2027: Opposition coalition dead on arrival — Omokri • Says Obi, Atiku’s presidential ambitions, egos will frustrate alliance
By Bolaji Ogundele
• Predicts Tinubu victory, says President could enter poll with over 30 governors
Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to Mexico, Reno Omokri, has dismissed attempts by opposition politicians to forge a coalition against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, declaring the project “dead on arrival” because leading contenders would be unwilling to subordinate their individual ambitions.
Omokri specifically argued that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi would be unable to agree on who should surrender his presidential ambition for the other, predicting that the anticipated opposition alliance would ultimately unravel over leadership and candidacy.
Speaking during the City Boy Movement Media One-on-One with Otega Ogra, Omokri said the personalities involved in the opposition possessed strong political ambitions and egos that would make the compromises required for a viable coalition difficult.
Asked about prospects of the opposition coming together against Tinubu in 2027, he said: “It’s not going to happen because the people in the opposition, they have very big egos.
“Peter Obi has actually even a larger ego than Waziri Atiku Abubakar. It’s just that Peter Obi has self-esteem issues, so because he has self-esteem issues, he is able to hide the big ego.
“Peter Obi is not going to step down for Waziri Atiku Abubakar. Waziri Atiku Abubakar is not going to step down for Peter Obi. None of those people are going to step down for the other. So it’s dead on arrival”, he said.
Omokri predicted that although discussions around an alliance could continue, the principal actors might eventually keep their distance from negotiations once the difficult question of who becomes the presidential candidate arises.
“In fact, let me tell you what is going to happen. They will have that meeting. They will send representatives. The big fish themselves will not even go”, he said.
When pressed on what would happen if the opposition eventually succeeded in forming the coalition, Omokri maintained that he did not consider the possibility realistic, saying: “I’m not going to spend my intellectual prowess discussing what’s not going to happen”.
The former presidential aide, who campaigned against Tinubu in the 2023 election but has since emerged as one of the President’s prominent supporters, also predicted that Tinubu would win re-election in 2027.
He based his projection partly on the President’s expanding political support among governors, arguing that Tinubu won in 2023 under considerably more difficult circumstances than he is likely to face in the next election.
“You know, the best predictor of future events is past events. If this man won an election when he had, I think, just 19 governors, maybe probably 20 governors, the Central Bank moved against him, and then he had a lot of things going against him, and he won, how much so now that he has probably over 30 governors? I mean, he is going to win the election”, Omokri said.
He also cited what he described as improving macroeconomic indicators, including economic expansion and GDP growth outpacing population growth, as factors that could strengthen Tinubu’s re-election prospects.
“The economy has added $67 billion in two years. Our GDP is now growing faster than our population”, he said.
Omokri argued that some critics of the administration were already acknowledging improvements in macroeconomic stability, predicting that opposition figures should prepare for another four years outside government.
“What they are preparing for right now is four more years of opposition, of activism”, he said.
Giving reasons for his own decision to support Tinubu after campaigning against him in 2023, Omokri identified the administration’s student loan programme as one of its most consequential interventions.
According to him, more than one million Nigerian students were able to remain in tertiary institutions because of loans provided through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
“The reason we are spending trillions of naira today fighting insecurity is because in the past we did not spend billions of naira fighting illiteracy.
“If you have one million university students, undergraduates who are only in school because of NELFUND student loans, that is a major thing. Because those one million people will leave, and then they’re going to be employable, or they’re going to start a business, and then it’s going to expand our economy”, he said.
He also pointed to regular payment of federal and state public servants, major road infrastructure and developments in the financial markets as evidence of progress under the administration.
On infrastructure, Omokri said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway would substantially cut journey times and logistics costs when completed, with implications for the movement of agricultural produce and other goods across the country.
He further argued that the Southeast had received greater inclusion in the security architecture and federal infrastructure programme under Tinubu, contrasting the situation with the region’s representation in security leadership under the previous administration.
Omokri also cited the performance of the Nigerian equities market as evidence that investors had benefited from the administration’s economic policies, claiming that market capitalisation had risen substantially since Tinubu assumed office.
On security, he said the country had recorded progress under the President, contrasting the current situation with major attacks recorded during the Muhammadu Buhari administration, including the 2022 Kuje prison attack, the Abuja-Kaduna train attack and assaults on military facilities.
He said several wanted terrorist and bandit commanders had either been killed, arrested or prosecuted under the present administration, while improvements had also been recorded in measures against terrorism financing.
“There is progress in Nigeria. There’s a lot of progress, but it’s just because our people are very emotional, and they don’t have a very long memory. If you focus on what cannot lie, the facts, you’re going to see that insecurity has improved”, he said.
Omokri also defended the administration’s economic reforms, saying easier access to foreign exchange and improvements in the business environment were encouraging private-sector activity.
He argued that government should principally create the environment for employment rather than serve as the direct provider of jobs, urging young Nigerians to exploit opportunities in manufacturing, tourism, transportation and small businesses.
On religious politics ahead of 2027, Omokri cautioned political actors against exploiting divisions over faith, particularly the controversy surrounding the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
He criticised Obi’s appearances in churches where political issues are discussed, warning that the same conduct by a Muslim politician in mosques could aggravate religious tensions.
Despite his political differences with Obi, Omokri said he recently approached and exchanged greetings with the former Anambra governor at an airport and invited him to visit him, insisting political rivalry should not destroy national cohesion.
“Peter Obi is going to be defeated. The President is going to win, and after that, we must all come back and reconcile. And Nigeria must continue making progress”, he said.
