2027: Coalition is dead on arrival – Yakubu Dati

Yakubu Dati is a former commissioner for information in Plateau State and the chief of staff to the Director General of the Tinubu/Shettima campaign organization, Simon Lalong in 2023. Now a chieftain of the APC, he speaks to our correspondent on the efforts by the opposition to form a coalition.

What do you make of the current efforts by opposition elements in the country to form a coalition in order to challenge the ruling party in 2027? 

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Well, the coalition is dead on arrival, as you can see, because the coalition is over what? It is over the progress? It is not because a milestone is being made in good governance as provided by this government. We believe that the coalition will not be supported by most Nigerians because we are seeing a turnaround and bold decisions are being taken by this government, including the removal of subsidy, the closure of multiple foreign exchange windows, and also the ensuring that we restore our heritage as a proud country, and we believe Nigerians are seeing the hard decisions being taken. 

With the prevailing economic situation in the country and the hardship being suffered by the majority of Nigerians, don’t you think that this is good enough ground for the coalition to prevail?

Well, don’t forget that, number one, the leaders of the coalition all have ambition of being president. There are people that are not ready to play second fiddle to anybody, so it is clear that it may be very difficult for them to come together. Secondly, the hardship is as a result of the turnaround that is going on in the economy, and this as a result of a step taken by president, which all of the other presidential candidates, while they were campaigning, also pledged to take such decisions.

For example, the removal of subsidies, they all agreed, the major candidates, Atiku and Obi agreed, and also the issue of single foreign window exchange rate. So these are issues that will cause the same hardship that we are all going through. But we thank God that gradually we are turning around, because gradually the prices of commodities are coming down, the price, the pump price of petrol, we are witnessing the reduction, even for Dangote, of pump price of petrol. 

So we believe that Nigerians are seeing a clear leader, and they are ready to stand with the president all the way.

At a stage, the PDP was talking almost in the same breath that you are talking now, that it is going to rule Nigeria for 60 years and it was not concerned or perturbed by any angst of the opposition party. How different is this scenario from what we witnessed in the build-up to 2015?

This is different, because for this one, we are talking of a president that has quadrupled the income into the economy. 

So you are even having states and local governments receiving four times the amount that they are receiving before. So it is empowering all the three tiers of government to be able to effect a meaningful change. And that is why you see a lot of initiatives taken by state governments who are receiving four times the amount they were receiving before.

So it is not just about the federal government alone. It is about the fact that the increment in allocation is being reflected at the three tiers of government. And we are seeing success stories from state governors who are ready to wake up and bring development and alleviate the hardship. 

So it is time, and that is why Nigerians are beginning to ask questions about the income coming to their governors, coming to their local government chairmen. What steps are they taking? So that is why this one is different, because there is a sentiment that has been occasioned by the increment in allocation in local government and state governments.

There are allegations that it is because the ruling party wants to starve the opposition of funds that it imposed emergency rule in River State. It has also captured Delta State…

Don’t forget that these are states that were under the opposition parties, and those increments and funds that were increased in allocation were only given to those parties for the past few years, even as opposition parties. So that has nothing to do with it.

They were given their due, and they took their time, two years later, to see that, look, this is the best thing to do because they see sincerity, because the increment in funding was not discriminatory. It was spread across board. And they also began to see that there was nothing different that the other presidential candidates are bringing to the table, more than what they are receiving.

So don’t forget that this increment started two years ago. They enjoyed it for two years, and they were building their party. There is no stifling of funding because they were even funded, even as opposition parties.

If Nigeria turn into a one-party state, what will be the implication to our democracy? 

I think this is a misapplication of terminology, because at the height of this power, the PDP had 28 state governors, and there was no talk of one-party state. 

So here we are having less than 20 governors, and people are trying to bring a new terminology into the context. Don’t also forget that even during the military, when there were no parties, when there was only one party, which was the military, Nigeria stood up and fought against the military, even when it was against the law.

So there’s nothing like one-party state that will muzzle Nigeria. Nigerians know what they want. They have seen this government taking the right steps, even at the risk of getting unpopular with the hardship occasioned by certain decisions taken.

But they have seen that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that is why we believe that the issue of one-party state is simply trying to hoodwink the situation. 

What is your advice to the opposition? 

Well, my advice is they should prioritize national interest against political interest. 

And I believe most people are expressing their opinion to follow suit. You can imagine, most of the parties or the so-called coalition, they are jettisoning the zoning system where power is moved from north to south. How will ordinary Nigerians support that? Because you are trying to encourage the dominance of the majority.

So you can see that they are taking steps that even their followers are finding very strange. And that is why, apart from the leadership, you see even the followers are moving in droves because they believe, for instance, after eight years of the north, the south should do eight years. Anybody that comes with a coalition that truncates the power sharing formula will not get support.