2027: I HAVE PREFERENCE AMONG OPPOSITION LEADERS, BUT THEY DON’T KNOW ARITHMETIC — ONAIYEKAN

Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, has criticised opposition leaders seeking to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027, warning that their failure to unite behind a single candidate could hand victory to the ruling party.

Speaking on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, Onaiyekan said opposition figures who each believe they can defeat Tinubu risk weakening their chances by splitting votes among themselves. “Five people saying this government is not good, and each one says it’s me who will rule. They don’t know arithmetic,” he said.

THE ARITHMETIC PROBLEM

Onaiyekan’s central argument is mathematical. Multiple opposition candidates, each with their own support base, divide the anti-incumbent vote. “If five of you are opposing one man, and you are telling all of us to scatter our votes among you, don’t you know that by simple arithmetic, the status quo will simply win by default?” he asked.

The warning is not new. Nigerian political history is replete with examples of opposition fragmentation delivering victory to incumbents. The 2023 election, in which Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso all contested against Tinubu, is a recent example.

A PERSONAL PREFERENCE

Onaiyekan admitted that he had a preferred opposition candidate among those seeking to challenge Tinubu. “It’s not as if, among the so many of them, I don’t have my preference, but I’m not happy if I vote my preference. You vote your own, and they vote their own,” he said.

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He declined to name his preferred candidate.

A CALL FOR UNITY

The cardinal urged opposition groups to find common ground and present a candidate capable of challenging the ruling party.

“Whatever you call the names, these scattered voices should find a way of coming together to give us a viable alternative that we can vote for,” he said.

He stressed that Nigerians needed a clear alternative rather than a collection of competing voices. “We all know who the government is, but we don’t know what the alternative is,” he said.

A DEFENCE OF DEMOCRACY

Onaiyekan also urged Nigerians dissatisfied with the government’s performance to use their voter cards to hold elected leaders accountable.

“Once in four years during the election, the people have the opportunity to assess their leaders. Their leaders, who are also supposed to be their representatives, not bosses,” he said.

He cautioned against losing faith in the electoral process, saying Nigeria was not ready to return to military rule. The challenge ahead of 2027, he said, was to ensure that voters had credible alternatives and could freely choose their leaders.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Onaiyekan made the remarks on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast.