By Dominic A. Okoliko (PhD)
By February 25, 2023, Nigeria’s next president will be decided, and the choice is between Peter Obi (Labour Party), Bola Tinubu (All Progressives Congress), and Atiku Abubakar (People’s Democratic Party) with Rabiu Kwankwaso (New Nigeria Peoples Party) as a possible fourth. My argument is that Obi’s emergence as a candidate in the election strikingly distinguishes the 2023 election from previous ones. It is therefore, important to know the conditions that made this turn of history possible.
A symbol of political revolution, rebellion
Observers of this election can agree that whether Obi wins the election or not, he will be remembered for giving the establishment parties a run for their monies and extreme influence. Until his emergence, a third force unsettling the status quo was a mere wish. Nigeria’s electoral history post-1999 shows that presidential elections used to be a two-horse race between an incumbent party and an often-weak main opposition party.
