By Our Reporter
Lagos State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) said it has become imperative to interrogate the democratic credentials of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Governor Peter Obi, declaring that neither of them played any discernible role in the pro-democracy struggle that birthed the current democratic dispensation "they now seek to dominate by entitlement."
Recall that the current democratic dispensation, which took off in 1999, followed struggles by pro-democracy groups that later led to the military exit from power.
The party made this declaration in a signed statement by its spokesperson, Hon. Seye Oladejo, noting that Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi and Atiku, who it said have recently anointed themselves as the conscience and moral barometers of Nigeria’s democracy, were absent from the trenches when others faced detention, exile, intimidation, loss of livelihood, and death in the battle against military dictatorship.
APC said both made no sacrifices, bore no scars, and took no risks in defence of democratic ideals, adding: "Yet today, they seek to appropriate the moral capital earned by braver patriots, presenting themselves as frontline defenders of a democracy they neither fought for nor helped to secure."
"The Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) finds it imperative to interrogate-without sentiment or euphemism-the so-called democratic credentials of two serial presidential aspirants, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, who have recently anointed themselves as the conscience and moral barometers of Nigeria’s democracy.
"Democracy is sustained by consistency, sacrifice, respect for institutions, and fidelity to the will of the people-not by selective outrage, convenience-driven alliances, or transactional politics. It is therefore necessary to look beyond slogans and social media noise and subject the records of these gentlemen to rigorous scrutiny.
"Intensive research and a frank audit of Nigeria’s democratic history reveal an uncomfortable but unavoidable truth: neither Peter Obi nor Atiku Abubakar played any discernible role in the pro-democracy struggle that birthed the democratic space they now seek to dominate by entitlement. They were absent from the trenches when others faced detention, exile, intimidation, loss of livelihood, and death in the battle against military dictatorship. They made no sacrifices, bore no scars, and took no risks in defence of democratic ideals. Yet today, they seek to appropriate the moral capital earned by braver patriots, presenting themselves as frontline defenders of a democracy they neither fought for nor helped to secure," the party stated.
According to APC, Peter Obi’s political journey, in particular, raises serious questions about conviction and consistency, saying that his serial movement across political platforms in pursuit of electoral fortune betrayed not ideological depth but calculated opportunism.
The party posited that a true democrat does not sanctify the electoral process only when outcomes flatter personal ambition, nor does he subtly encourage grievance, intolerance, or populist resentment when the verdict of the people is unfavourable, noting that democracy demands patience, institutional loyalty, and maturity-qualities that cannot be improvised in the heat of political disappointment.
"Atiku Abubakar’s long political career is even more instructive. Having traversed virtually every major political platform in Nigeria in his relentless quest for the presidency, he epitomizes ambition without ideological anchor. It is both ironic and disingenuous for a man who has been at the very centre of power and political engineering to now posture as a victim of the system he helped to construct. Democracy is not strengthened by serial defections, nor is it preserved by treating political parties as mere vehicles of convenience.
"It is also instructive that both men now seek refuge in fragile coalitions united not by shared vision or ideology, but by resentment over electoral outcomes. Alliances forged by bitterness, entitlement, and desperation are not democratic alternatives; they are temporary shelters for unfulfilled ambition. Coalitions without soul, structure, or sacrifice cannot inspire national confidence," the party stated.
"The Lagos APC therefore reminds Nigerians that democracy is not defined by how loudly one protests after losing an election, but by how responsibly one behaves before, during, and after the process. It is about respect for the rule of law, strengthening institutions, and offering constructive opposition-not delegitimizing governance through perpetual cynicism and manufactured outrage," added.
The party, while noting that Nigeria deserved statesmen, not serial aspirants, added that the electorate deserved clarity, not constant reinvention, declaring that history "will ultimately favour those who respected democratic struggle, honoured its institutions, and accepted its outcomes-not those who merely discovered democracy when ambition demanded a moral disguise."
"Nigeria deserves statesmen, not serial aspirants. The electorate deserves clarity, not constant reinvention. History will ultimately favour those who respected democratic struggle, honoured its institutions, and accepted its outcomes-not those who merely discovered democracy when ambition demanded a moral disguise.
"Both gladiators are hereby encouraged to accept this as an open challenge and present their democratic credentials to the discerning Nigerian public-devoid of fairytales," the party concluded.
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