Feature/OPED

2019 Presidential Poll: Is Atiku’s Defeat Testament That Power is Transient?

Published

7 years ago

07/03/2019

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Omoshola Deji

Power is transient. Owning it doesn’t mean it’ll always be yours. Aiming for it doesn’t mean you’ll get it.

Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s onetime second citizen and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), again failed to secure the first spot – on his fourth attempt. His first shot at the top job was on the platform of the Social Democratic Party in 1992. He came third in the presidential primaries, behind Babagana Kingibe and Moshood Abiola. Atiku, whose regular loss at the polls has earned him the title ‘veteran contestant’ and ‘serial loser’ was defeated by incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 presidential election. The loss dashed Atiku’s hopes of realizing his 27 year ambition.

Against the predictions of notables like Dele Momodu and prominent institutions such as Williams and Associates, and The Economist, the writer foretold Atiku’s defeat and it came to pass. Buhari garnered 15,191,847 votes, to conquer Atiku who scored 11,262,978 votes. Why did Atiku lose?

Atiku has not been arraigned or convicted by any court, but the weighty corruption allegations against him has destroyed his reputation and diminished peoples trust in him. The corruption burden largely made him lose the election, having contested against Buhari who is widely adjudged honest. Atiku’s vow to privatize the inefficient Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was largely construed as a ploy to enrich cronies, like he allegedly did when he, as Vice President, supervised the privatization of national assets. Atiku’s outburst made the moguls profiting from NNPC’s ineptness work hard for Buhari’s reelection.

Atiku’s focal campaign promise of restructuring the country was widely interpreted as an anti-North agenda by his people. Although the policy amplified his popularity in the less voting populated regions in the South, it incredibly diminished his popularity in the major voting populated North. Atiku also failed to win the minds of voters during campaign. He underutilized the opportunity of using the rallies to draw people’s attention to Buhari’s shortcomings and how he would address them, if elected. Atiku’s campaign was not informative and revealing as expected from an opposition candidate. The PDP stalwarts preoccupied themselves with calumny, ideas bereft, non-issues based campaigns, exchanging insults with Buhari’s men.

Atiku is popular, but his popularity and acceptance is incomparable to that of Buhari. The PDP’s unimpressive performance in the North handed Buhari and APC an easy win. Atiku lost his polling unit and majority of the key northern states by a wide margin. One thing’s for certain, the election must have enlightened Atiku that the mammoth crowd at the rallies are not votaries; they are fun-seekers any candidate desirous of electoral victory must not rely on.

Power is a transient, temporary phenomenon. Atiku, a once very powerful time is now reduced. The ex-Vice President was sometimes ago the ‘commandant’ of the northern political elites. He called the shot. The power blocs sung his song and danced to his beat. He was so powerful to the extent that he almost dethroned his former boss, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. It is broadly whispered that Obasanjo allegedly kowtow before Atiku allowed the northern power blocs support their reelection as president and vice in 2003. Today, most of the power blocs under Atiku’s control then have switched allegiance to Buhari. They worked against Atiku, fervidly criticized him, and made him lose the 2019 presidential election.

Most of the notables that worked against Atiku were either discovered or groomed during the Obasanjo-Atiku presidency. Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to Buhari was Atiku’s former media adviser. He fed from Atiku’s purse for over a decade. Shehu was one of the trusted aides Atiku donated to Buhari’s team when the latter won the APC presidential ticket in 2015. Before then, Shehu’s vivaciousness to the emergence of an Atiku presidency had no equal. The reverse is the case now. The same voice Shehu praise Atiku with is the one he is using to demean him now.

During the presidential election campaign, Shehu severally and unapologetically disparaged Atiku in order to convince the Aso Rock cabal that he is not a mole. Shehu’s loyalty shift and pivotal role in the destruction of the Atiku project he once lived for is a lesson to everyone that: like life, human loyalty is temporal and everyone has a price.

Shehu is not the only one. The former Governor of Lagos State and national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu was once in Atiku’s camp. Both have a time-honored relationship. The amity between them made Atiku work against the interest of his party, the PDP, in 2003, despite being the Vice President at the time. He softened pedals to ensure the political machineries that enthroned PDP in the Southwest states did not capture Lagos. Both men later teamed up to strategize on how to rule Nigeria in 2007. Tinubu allowed Atiku contest for President on the platform of the defunct Action Congress, a party he singly controlled.

