Dr Yunusa Tanko is the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement. In this interview monitored on Arise Television, he speaks on the defection of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the push to form a stronger opposition alliance ahead of the 2027 elections, among other issues, EVINCE UHUREBOR reports

The joining of National Democratic Congress (NDC) by Mr. Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso; what do you make of such defection against the background of the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing it as illogical, plural and also describing Mr. Peter Obi as a nomadic politician?

Let me use this opportunity to congratulate all Nigerians for the courageous step that Mr. Peter Obi and his counterpart, friend and brother, Rabiu Kwankwaso, took in order to present an alternative position of contesting for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Let me be clear, Obi holds his colleagues and leaders from the ADC with the highest respect. And let me also correct an impression where he said the issue of toxicity. Yes, there is a toxic system in our political system, but not directed to the ADC. His position was that the toxic situation in our political system precipitated his move to ensure that they got a ticket that they would run.

Remember, that attempt has been made to gag and deny him the opportunity to run for election under even any political party. And I make bold to say that the current situation, especially in the ADC, was very clear as the Supreme Court in its judgement said that they should go back to the Federal High Court.

As a layman, let’s look at the calculation, the window closes for submissions and all other processes in the political scenario on This means that you have few days to adjudicate within the Federal High Court, winning or losing. The other person will take you down to the Court of Appeal, winning or losing. Then you now go back to the Supreme Court. Within five days, it is practically impossible. That is a trap for the candidature of Obi and that is the most dangerous situation we will have in our nation.

For Obi, Kwankwaso and others, they’ve taken a courageous step that needs to be applauded, so that Nigerian democracy will not die. This is the most important situation as it is in our current situation. And I want to say that Obi needs our prayers. The opposition entirely needs them because we are dealing with a situation that may endanger the country completely.

So, to avoid that, we need to have an option of the opposition running for office. And that is the reason why myself and all other Obidient will wholeheartedly support Obi, and engineer Alhaji Musa Kwankwaso, and others, to quickly find an exit point in order to defend our democracy. So these are my early thoughts, and I hope. We have critics saying that Mr. Peter Obi has been avoiding tough internal contests. Did he leave the ADC because of stronger rivals? No. He left based on this particular fact that I mentioned. Let me give you an example.

Obi is somebody who keeps saying let’s build a united country based on accountability, credibility, character and compassion

Don’t be surprise that the moment he has left now, probably the ADC may find peace, just like the way the Labour Party was giving a temporary peace. The government of the day has found itself completely involved in all the political parties in trying to deny Obi from running for office.

This is a clear testimony. And I will give you an example. When he was in the Labour Party, it’s the same thing. When he moved to the ADC, it’s the same thing. Now, you could see gladly that the man is the target of the federal government to ensure.

If not, why are you disturbed about his moving from one party to another? So, he’s not nomadic, but he’s trying to protect and serve his people and save the Nigerian democracy. This is someone that I would say, within the last two decades, he had crossed about five political parties, from his days in APGA, to the PDP, to the Labour Party in 2023, that offered him the presidential ticket he defected to the African Democratic Congress, and now to the NDC.

That means from 2023 till date, he has crossed about three political parties. So what does this say about his consistency in terms of his ideology and political focus? It says to you, as Nigerian, that this is a man who has been completely denied the opportunity to survive in a political space. But yet, he is resilient and determined to provide an alternative for the Nigerian people.

Because if he did not do what he’s doing at the moment, what you will have is a one-party state, one-party contestant, and you will not even have an opportunity to choose, which completely negates the principle of democracy. So, I think, for me and all other Nigerians, Nigerians now should have faith and consistency in His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi, who is trying to give them an alternative which will take care of the Nigerian situation.

Some people are saying that this looks like history repeating itself, something similar to what we saw in the 2023 elections. Will this party switching create the stability that Obi has been speaking about?

You know that in 2023, the major accusation against his candidature was that he doesn’t have any basic support in the North. I am just talking to you from Kano State.

We just received many Nigerians from Northern states joining him. Today, we have one of the biggest and the most resilient personalities in Kwankwaso, joining and agree ing to serve with Obi. That means that you can have at least nothing less than 19 to 20 Northern states coming in mass to work together with him.

So that will create stability between the north and the south. And that will give us a kind of an option that Nigeria is ready to unite as one. Remember that the majority of our people want Nigeria to survive. And that is based on the fact that we are supporting a southern presidency. At the moment, it’s about the southern presidency.

And the most important thing is that we are supporting a southeastern person from the northern part, supporting a south eastern person. That speaks volume. Now, we are looking beyond the civil war. We are looking beyond personality. We are looking beyond religion. We are now saying that it is time for us to unite this country. And the exit point for that unity is the presidency of Obi.

Obi insisted that his defection was not linked to the ADC, David Mark or Atiku Abubakar. But he cited the internal crisis within the ADC; how do we describe this and to what extent would you say his consistency is not driven by his ambition?

Right from the beginning, Obi has clearly stipulated that he is not desperate to be Nigerian president but he is desperate to see Nigeria work. Obi is somebody who keeps saying let’s build a united country based on accountability, credibility, character and compassion. These are clear needed factors that the Nigerian situation at the moment needs.

And in reference to the issue of internal crisis, I’ve already alluded to that and I’ve made it clear that at this point, we don’t need a kind of rejigging of the system when we are trying to unite the country. I mean that at the moment, it is a southern presidency and people should take note of it because the southern part of this country has been asking that it is their time to lead this country.

And at the moment, we have a Southern president who has spent four years, which we cannot actually ascertain the level of input that he has already brought in. And that is why the replacement will have been much better for a southern president than tilting it to the northern part of the country. That, of course, precipitated the issue of internal crisis.

But it will be easier when we now have a political party that understands the need for a national unity, which is key for our national development. So, at the moment now, a southern presidency is what is targeted and that is the reason why we should at least give this ticket a chance to take Nigeria to the next level of our democratic life.