By Olusola Sanni
As Nigeria inches toward the 2027 presidential election, the political terrain has changed significantly from the emotionally charged battlefield of 2023. The protest-fuelled momentum that powered Peter Obi and the Labour Party has largely waned, giving way to a more conventional electoral environment where structure, experience, resilience, and national reach will matter far more than social media enthusiasm or grievance-driven mobilization.
In that emerging reality, one name stands out unmistakably: Atiku Abubakar.
If 2023 was a contest shaped by emotion, identity anxieties, and protest energy, 2027 will be a referendum on competence, coalition-building, and the ability to convert public frustration into a viable governing alternative. By that measure, Atiku Abubakar remains the opposition’s most formidable asset and the African Democratic Congress’ most credible path to victory.
The 2023 election was unlike any before it. The lingering anger from the #EndSARS movement found political expression in Peter Obi’s candidacy, particularly among younger urban voters seeking disruption rather than continuity. That sentiment was further amplified by two highly combustible narratives: the perception of a “Fulani succession” after Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year presidency, and widespread opposition to the APC’s controversial Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Together, these forces created a protest coalition powered less by ideological alignment than by emotional resistance.
Peter Obi’s performance was undeniably impressive within that context. But it was a phenomenon tied to a specific moment in Nigeria’s political evolution — one driven by exceptional circumstances that may not be replicable in 2027.
Atiku’s performance, by contrast, reflected something deeper and more enduring.
Despite contending with a hostile political climate, ethnic profiling, and an internal rebellion within the PDP led by the G5 governors, Atiku still secured nearly seven million votes and finished as the leading opposition candidate nationally. That achievement was not accidental. It was the product of political resilience, institutional depth, national organization, and a tested ability to compete under extreme pressure.
Simply put, Atiku was the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 election cycle.
Few candidates in Nigerian political history have faced simultaneous internal sabotage, regional suspicion, and a fragmented opposition landscape — and still remained that competitive.
Because 2027 is shaping up to be a fundamentally different contest.The protest energy of 2023 has dissipated. The ethnic and religious flashpoints that distorted electoral calculations then are far less potent today. What Nigerians now confront is a harsher and more sobering reality: economic pain, inflation, insecurity, unemployment, and growing national frustration.
This next election will be less about symbolism and more about solutions.
And in such a contest, experience becomes an asset — not a liability.
Atiku has already shown strategic foresight by helping consolidate opposition energies around the African Democratic Congress at a time when the ruling establishment’s tactics appear increasingly geared toward weakening traditional opposition platforms through engineered crises and political fragmentation.
That alone demonstrates political anticipation and organizational instinct.
The ADC presents a unique opportunity to build a broad-based national coalition. But coalitions do not build themselves. They require a bridge-builder — someone with relationships across regions, credibility across interests, and the maturity to manage competing ambitions.
Atiku fits that profile more than anyone else currently in the opposition space.
As a former Vice President, a businessman, and a long-standing advocate of restructuring, economic reform, and national inclusion, he offers both governance experience and a clearly articulated alternative vision.
Critics will predictably raise age or past presidential attempts. But leadership is not a beauty contest or a talent show. It is about preparedness, endurance, judgment, and reach.
The question before the opposition is brutally simple: do we want to make a point, or do we want to make a President?
Because if the objective is merely emotional satisfaction, there are many options.
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But if the objective is to mount the strongest possible challenge to an incumbent president in a difficult electoral environment, then the answer becomes clearer.
Atiku has the national network.
He has the campaign infrastructure.
He has the institutional memory.
He has the discipline forged through repeated contests.
And most importantly, he has already demonstrated the capacity to remain competitive even under hostile conditions.
Without the distortions of 2023, those underlying strengths become even more significant.
Nigeria deserves a serious opposition. Democracy deserves a real contest.
And the ADC, if it is truly focused on victory rather than symbolism, should rally behind its most valuable political player.
Atiku Abubakar remains that candidate.
Olusola Sanni is a media aide to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