The former Lagos Governor apparently backed Atiku with the hope that the latter would hand over power to him after his tenure, but he lost the election. Tinubu still has his eyes on the nation’s top job. His political enmity with Atiku rests on the calculation that the APC is his shortest and strongest link to being President.

Tinubu has a lot to learn from Atiku. The first of such lesson is: power is transient. The political godsons Tinubu has today may also turn against him tomorrow and hinder him from getting his most desired. The powers he has today, he will in due time have them no more. His boys would either switch allegiance or oust him. No man has reigned forever; Tinubu’s political dynasty would sooner or later be ruined by one of his disciples. The handwriting on the wall is clear, but has concealed meaning like that of Daniel 5:25. Only the gifted can see and understand it.

President Buhari’s Ministers of Labour and Agriculture, Chris Ngige and Audu Ogbeh, were once Atiku’s faithful. They teamed up to frustrate Obasanjo’s third term agenda. During difficult times, Atiku supported Ogbeh, particularly when Obasanjo allegedly forced him to resign as the PDP National Chairman. But in the just concluded election, Ogbeh worked against Atiku in favor of his principal, Buhari. The pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, is also one of Atiku’s erstwhile beneficiaries that worked against his win. Atiku championed Ribadu’s appointment as EFCC Chairman, a position that ushered him into limelight.

The former FCT Minister and incumbent governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, was once Atiku’s henchman. Atiku was instrumental to his appointment and political development. He secured him an appointment as the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises and later a Minister. El-Rufai likes to prove his loyalty through show offs. He would, at the time, do anything for Atiku. He hurriedly kneels to greet him at every given opportunity. No one thought the day would come when El-Rufai would work against Atiku.

But lo and behold, Atiku lost El-Rufai’s loyalty when he needed it most. Things took a turn for the worse when Atiku’s vice presidential tenure ended and he lost his presidential bid in 2007. El-Rufai faithfulness would have provided Atiku the much needed succumb when he fell on hard times and was struggling for political survival. But El-rufai was nowhere to be found; he had made new contacts and moved on. He is today’s Atiku prominent critic. His unparalleled dedication to Buhari’s reelection made Atiku lose the presidential poll in Kaduna State.

Don’t be deceived by people’s flattery and worship; they may be the first to throw you stones when you fall on hard times. Once you lose that success, beauty, money, fame or power that is attracting people to you, almost everyone will desert and disappoint you when it matters most. They will quickly find a replacement or pally with whoever is occupying your position. They would forget about you before sunset! You would not only be forgotten, most of the people you fed and clothed will vilify you and dine with your enemy. Senate President Bukola Saraki would be the best person to speak on this in a few months. That aside, how many beneficiaries of Abiola’s kind heartedness are standing by his family now?

Take a quiet time and look inwards, the power you have may be that which is commanding people’s loyalty. Lose the power, go broke, or contract a deadly disease and you’ll see peoples natural behavior. If Atiku had won the APC ticket and emerged president in 2015, the likes of Shehu and El-Rufai would have remained in his team, screaming they love him more than God. Do these persons love Buhari or they just love his power? Where were they when Buhari was losing election serially? Would those shouting ‘sai baba’ now stand by him when the chips are down? One could only hope that Buhari is not only celebrating his victory, but preparing to take Nigeria to the next level, and not drowning in the praise singings of his supporters and handlers.

It must not be left unsaid that Atiku himself is unrighteous. His disloyalty made him fall out with his former boss, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. Buhari is his self-inflicted, well deserved nemesis. Atiku immensely sponsored the campaign of the Buhari he’s struggling to defeat now in 2015. His insatiable thirst for power made him play a lead role in pulling PDP down 2015, despite being one of her greatest beneficiaries. He should be grateful that the party was kind enough to offer him her presidential ticket, which many people thinks he doesn’t deserve. He is a serial defector that only stays with any party that is ready to offer him ticket. His desperation for power is dwindling his electoral value and he may never achieve his dream of becoming Nigeria’s President.

While going ahead to challenge his lose at the tribunal, someone should remind Atiku that the seeming politically motivated suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen is not for nothing. Buhari too should be reminded that power is transient. That he has it today doesn’t mean it’s his forever. He should be conscious of his place in history and treat others the way he would like to be treated when power change hands.

