Veteran journalist and former presidential aide, Laolu Akande, has urged opposition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, to prioritize a coalition for national consensus over mere political power grabs ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television during the My Take segment titled ‘An Open Memo to Former Vice President Atiku and Former Governor Peter Obi’, Akande cautioned against repeating past political strategies that have failed to deliver real change.
“As a people, we should be tired already with the opportunistic moves of many of our leading politicians who simply weaponize the suffering and struggles of the people as a pathway to power,” Akande stated. “We have gone through this path before, especially in 2013-2015, and it is yet to deliver the desired change. What then is the use of doing the same thing all over again and expecting a different result?”
Addressing Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Akande acknowledged the former governor’s call for a coalition ahead of the 2027 elections but warned against alliances driven solely by political ambition.
“Power grab for its sake is what dominates the narrative. Politicians use it to make their opponents look very bad but not because they themselves are significantly better. Or that they have any better plan,” he said.
Akande stressed that the coalition Nigeria needs must not be left in the hands of politicians alone but should involve a broader national movement.
“To address Mr Peter Obi directly: The coalition that Nigeria needs now is not for power grab. Peter Obi got it right. But that coalition cannot and should not be left in the hands of politicians alone. We need a coalition, a national consensus. We need a coalition of non-political elites to speak out for the common interests in these issues and several others. We need to take these matters off the partisan agenda. But, in the end, we must compel our politicians to adopt such a common agreement on these matters and issues,” Akande asserted.
Turning to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Akande acknowledged his political influence but questioned his approach to national unity. He criticized Atiku’s decision to run in 2023, arguing that it contradicted Nigeria’s rotational presidency principle and ultimately weakened his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“To former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, he is a consummate politician who has demonstrated capacity to build a true national following. By electing to run against the national grain of rotational presidency in 2023, Mr Atiku brought himself under intense scrutiny about his motivation and his regard for national cohesion,” Akande noted.
“But beyond that, his party has suffered a debilitating impairment, a devastating sore capable of destroying PDP. Former VP Atiku must think about his options very gingerly coming into 2027. It’s clear he wants to run for President again. But that, again, will be against the grain. He has the right to, absolutely. But he cannot refuse our national consensus without having to suffer political consequences sooner or later,” he warned.
