The political opposition needs to do more, argues JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA
As it is, President Bola Tinubu has got 99 problems, but this opposition ain’t one. It is not because of their lack of efforts and activities, they are quite busy. It is in the lack of tact and strategy, not to mention the impulsive desperation to say and do anything for some news ink or broadcast, just so they can get high on their own supply, “did you see my interview? We finished them!” You’d think they were playing in some league that guaranteed progress for every point made on TV. Sadly though, even if the points counted, they’d be low on points because they have just been misfiring. Do not take my words for it, just pay attention.
This is 2025, how anyone thinks that accusing a Nigerian president of wanting to become a lifetime president will stick or create a storm would be shocking to me, if I wasn’t already used to the incoherent nature and discordant play of the opposition. Nigerian political conversations have moved past non-subjects like “third term” or “life presidency”. Even in the world of Peter Obi’s consistent and desperate demagoguery, and the conventional obsession with inane subjects, there is an understanding that our politics has evolved beyond that level of expectation. It is why even he wouldn’t play that deep.
When it was raised during President Buhari’s tenure, it died a quick natural death. These days, it doesn’t even get past the gate. For all that gets said about the Nigerian political culture, the people know a non-issue when they see one. The opposition wants power and with the economy reflecting ample optimism for the future, seeing most of the indicators blinking green, one can understand why they’d prefer to switch the subject matter to issues that aren’t worthy of anyone’s attention, not even that of the most invested opposition figures.
Using a 2014 political operating system in 2025 because it worked then, is the same thing as using a computer for over a decade, without upgrading its OS yet expecting it to deliver the same result. That’s before the matter of fighting a different, far more formidable, rival with outdated tools. Do you really want this thing or do you just want to see your name in the papers and your face on TV or a trending video? Because these moves are so 2012. It is why they are often met with ridicule and banter.
What isn’t 2012, but indeed topical, is the suggestion from another opposition figure that, “Both Argentina and the current Nigerian leadership assumed office in the same year, and this proves what I have always stated, that two years may not be enough to change a nation with a 100% turn around but it is more than enough to kickstart the transformation journey…” in praise of the Javier Milei administration, like it’s this century’s economic miracle. This was just six weeks ago, so anyone who was sincerely paying attention to Argentina then knew the country was already in trouble, but not one of the main opposition figures here. Anything to undermine Nigeria, any country with a semblance of progress, however false or weak, can always be used as the poster example for Nigeria to follow.
If President Bola Tinubu had followed Argentina’s example like this former presidential candidate suggested, Nigeria’s economy would be in trouble now with the Naira struggling, our foreign debt expanding on all fronts and the foreign reserves depleting. That would have been followed by election defeats for the president’s party in the elections since his own victory at the polls. Nigeria, had we followed the Argentine example, would be a lot more susceptible to global shocks and tending toward not being able to meet our debt obligations.
Our S&P rating would indicate “a very high risk of default due to the country’s external debt and high volatility”. And while the Market in Nigeria is enjoying unprecedented growth, it would be deemed unstable had we listened to those who think a new Nigeria is possible only if we look past our country’s inherent ability to save itself and instead look outside, even as far as Argentina. I can understand wanting to emulate Argentine football, seeing as they are the South American and World Champions, not to mention the little matter of producing the sport’s greatest of all time in Lionel Messi and the third of the trinity in that conversation, Diego Maradona. But who touts Argentina as a best practice for governance in 2025?
Even when their posings are up to date, they pick the worst of the lot as example for us to follow.
This must be why some are desperately shopping for another candidate, because the current shop window looks empty, even when it appears physically full. Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been under a lot of pressure to run, because he offers a guaranteed four-year tenure for one but also because what’s on offer is so sour, dour and uninspiring. The last resort is the one Nigerians dumped to elect a man they had initially rejected three times before. I don’t know if this is as much an indictment on the opposition as it is on the country. However you see it, you’ve got to wonder, how did we get there?
In one quarter, the conversation on the 2027 elections will feel even closer when it starts to go thus, “next year’s election”. That is how close we are, even though the opposition is nowhere close to knowing what it is doing. They are currently pretending to be organised whilst shopping in the same window, making the same stops and hoping to land at the same spot, when it is obvious to even the most casual onlooker that some of the people appearing to be on the same boat will not be together less than nine months from this day.
When you have a hard look at the political firmament, you’ve got to wonder how President Bola Tinubu got lucky. He’s got 99 problems, this opposition? Nah.
Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/BGX Publishing
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