Omoshola Deji is a political and public affairs analyst. He wrote in via [email protected]

Feature/OPED

Nigerian Opposition: What You Have to Do

Published

2 days ago

20/04/2026

Business Post Contributor

By Prince Charles Dickson, PhD

“And Jesus said to Judas… what you are going to do, do quickly.”

There is a hard, almost rude lesson in that line. History does not wait for the timid to finish their committee meeting. Politics, especially Nigerian politics, is not kind to hesitation dressed as strategy. It rewards those who understand timing, nerve, structure, and the brutal arithmetic of power. That is where the Nigerian opposition now stands: not at the edge of impossibility, but at the edge of urgency.

The first truth is the one opposition politicians do not enjoy hearing at rallies where microphones are loud, and introspection is scarce. They are not getting it right. The evidence is not only in Tinubu’s strength, but in their own disorder. INEC said on February 5, 2026, that there were now 21 registered political parties and warned that persistent internal leadership crises within parties pose a serious threat to democratic consolidation. Eight days later, the commission formally released the notice and timetable for the 2027 general elections. In other words, this is no longer the season of abstract grumbling. The whistle has gone. The race is live.

Yet the opposition often behaves like students who entered the examination hall with righteous anger but forgot their pens. Too much of its energy is spent on lamentation, rumours, courtroom oxygen, personality feuds, and that old Nigerian hobby of mistaking noise for architecture. You cannot defeat an incumbent machine by forming a WhatsApp coalition of wounded egos and calling it national salvation. Voters may clap for drama, but they still ask the unromantic question: who is in charge, what is the plan, and why should we trust you with the keys?

Now comes the more uncomfortable truth. The opposition is not facing an ordinary incumbent. It is facing Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a man whose political DNA was forged in opposition. He is not merely benefiting from power; he understands opposition as craft, pressure, infiltration, timing, persistence, and theatre. In his June 12, 2025, Democracy Day speech, he taunted rivals by saying it was “a pleasure to witness” their disarray, while also reminding Nigerians that he once stood almost alone against an overbearing ruling machine. This was not casual banter. It was a warning shot from a politician who knows both the grammar of resistance and the machinery of incumbency.

That is why copying Tinubu’s old template will not be enough. Yes, the coalition instinct is understandable. In July 2025, major opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, aligned under the ADC banner, presenting themselves as a bulwark against one-party drift, with David Mark as interim chairman. But here is the problem: Tinubu’s own coalition history worked not simply because men gathered in one room and glared at the ruling party. It worked because there was a disciplined merger logic, state-level anchoring, message coordination, and a ruthless understanding of elite bargaining. What the present opposition sometimes offers instead is photocopy politics with low toner: a coalition of convenience trying to frighten a man who practically wrote the Nigerian handbook on political accommodation, defection management, and patient conquest.

This is also why the opposition’s moral complaint, though not baseless, cannot be its only language. Yes, concerns about democratic shrinkage are real. Tinubu himself publicly denied that Nigeria is moving toward a one-party state, even as defections from opposition parties to the APC intensified and his own party welcomed them. But to say “democracy is in danger” is not yet the same thing as building a democratic alternative. Nigerians do not eat constitutional anxiety for breakfast. They want a credible opposition that can protect pluralism and still explain food prices, jobs, security, power supply, transport costs, and what exactly it would do on Monday morning after taking office.

On the government’s side, the picture is mixed enough to make both triumphalism and apocalypse look unserious. Reuters reported this week that the World Bank expects Nigeria’s economy to grow by about 4.2% in 2026, with external buffers improving and the debt-to-GDP ratio falling for the first time in a decade. Inflation had eased to 15.06% in February from roughly 33% in late 2024. Those are not imaginary numbers, and any fair-minded analysis must admit that Tinubu’s reforms have altered the macroeconomic conversation. But the same report warned that the Iran war has pushed fuel prices up by more than 50%, with obvious consequences for transport, food, and household pain. Add the continuing insecurity, underscored again this week by the killing of a Nigerian army general in Borno, and the government begins to look like a man who has repaired the roof but left half the house still flooding. That is not a collapse. It is not a command either. It is a meandering reform under political stress.

So, what must the opposition do, and do quickly? First, it must stop making Tinubu the only subject of the campaign. Anti-Tinubu is not a manifesto. It is a mood. Moods trend; structures win. Second, it must settle leadership questions early and publicly, because no voter wants to hire a rescue team still fighting over the steering wheel. Third, it needs an issue coalition, not just an elite coalition. Security, inflation, youth jobs, electricity, federalism, and institutional reform must become a coherent national offer, not a buffet of press conference talking points. Fourth, it must build from the states upward. Presidential romance without subnational organisation is political karaoke: loud, emotional, and usually off-key by the second verse.

