As political realignments gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has dismissed current opposition coalition efforts as hollow, visionless, and ultimately beneficial to President Bola Tinubu’s re-election ambitions.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Tuesday, Sowore warned that the ongoing attempts to forge an opposition alliance are distracting Nigerians and suppressing more authentic grassroots movements.
“It is what they [the coalition] are doing that will make it easy for him [Tinubu] to rerun and return to office. They are preventing the real, organic coalition of the oppressed from emerging. People are getting distracted — Nigerians actually think these guys are fighting for them,” Sowore said.
He described the ongoing coalition talks as lacking ideological depth or any real conviction.
“I’m not a lone voice — the coalition is what is lonely. That’s why they can’t even hold meetings or find a party to join,” he said.
“Now they say they want to register a party — that’s loneliness. Any coalition without ideology is a lonely coalition. There’s no coalition without conviction, character, or integrity.”
Fragmented opposition
Sowore’s remarks come amid intensified political maneuvering. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) 2023 presidential candidate, has confirmed talks with Labour Party’s Peter Obi and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Despite these moves, unity among opposition figures remains elusive. The PDP Governors’ Forum has distanced itself from the discussions, expressing concerns that such talks may further destabilize the party. Likewise, Obi has insisted that he will not join any alliance formed purely for electoral gains, stressing the need to first address Nigeria’s governance failures.
El-Rufai’s defection added fuel to the speculation, but the SDP leadership has since clarified that no formal alliance currently exists with either El-Rufai or Atiku.
‘The people must lead’
Offering a broader critique of Nigeria’s political landscape, Sowore urged citizens to reject elite-driven solutions and take control of their own future.
“The people need to understand that the only way out is the one they design for themselves. There has to be a different direction,” he said.
“If you keep letting them do what they are doing with you — and you get distracted by all these conversations about coalitions — you are going to find yourself in a worse situation than now. That has been Nigeria’s story since the emergence of civil rule.”
The activist-turned-politician argued that Nigeria has yet to experience genuine democracy.
“We don’t have democracy in Nigeria. What we have is a transition to civil rule. What we’re looking for now is real democracy.”
He also took a swipe at some of the coalition’s key figures, whom he accused of pursuing personal interests.
“I’m the leader of the coalition of the oppressed — not the coalition of the hungry, led by Amaechi and the others.”
On the state of the nation
When asked whether Nigerians should maintain hope in the current administration’s economic policies amid worsening hardship, Sowore was blunt.
“No, I don’t think so — and I have warned Nigerians. The more you hope, the more you lose, regarding this government. It’s up to them to decide whether they want to keep suffering. No one should be in the situation Nigerians are in now.
“There is nothing to look forward to. Everything that’s going to happen to you in the next two years has already happened in the last two years. I’m not a prophet of doom, but if we continue on this trajectory, they’re not going to do anything meaningful regarding governance,” he said.
