As Nigeria inches closer to another election cycle, conversations are heating up around political realignments and fresh coalitions promising to rescue the country from decades of misrule. Yet, among the loudest voices touting change are men who have been central actors in Nigeria’s post-1999 democratic journey. They call themselves the “new breed,” but one can’t help but wonder, new in what sense?
Consider the familiar faces resurfacing in coalition talks. A former vice president who oversaw the controversial privatisation of national assets during his time in office, including the sale of a multi-billion-dollar aluminium plant for a fraction of its worth. A retired military officer who served as a governor during the military era opposed democratic restoration in the 90s and later went on to become the longest-serving president of the Senate. A career politician from the northwest who once held a leadership role in the old Social Democratic Party but found himself entangled in allegations of corruption alongside his son. These are not outsiders. They are not new to the system. They are the system.
Another figure, once Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister under a military regime, has become something of a political drifter, often unable to win his own polling unit but still finding ways to stay relevant in national discourse. Elsewhere, we find a former state governor and transport minister who famously declared that democracy had failed Nigeria, despite being a beneficiary of that same democratic process since the late 90s. His entire adult life has been tied to government appointments, yet he joins the chorus calling for a new Nigeria.
A former commissioner of works, then governor, then minister, left a trail of mixed legacies some commendable, others forgettable but now positions himself as part of a renewal squad. Another former Speaker, governor, and now senator also lays claim to this new movement, though he’s barely stepped outside the comfort of political office since 2003.
Then there’s the former head of Nigeria’s privatisation bureau, later FCT minister, and two-term governor of a state that bled from ethno-religious violence for eight years only to suddenly experience peace after his departure. If the bloodshed stopped with him, one is forced to ask: was he calming the storm or stirring it?
So when this chorus of veteran politicians gathers under new political banners to preach national rebirth, Nigerians are justified in squinting skeptically. These are not fresh faces. These are the same actors with dusty scripts, stepping onto a stage they never really left.
Yet, in the midst of this understandable cynicism, a different kind of argument is quietly gaining ground: if every political party in Nigeria is infested with individuals of questionable integrity, should we not simply abandon politics altogether? Or are we to accept that imperfection is a human condition and focus instead on the direction of the party, its leadership structure, and its eventual flag bearers?
This is where the current debate around the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the emerging coalition becomes interesting. Many critics are pointing fingers, highlighting the presence of familiar names with problematic pasts. And much of this criticism is valid. But the question remains. Where in Nigerian politics is this not the case? Which party can truly boast of being squeaky clean? Not APC. Not PDP. Not even the much-hyped third-force parties. The truth is Nigeria’s political system has not created the environment for saints.
This doesn’t mean we should excuse wrongdoing or recycle failure without scrutiny. What it means is that we must separate systemic rot from individual capacity. We must learn to evaluate leadership not only by who shouts “change” the loudest but by who is capable of actual governance, institutional building, and long-term vision. We need leaders who are ready to serve, not those who are only desperate to be seen.
It’s not lost on us that many people remain suspicious of any new alliance that includes names they’ve come to distrust. That suspicion is healthy. But when such suspicion becomes selective, targeting only one party or one coalition while giving others a pass for the same sins, it ceases to be about principle and starts to look like political loyalty in disguise.
There are flawed people in our churches and mosques, yet we don’t abandon worship. We continue to go, not because everyone there is perfect, but because of what we hope to find. Politics is no different. It is not a gathering of saints,it is a contest of ideas, character, competence, and vision.
So as for me, I reserve my final judgment on the coalition until I see who emerges as its standard bearers. If it is the same old names with the same old habits, then I’ll walk away without regret. But if a genuine path is carved one that empowers a new generation, redefines values, and sets a higher standard then I will listen.
What Nigeria needs now is not just another movement. It needs a reckoning. It needs a shift from noise to nuance, from personalities to principles. That shift may not come perfectly wrapped, but it must begin somewhere.
Let us judge coalitions not only by who joins them but by what they stand for, who they put forward, and the kind of country they seek to build.
And when the time comes, we must have the courage to choose not just with our mouths but with our minds.
Because at the end of the day, it is not who joins the race that matters most it is who dares to change the finish line.
Stephanie Shaakaa.
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