Fifth, it must look seriously at the legal terrain. The Electoral Act 2026 has made party organisation even more central. PLAC notes that the new law tightens party registration rules, removes deemed registration, expands INEC’s regulatory discretion, and preserves the fact that candidates still need political parties as the vehicle for contesting most elective offices because independent candidacy is not permitted. In plain language, parties matter even more now. A fragmented opposition is therefore not just aesthetically untidy. It is strategically suicidal.

Still, there are dangers in the opposite direction, too. A desperate anti-Tinubu mega-bloc could become a cargo truck of incompatible ambitions. If all it offers is the promise to defeat one man, it may reproduce the same habits it condemns once power arrives. Nigeria does not need a ruling party so swollen that democracy gasps for air. But it also does not need an opposition whose only ideology is turn-by-turn revenge. The health of democracy lies somewhere between monopoly and mob. It requires competition with content, not merely competition with bitterness. Tinubu himself, in that same June 12 speech, defended multiparty politics even while mocking the opposition’s disorder. That irony should not be wasted. He has thrown them both an insult and an assignment.

So, yes, the opposition is right to worry. But worry is not a strategy. Outrage is not an organisation. The coalition is not coherent. And history is not sentimental. The man they are up against is ruthless, seasoned, and intimate with the dark arts of democratic combat. He knows the game. Some of his opponents are still learning the rules from old newspaper cuttings.

Which brings us back to the scripture. What you are going to do, do quickly. Not recklessly. Not hysterically. Quickly. Settle your house. Name your purpose. Offer something fresher than recycled indignation. Build a machine that is not merely anti-Tinubu but pro-Nigeria in a way ordinary Nigerians can feel in their pockets and in their pulse. Otherwise, the opposition will keep arriving at battle dressed in borrowed armour, only to discover that the tailor works for the man they came to unseat—May Nigeria win!

Feature/OPED

The Digital Imperative for Women-Led Businesses in Nigeria

Published

2 days ago

20/04/2026

Business Post Contributor

By Gloria Onosode

Nigeria is targeting an ambitious $1 trillion economy by 2030. To achieve this, women-led businesses must transition from mere passive observers to primary growth drivers at the heart of the economy and strategic participants in their respective industries.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the increased ownership rate of MSMEs by women represents a significant contribution to economic growth and job creation. Digital empowerment for these enterprises must move from being a social responsibility or gender support initiative to contributing to broader economic development.

To reach the $1 trillion GDP milestone, women-led businesses must be positioned to operate at a macroeconomic scale. This requires moving beyond subsistence trading and into the digital value chain. For instance, a fashion designer in Aba, through digital positioning, can access broader markets and commercial networks and thereby facilitate better record-keeping and data-driven decision-making, supporting improved financial record-keeping, which may be considered in credit assessments by financial institutions.

FairMoney Microfinance Bank (MFB), a bank licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, contributes to the digital transitioning of small businesses in Nigeria by providing tools specifically designed for the realities of the Nigerian entrepreneur. For women, whose businesses often fluctuate with seasonal demands or family needs, the ability to protect and grow capital is paramount. FairMoney MFB offers features that empower women to move from informal ‘under-the-mattress’ savings to digitised interest-bearing savings products. By embracing digital transition, tech-based saving platforms can enable business owners to set specific goals, such as purchasing new equipment, saving towards business goals in a disciplined manner, while earning interest at applicable rates.

For that business owner who requires immediate liquidity, our flexible savings feature offers interest while allowing for withdrawal access that is subject to applicable terms and conditions to cover emergency restocks. For longer-term scaling, our fixed-term savings feature allows entrepreneurs to lock away funds for a fixed period and accrue interest based on product terms, subject to terms and conditions. By automating savings and providing interest at applicable rates, FairMoney MFB is designed to support financial planning and resilience over time for women-led SMEs.

Nigerian women are among the most entrepreneurial globally, consistently defying structural barriers to build enterprises from the ground up. According to the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Nigeria has approximately 39.6 million nano, micro, small, and medium enterprises. Charles Odii, Director General at SMEDAN in 2024, also recently shared that approximately 72% of these enterprises are now classified as being owned or led by women. This is a significant jump from previous years, which hovered around 40–43%, largely due to the surge in ‘nano’ and ‘micro’ home-based businesses. These female-led enterprises are the primary engines of job creation and community stability.

