By Musa Bakare
The so-called Opposition Coalition has not emerged as a credible or trusted force acting in the interest of the Nigerian people. Instead, it is a confused and fractured alliance driven by personal vendettas, desperation, and political irrelevance certainly not vision or conviction.
What was once thought to be a serious opposition to the two year administration of the All Progressive Congress has turned out to be an alliance of ambition without cohesion, noise without substance, and unity without purpose.
From the outset, the coalition resembled more of a political marriage of unwieldy convenience than a strategic alignment of values or policies. It brought together strange bedfellows: Politicians with bloated egos, clashing interests, and unresolved grievances. Rather than articulating a credible roadmap for governance, their main occupation has been attacking every policy and initiative of the Tinubu administration regardless of merit without offering any meaningful alternatives.
Most telling is the coalition’s glaring lack of a unified message. Their public outings are marked by incoherence, policy contradictions, and constant internal disagreements. Attacks on every well intentioned initiative from economic reforms to infrastructure development reflect a group more obsessed with tearing down than building up.
When such a coalition cannot even agree on basic priorities or present a coherent agenda to Nigerians, how can it credibly seek the mandate to lead?
Nigerians of today deserve a responsible, responsive, and visionary leadership, qualities the APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu continue to demonstrate through bold reforms, decisive governance, and a clear national development agenda.
What we are seeing instead from the opposition is political theater dominated by individuals who failed ministerial screenings, others who have lost relevance in their constituencies, and many more who are united only by a desire to derail progress out of bitterness and personal ambition.
Clearly, desperation has replaced strategy, and confusion has overridden conviction. The result ? A coalition that is capable of not not only weakens the opposition but also contributes to growing public disillusionment with Nigerian politics as a whole.
At a time when Nigeria needs unity, focus, and sustained reform that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is offering, it is unfortunate that the opposition is offering only a patchwork of political castoffs clinging to each other in hopes of power through numbers, without purpose or direction.
Across the world, opposition coalitions often emerge in response to dominant parties, but they face a common set of challenges. They typically comprise entities with differing ideologies, conflicting goals, and fragile alliances. Without a unifying vision, they descend into infighting, leadership struggles, and policy disarray, alienating voters and eroding public trust.
This coalition is seen for what it is: a desperate attempt by sidelined politicians to regain lost ground. There is no clear leadership, no coherent strategy, and no realistic roadmap for national development. The inability to adjust to public sentiment or offer viable solutions will inevitably lead to their political collapse.
Like the system that birthed APC in 2013, opposition coalitions can be useful in a democracy only when founded on principle, policy, and genuine national interest.
Unfortunately, what we are witnessing today is none of these. If this coalition is to have any hope of relevance, it must transcend petty rivalries, articulate a unified message, and earn the trust of the Nigerian people. Until then, it remains, unmistakably, a failed project of desperate and confused politicians.
– Musa Asiru Bakare is a member of the Tinubu Support Group (TSG). He writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
