Salihu Lukman, a former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called on former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari, and ex-Heads of State, Generals Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdulsalami Abubakar, to form a united alliance to prevent President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Lukman made this appeal in an open letter to Olusegun Obasanjo titled “Satanic Leadership and Nigeria’s Boiling Point”, released in Abuja on Monday.
A Call for Unity to Produce ‘Godly Leaders’
Inspired by a statement attributed to Obasanjo that “a leader made by Satan is bound to fail, while God’s chosen one will thrive”, Lukman stressed the need for past leaders to unite the fragmented opposition. He argued that failure to act would inadvertently guarantee Tinubu and the APC another electoral victory in 2027.
“Any political leader in disagreement with the current sad reality but who refuses to work with other opposition leaders is inadvertently working for APC’s victory in 2027. Supporting such leaders also indirectly strengthens the APC and President Asiwaju’s chances.”
Lukman urged Nigeria’s past leaders to take moral responsibility and spearhead the emergence of “Godly leaders” who would address the nation’s leadership crisis. He called for a deliberate effort to rebuild Nigeria’s political structure to prevent “Satanic leadership” from thriving.
Path to Functional Political Opposition
Highlighting the role patriotic Nigerians played in forming the PDP in 1998, Lukman stated that a similar collective effort is needed to create a functional opposition platform. He emphasized that the unity of opposition leaders is a critical first step and warned against divisive ambitions:
“The unity of all opposition political leaders is the first precondition. The second precondition is that negotiations to form a political platform must not be driven by any personal ambition.”
According to Lukman, rebuilding Nigeria’s democracy requires past leaders to abandon lamentations and correct past mistakes that facilitated the emergence of “Satanic leaders” at all levels of government.
Division Within Opposition: APC’s Strategy for 2027
Reflecting on the 2023 elections, Lukman revealed that the APC capitalized on divisions within the opposition to secure victory. He alleged that the party’s current strategy under Tinubu is to maintain a fractured opposition in preparation for the 2027 elections.
“I was privileged to be in APC leadership during the 2023 elections, and I can say without fear of contradiction that APC won because the opposition was divided. The mindset of President Tinubu and APC now is to keep the opposition divided as the basis for winning in 2027.”
A Patriotic Duty to Act
Lukman appealed to Obasanjo, other past leaders, and patriotic Nigerians to work towards rebuilding the nation’s political landscape. He insisted that history would favor those who take decisive steps to ensure Nigeria produces leaders driven by integrity and national interest.
“Like other successful missions to your credit, if you add this to your achievements, it will further engrave you and all patriots as architects of a new Nigeria.”
Lukman’s letter serves as a clarion call for political unity and strategic collaboration ahead of the 2027 elections to end what he termed the “current despicable state” of Nigeria’s democracy.