Despite this drive, women entrepreneurs face a unique set of structural hurdles that stifle their ability to scale. The ‘financing gap’ remains the most formidable obstacle. The World Bank IFC Nigeria2Equal initiative reports that while Nigeria has one of the highest female entrepreneurship rates globally, the credit gap for these women is estimated at over 2.9 trillion Naira, forcing them into the ‘savings and family’ funding model.

The case for supporting these businesses extends beyond equity; it is rooted in the ‘multiplier effect’. Research demonstrates that women reinvest up to 90% of their income into their families and communities, specifically in education, healthcare, and nutrition. Supporting these enterprises is, therefore, a direct investment in Nigeria’s human capital. By bringing these businesses into the formal sector, the accuracy of economic planning will be improved. When a woman-led SME flourishes, the benefits ripple across the entire socioeconomic landscape.

The future of the Nigerian economy is intrinsically tied to the success of its women. When we prioritise women-led businesses, we are not merely fulfilling a gender quota; we can contribute to unlocking economic potential across sectors. By bridging the digital gap and providing robust financial tools for saving and credit to women-led businesses, Nigeria can begin to support the growth of micro-enterprises over time. A $1 trillion Nigeria is not just a dream; it represents a significant opportunity that can be progressively realised by the resilient women entrepreneurs of our nation.

Gloria Onosode is the Director of Enterprise Sales at FairMoney Business

Feature/OPED

Premium Entertainment Without the Premium Price Tag

Published

2 days ago

20/04/2026

Business Post Contributor

These days, surviving in Nigeria feels like a full-time job on its own.

Before the month even properly begins, salary has already been divided into transport, fuel, food, bills, subscriptions, and every other expense that somehow keeps increasing. For many 9–5ers, the routine has become painfully familiar: wake up early, battle traffic, survive the stress of work, battle traffic again, and get home completely drained, only to realise even the simple things that help you unwind now have to be carefully budgeted for.

Because in this economy, everybody is cutting costs. People are thinking twice before ordering food. They are postponing shopping plans. They are reducing unnecessary spending. And for many, one of the first things to go has been entertainment.

The same streaming platforms and premium subscriptions people once paid for without thinking have now become part of the “maybe next month” list. Not because people suddenly stopped loving movies, series, football, or reality TV, but because when inflation keeps rising, and fuel costs continue to affect everything, entertainment starts to feel like a luxury.

But that is exactly why affordability in entertainment matters now more than ever and why GOtv continues to stand out as a brand that genuinely keeps everyday Nigerians in mind.

Rather than assuming quality entertainment should only be accessible to people willing to spend heavily, GOtv has consistently positioned itself as a platform built with everyday Nigerians in mind, creating options that allow people to still enjoy premium entertainment without having to break the bank.

Take the GOtv Smallie package, for example.

For as low as ₦1,900 a month, subscribers get access to over 35 channels, including approximately 19 to 21 local channels, sports content, and 15+ channels across news, music, movies, lifestyle, kids, and general entertainment.

And for those who prefer longer payment plans, it is also available in:

Quarterly – ₦5,100
Annual – ₦15,000

What makes this even better is that, despite being the most affordable package, Smallie still offers something for everyone.

It is not one of those basic plans where you pay less and get almost nothing. Whether you are the family member who loves African movies, the sports enthusiast who never wants to miss a match, the parent looking for kids’ content, or the person who just wants background TV after a stressful day, there is something to watch.

And for viewers who want even more variety, GOtv has other packages across different price points:

GOtv Jinja – ₦3,900
GOtv Jolli – ₦5,800
GOtv Max – ₦8,500
GOtv Supa – ₦11,400
GOtv Supa Plus – ₦16,800

So, whether you’re going for the most affordable option or something with a more premium feel, there’s always a GOtv package that fits comfortably into different lifestyles and budgets.

At a time when everyday decisions are increasingly shaped by cost, GOtv quietly fills an important gap by keeping quality entertainment within reach for more people, because beyond the hustle, the traffic, the deadlines, and the constant pressure of trying to keep up with life in today’s economy, there is still a need for simple moments of joy and escape. Those small pauses in the day where you can switch off, relax, and just enjoy something light without overthinking it.

And that’s really the point: entertainment shouldn’t feel like another financial burden.