing fingers at the President Tinubu-led Federal Government and the APC as the brain behind the crisis, and the general muffling and muscling of the opposition, as the window of election contest continue to open wider.

But beyond the alleged hand of Tinubu in the brouhaha, there’s the in-house dispute, not just among the superweights that joined the party, but also among their supporters.

The super politicians include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, two-terms governor of Rivers State, and two-terms Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Chibike Amaechi; two-terms governor of Kano State and former Minister of Defence, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso and two-terms governor of Anambra State and business man, Mr. Peter Obi.

Till date, none of these prolific politicians has agreed to step down for another, creating a situation where the only door open to the aspirants is a transparent and all-agreeable primary election to determine who flies the party’s flag. But that is not to be again as the duo of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso on Sunday ditched the party, enroute the newly formed Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC). Observers say that Obi has an unexplained phobia for primary elections.

But observers have wondered if the opposition leaders are really interested in ousting the administration of Bola Tinubu, which they unanimously agreed has not impacted positively on Nigerians. They have dismissed the coalition as a gathering of highly ambitious politicians, whose real agenda is to grab power for themselves, otherwise they could have done everything within their power to settle for and support one individual if the intention is to actually dethrone Tinubu, and give Nigerians to good they deserve.

As part of the disagreements that have threatened to pull down the very fabrics of opposition plans, and drag the nation back to the mistakes of 2023, the existence of ego; a certain type of ego that analysts have described as ‘Big Ego’, has played a crucial roll.

From Atiku to Obi to Amaechi and to the newest entrant, Kwankwaso, none is willing to settle for the other to fly the party’s flag. Everyone of the candidates wants to be president .And much as Tinubu has been blamed for most the crises in many major political parties, it is still not known if Tinubu could be blamed for the inability of these political juggernauts to settle for a consensus candidate to wrest power from the present administration, that not a few Nigerians have condemned.

From various camps, especially the ‘Obidients’ (supporters loyal to Peter Obi), the slogan has remained it’s either Obi or nothing, a move that has made it impossible for the agreement towards consensus or primaries to be reached. The Obidients maintained that Atiku has no right to contest, and shouldn’t contest, citing excuses including that he is of northern extraction, and it’s not the turn of the North to produce a president.

However, the Atiku camp has countered the notion saying that there’s no constitutional provision to whoever should contest for the presidency at a particular time, stressing that the presidential contest is opened to all Nigerians of 40 years and above irrespective of tribe, religion or region. They therefore, wonder why the Obi supporters would insist that Atiku drops off without a legitimate primary election.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION FOR PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST

According to Section 131 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended), a person must be a citizen by birth, at least 40 years old, a member of a political party, sponsored by that party, and educated to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

The same section mentioned that disqualification of any aspirant would be based on allegiance to another country, previous two-term service as president, lunacy, or criminal conviction.

The Constitution did not at any section impose legitimacy on tribe, region or rotation. Atiku is eligible to stand for election.

Another angle Atiku’s detractors have tried to capitalise on is his stewardship as the Vice President.

However, a member of the Atiku, who prefers anonymity, explains that the Waziri Adamawa performed his functions as vice president creditably, and executed assignments as instructed. He added that at no time did the former sold any assets, rather he supervised privatization, which is the hallmark of development for any capitalist environment

The source said, “Sold national assets to who and as who? Was Atiku the president because as far as I know, he was the vice president and could not have acted without the consent of Mr President. Atiku never sold anything, those things were privatized and people, who wanted them, applied.”

Speaking on the most qualified of all the presidential aspirants, the source clarified that “having been a vice president for eight years, sustained credible institutions and businesses, none could compare to Atiku. He is the most senior, and most experienced”, he said

On the permutation of the likely winner of the 2027 election, the source dismissed Kwankwaso, whose over million votes came largely from Kano State, and Peter Obi, who could not win any state in both the North East and West. He advised that Obi’s chances are slim in contrast to Atiku, who won across the five regions except Southeast.

He said, “Atiku, won election as the Governor of Adamawa State before he was selected as gor the vice president position by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and he served for two-terms of eight years.

“Atiku, has since contested for president on the tickets of ACN, APC (primaries 2014), PDP, (2019 and 2023). He wants to be president, no doubt. That is not a man that can be hounded out of a race or intimidated by a small and vocal group.

“It is worthy of note that Peter Obi’s six million votes in the last election didn’t come strictly from the ‘Obidients’. In fact, not up to 30% came from them. The majority of the votes came from silent supporters of Obi who are members of other parties and from people not identified with any political party. Atiku can decide to step down for Obi or anyone, that is his choice to make. No one should hinge Obi’s success or failure on Atiku. He wants to be president too, and should not be intimidated, the source reiterated.

HISTORICAL TRAJECTORY

Without mincing words, the survival of the opposition coalition depends solely on Atiku and Peter Obi. Most men must agree to support each if there must be a headway in booting Tinubu out of power. Anyway other than that is just another rehash of the 2023 scenario.

It would be recalled that Atiku and Obi formed an alliance that challenged late former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. While Atiku stood asthe substantive candidate, Obi operated as the running. Buhari won with a slim margin though observers believed that the election was greatly manipulated.

