The Time is Now for Atiku to Pull His Political Strength

Like the final act of a political opera decades in the making, Atiku Abubakar stands once more at the edge of history: not as a perennial contender, but perhaps as its eventual victor. Ignore the heckles from former aides turned presidential praise singers; the Waziri of Adamawa is not packing his bags for retirement. He’s reassembling his orchestra.

From the recycled sermons of Daniel Bwala, who now lectures his ex-boss about divine timing from his new seat in the presidential choir, to the jittery statements leaking from Aso Rock, one truth rings clear: Atiku rattles them. And why wouldn’t he? A man doesn’t contest six elections, survive political exile, beat IBB to a northern consensus ticket, and still retain relevance unless he possesses something deeper than mere ambition.

What once read like a political tragedy – a string of “almosts” and “could-have-been” – now feels like a prelude. For the first time since 2003, the ground under Atiku is not shifting but settling. The North feels spurned. The economy bites hard. Zoning rhetoric is stale bread to a starving electorate. And the coalition Atiku is now piecing together is not some abstract handshake but a deliberate, structured attempt at salvaging opposition politics from its self-inflicted wounds.

Forget the sermonising about destiny. Politics, after all, is about timing, not a divine lottery. And timing seems to be dancing to Atiku’s rhythm.

President Bola Tinubu’s house looks like it is not just divided; it’s leaking -losing northern support. Supporters would have observers believe that the myth of invincibility is cracking, and Atiku’s long memory (of party betrayals, incumbency games, coalition math) now serves him as a weapon, not a burden.

To many, Atiku remains a relic of old politics. But perhaps, in these fractured times, what Nigeria needs is precisely someone old enough to remember what unity looked like – and shrewd enough to recreate it.

The time for quiet reflection has passed. This is the moment for Atiku to pull his political strength: not as a fallback, but as a final, formidable play.