By Mallam Nasir El-Rufai
Driven by ego and the arrogance of power, these South South and PDP elements increasingly and I dare add naively went against the North, where the PDP still had considerable influence and support then, in the most condescending manner and in so doing gradually lost the support of the North to the advantage of Buhari and the APC coalition. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, as I Iook at the rambunctiousness of some APC members and fellow supporters of President Bola Tinubu, especially from the south west geopolitical zone, I wonder if people have any sense of history and if they truly understand Nigerian politics.
I read some people say that President Tinubu is not former President Jonathan, Jagaban is a political juggernaut and master strategist, etc. All that I totally agree with. No question whatsoever. However, politics is not a one champion show.
While fPGEJ lacked equivalent political gravitas and sophistication (with all due respect to him) as PBAT, he had the then formidable PDP behemoth which could have actually seen him through but for the grievous ‘political mistake’ of messing with the North.
Love or loathe that fact, the North remains the kingmaker in Nigerian politics, at least, as of today. Any politician or political party that plays with that reality might pay a steep political price for it.
People who ignore history are bound to fall victim and to repeat mistakes of the past.
I just want to prod our political senses, in case some of us are forgetting, in the euphoria of tribal and geopolitical politics.
I hope better sense will prevail and soon too. It is whom you love that you chastise.
In all, I continue to wish PBAT and my party, the APC well.
With almost exactly two years to the month to the 2027 general elections, let’s focus and continue to deliver the promised dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