But in 2023, ambitions defeated expectations. While many had expected Atiku to support younger aspirants to run, but he threw his hat in the ring. It was his constitutional right. The likes of Peter Obi, who has created a picture of himself as being afraid of primaries, left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Labour Party, where he picked up presidential ticket on a platter. He believed that with the completion of the Buhari era, it was the turn of the Southeast to produce a president. Even as the duo of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi pooled a collective total of over 12 million votes, both were still defeated by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu.

A cross section of opinion molders have remained divided as to what would have happened if both had teamed up again as candidate and running mate. While a section said that the duo would have beaten Tinubu hands down, others believe that the massive voters would not have come out from their hiding if Obi had not been on the ballot paper. But the way it stands, and having known their electoral capabilities and capacities, and with one goal of removing Tinubu from office, one would have expected the two candidates to drop their egos and work together. But that has become a tall dream!

With the bickering, and subsequent defection of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, to the NDC, ostensibly to actualize the new slogan of Obi-Kwankwaso (OK), an analyst has juxtaposed the previous election in 2023, and the fast approaching one of 2027 as follows:

As the 2027 election approaches, it’s good to give a highlight of the major conditions required for any candidate to be declared winner of the election according to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. (1) Candidates must get the majority of the votes from the entire country. (2) Candidate must get at least 25% from at least 24/36 states plus the FCT. In 2023 for example, INEC declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu the winner of the election for securing 36.7% of the total votes and 25% from 29 states. Followed by Atiku Abubakar who secured 29.9% of the votes and got 25% from 21 states. And then Peter Obi who came third with 26.1% of the total votes and 25% from 15 states. What does that mean? Tinubu was declared winner not only because of the number of votes, but also because of the 25% rule, which he secured majority from Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Niger, Kogi, Benue, Jigawa, Zamfara, Borno and Rivers. On the other hand, Atiku Abubakar won states like Osun, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, Katsina, Bauchi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, Taraba, Bayelsa and Akwa-Ibom bringing it to a total of 12 states. Similarly, Peter Obi won states like Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Imo, Delta, Cross-River, Edo, Lagos, FCT, Plateau and Nassarawa bringing it to a total of 12 states with none from North-West and North-East. Kwankwaso dominated Kano State with more than a million votes. Based on this highlights, who do you think will win the 2027 presidential election?

WHY PETER OBI SHOULD HAVE REMAINED WITH ATIKU AS RUNNING MATE

A lot of narratives have been peddled as to why it would been a sound political decision for Peter Obi to remain with the ADC, and seek election as running mate to Atiku Abubakar.

Many believe that Peter Obi came to limelight in 2019 courtesy of the Atiku generosity, when he was nominated as the presidential vice candidate against the wishes and to the chagrin of major political heavyweights in PDP at the time. Both made a noticeable though did not win.

Secondly, Atiku has told the public that he was only concerned with serving for only one term, and promised to support Peter Obi to take afterwards. This is highly fundamental because across the world, many politicians have effortlessly crossed over to becoming the president after serving as vice presidents.

The case of the present President of Ghana, Dr. John Dramani Mahama, readily comes.to mind. He served as vice president to John Kuffour, and took over afterwards.

There’s also Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan, who served as vice president to Umar Musa Yar’dua, and became president at his death, and went ahead to win another term, even when it was the proverbial turn of the North.

In the United States, Joe Biden served as vice to Barack Obama, and became president at the end of his tenure. He served for one term, and voluntarily bowed out on health grounds.

In Kenya, incumbent President Willam Ruto served loyally as vice to Uhuru Kenyatta, and is today the president of Kenya.

In Liberia, Joseph Boakai served as vice president to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her two-terms of 12 years (2006 – 2018) before becoming president himself.

Just as the list is endless, it is believed that a little patience by Obi can help I removing Tinubu, and making him president in 2031.

However, appearing quite upbeat about the happenstance, a chieftain of the ADC, Chief Dele Momodu, summarized as follows during a recent interview:

“I have no fear whatsoever, though there’s a bit of agitation everywhere. If you ask most people, they would tell you, Oh, Asiwaju will rig the election. They are sure Tinubu will do this and that. He has the power of life and death and so on and so forth, but I’m not bothered. As you get older in life, you begin to understand the God factor better. I believe that whatever APC likes, let them do. When it is God’s time, he will push them out and I think, this 2027, we are closer to it than ever.

“I said APC, whether they like it or not, the whole world knows that they have failed. And now the people are thinking it is political parties that chase away government? No, it is not parties; it is the people. When the people rise up and say it was the people that chased away PDP that time, it was the people. In this case, those who will chase Tinubu and APC away are not just members of ADC. They are Nigerians who are fed up, completely fed up, who will look back at the last three or four years and ask pertinent questions like, Was my life better in 2023 than it is in 2027? Was security much better in 2023 than it is in 2027? Was electricity better? Was water better? Was infrastructure better? Was our foreign policy better? Was the quality of ministers better? When you answer all those questions, you will see that the majority of the answers will be no, no, no. And that is what will determine why people will vote them out.”

With Obi now in NDC, and Atiku still in ADC, the shape of 2027 for the opposition may not be looking good because the way it stands, the OPPOSITION IS ABOUT TO BURY HOPE AGAIN, leveraging on the infamous ‘BIG EGO’.

It is now to your tent, O’ Israel. This is the real status quo ante bellum, and every candidate is now to test his own strength in isolation.