Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Nigerian opposition supporters have been told to prepare for political warfare as the country inches closer to the 2027 presidential election. Buba Galadima, secretary of the board of trustees of the New Nigeria People’s Party, issued a stark warning to followers of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso during a high‑stakes stakeholder meeting in Abuja on Saturday. His message was direct and uncompromising. “Be prepared to be in the trenches to safeguard our freedom,” he declared. “Let no one deceive you that it is going to be an easy task.” The meeting, organised by the emerging Obi‑Kwankwaso movement known as the OK Movement, drew hundreds of supporters and several prominent speakers including activist Aisha Yesufu and Isaac Fayose, brother of the former Ekiti State governor.
Galadima, a fierce critic of the ruling All Progressives Congress, did not hold back in his assessment of the political landscape. He told the gathering that the announcement of a new political platform by Obi and Kwankwaso, expected as early as Monday, would trigger a coordinated counter‑attack from the establishment. “As from Monday, when our leaders declare on which platform they will run, I want to tell you that one of two things will happen,” he said. “First, they will sponsor columnists. Two, they will deploy social media influencers to start attacking our candidates.” His warning was designed to mobilise the vast digital armies that had propelled Obi to surprising electoral success in 2023. “For all of you who are on social media, for all of you who use the mighty pen, you must be prepared to respond to anything they are going to say,” he instructed. “We must counter them with the ferociousness that is expected of an intelligent person.”
The speech took an even more dramatic turn when Galadima invoked a biblical analogy to inspire confidence in ultimate victory. Referencing the story of Moses and the Pharaoh, he declared that the APC would be defeated in 2027 just as the Egyptian army was drowned in the Red Sea. “Salvaging a country from the hands of fascists like this is not an easy task,” he said. “It requires sacrifice, strategy, and the use of the internet.” His choice of language, particularly the reference to “fascists,” reflected the deep polarisation that has defined Nigerian politics since the disputed 2023 election. Elsewhere at the same event, Galadima stirred further controversy by advising citizens to defend their votes with unconventional means. “During the elections, whether I am alive or dead, go to the polling centres with your bottles and jerry cans of kerosene,” he said. “Either they do what is right, or we all die there.”
The urgency of the gathering was driven by major behind‑the‑scenes manoeuvring. Reports confirmed that Obi and Kwankwaso were finalising plans to leave the African Democratic Congress, a platform they had joined only months earlier as part of a broader opposition coalition. Sources close to the former governors told local media that both leaders were concluding arrangements to join the Nigeria Democratic Congress, a party reportedly linked to former Bayelsa State Governor Senator Seriake Dickson. A source familiar with the negotiations said, “Obi, Kwankwaso and their chieftains were on ground between yesterday and this morning signing the relevant documents with Senator Dickson and the NDC leaders.” The source added that the decision was driven by fears of being marginalised within the ADC. “We don’t want a repeat of what happened in the ADC,” the source explained. “We discovered late that Atiku and his loyalists lured our leaders to that opposition party to fulfil only one single mission — Atiku’s presidential ambition.”
The planned defection threatens to unravel months of painstaking coalition‑building. Just one week earlier, leaders of opposition parties had met in Ibadan and signed the “Ibadan Declaration,” agreeing to work towards fielding a single presidential candidate to challenge President Bola Tinubu. That delicate consensus now appears fractured. The ADC’s internal leadership crisis, compounded by a recent Supreme Court ruling that returned a bitter legal dispute to the lower courts, has left many opposition figures uncertain about the party’s ability to field a candidate. Galadima dismissed the court’s decision as a deliberate trap. “The Supreme Court tells you go back to the first court of instance,” he argued. “If it can’t be done before the end of May, can the ADC have a candidate? Do we need a soothsayer to tell us that it’s not possible?” His comments reflected a deep suspicion that the ruling party was using the judiciary to cripple opposition platforms ahead of 2027.
Meanwhile, efforts by ADC leaders to prevent the defection appeared to be faltering. The party’s national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, told reporters that the talk of exit remained speculative, though he confirmed that party leaders were reaching out to both politicians to understand their positions. “It is not to prevent them from moving out, but to understand what their real position is beyond what is in the rumour mill,” he said. But Abdullahi also appeared to concede that a move was within the politicians’ rights, denting hopes of a last‑minute reconciliation. Habibu Mohammed, spokesperson for the Kwankwasiyya movement, had earlier confirmed that discussions with the NDC had reached “about 90 percent,” with only minor issues left to be resolved. He said the two ADC chieftains would finalise the move next week following a unanimous endorsement by stakeholders.
The emergence of the Obi‑Kwankwaso alliance, now formally branded the OK Movement, represents a significant realignment of political forces. In the 2023 presidential election, Obi scored over eight million votes on the platform of the Labour Party, while Kwankwaso recorded over one million votes under the NNPP. The arithmetic of a combined ticket has generated excitement among supporters who believe that a united northern and southern political force could finally dislodge the APC from power. The Anambra State coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Charles Anueyiagu, argued that a merger of the Obidient and Kwankwasiyya movements would consolidate regional support and increase the chances of electoral success. “The experience of the 2023 election has taught us valuable lessons,” he said. “Bringing these forces together will help salvage the country and deliver positive results.” In Kano, supporters hailed the deal, with one Kwankwasiyya coordinator describing Kwankwaso’s reported decision to accept the vice‑presidential slot as a sign of political maturity. “If stepping down helps us win, so be it,” he said. “What matters is rescuing Nigeria.”
As Monday’s deadline approaches, the political atmosphere is charged with anticipation. The stakes could hardly be higher. For Galadima and the thousands who packed the Abuja meeting, the battle for 2027 is not merely about electing a president but about the very survival of Nigerian democracy. “In your revolution, I expect you to say, come rain, come shine, we must democratically, through the ballot box, remove this bad government,” he declared to cheers. “The ball is in our court.”
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