Opposition leaders have reportedly agreed to unite against Tinubu, pending the small matter of deciding whose lifelong presidential ambition counts as national sacrifice. Nigerians, already familiar with the franchise, are waiting to see if this season finally gets past the group photo.
So the opposition has gathered in Abuja again, Atiku, Peter Obi, and the usual cast of characters, all sitting in one room to talk about forming a united front against Tinubu ahead of 2027. Beautiful scene. Chairs arranged nicely, cameras flashing, everybody smiling for the group photo like this is the season finale and not, in fact, another rerun.
Because let's be honest, Nigerians have watched this exact movie before. Different year, same script: opposition figures gather, promise unity, talk about "putting the country first," take a group photo, and then somehow, within weeks, somebody's ambition starts leaking out from under the table. One person wants to be the sole candidate. Another person insists it's "not yet time" to pick a candidate. A third person is quietly telling their supporters that unity is coming, just not with that particular person included.
The irony writing itself here is that the entire pitch is "let's come together to defeat one man," and yet historically, defeating that one shared goal has proven easier than agreeing on which one of them should lead the charge. It's giving four people trying to share one plate of rice, everybody agreeing the plate is small, nobody agreeing on who eats first.
Meanwhile, Tinubu's camp is probably watching this meeting with the calm of someone who's seen this particular movie's ending before. Nothing unites APC's confidence quite like watching the opposition hold another "unity meeting" that produces a beautiful communique and zero actual structural agreement.
Still, credit where it's due, meeting is better than not meeting, optics matter, and maybe this time really is different. Maybe. But if history is anything to go by, expect this unity talk to survive right up until candidate selection season, at which point "united front" quietly becomes "united front, minus whoever didn't get picked."
By 2027, we'll find out if Abuja hosted the real deal this time, or just another well-photographed rehearsal for a play that never actually opens.
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