Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso called on former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to reconsider his 2027 presidential ambitions, appealing to him to step down and focus on his traditional duties as the Wazirin Adamawa. The appeal is the latest signal of fragmentation within the opposition ahead of the next election cycle.
Kwankwaso and Atiku have been political rivals and, at times, allies. Both have run for president multiple times. Both are from the North. Both are seeking a path to power in 2027, but on separate platforms. Kwankwaso’s appeal to Atiku is framed as respect for tradition, but it is also a political calculation. If Atiku steps aside, Kwankwaso’s own path narrows less.
This echoes the 2022 opposition talks, which also failed to produce a unified candidate. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a divided opposition that hands the advantage to the ruling party.
The winners: the ruling APC, which benefits from opposition disunity, and Kwankwaso, who has positioned himself as a kingmaker. The losers: Atiku, who faces pressure to step aside, and the Nigerian public, who may once again face a fragmented alternative.
Bottom Line: Kwankwaso wants Atiku to retire to Adamawa. Atiku has not responded. The question is whether the opposition can ever unite or will remain a collection of individual ambitions.