As it is usually the case for the year preceding a general election, 2022 was not an exception in the thrills and tension that have over time defined Nigeria’s political landscape.
It has been a year of fight-to-finish for politicians with ambition as well as political parties seeking to wrest or retain power in Africa’s most populous country.
Here are 10 political thrills, in no particular order, that watered the ground, whetted Nigerians’ appetite, and aroused political consciousness ahead of next year’s general election.
Tinubu’s ‘Emi l’okan’
By mid-2022, the former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, was among the ruling All Progressives Congress presidential aspirants jostling to win the party’s ticket and succeed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), in 2023. As politicians are wont to do, Tinubu set the tone for the 2023 politicking by declaring that it was his turn to become Nigeria’s next president after Buhari.
Speaking on June 2, 2022, at the Presidential Lodge in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Tinubu said, ‘emi l’okan’ which is loosely translated in the Yoruba language as, ‘It is my turn’.
He said, “It is my time, I’m educated, I’m experienced. I have been serving people for a long time. Bring me the presidency, it is my turn.” After his declaration, many analysts predicted that Tinubu’s ‘outburst’ in Ogun might jeopardise his presidential ambition, which he tagged a ‘lifelong ambition’.
But Tinubu went on to win the party’s ticket after polling 1,271 votes. Former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, polled 316 votes to come second while Vice President Yemi Osinbajo garnered 235 votes to come third.
Wike vs Atiku, Ayu and PDP
Nigerians witnessed the ‘influence’ of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, after the former minister lost the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential ticket to the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in May 2022.
Atiku won the primary by 371 votes to defeat Wike who polled 237 votes, while a former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, scored 70 votes.
But following Atiku’s announcement of Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate, Wike and his camp in the PDP demanded the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, from his position.
With the continued refusal of Ayu to step down from his position, the Rivers governor took time to open several Pandora boxes and took Ayu and the PDP leadership to the cleaners.
PDP G5 governors
Following the fallout of PDP members after its presidential primary, Wike and other governors of the main ruling party formed what is now known as the PDP G5 governors. Other members of the group are Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
The governors have been meeting within and outside the country on the current crisis rocking the PDP. While peace moves have been made in the past by the party and its presidential candidate, the crisis has remained unresolved.
Osinbajo, Amaechi, Lawan’s dashed presidential hopes
Osinbajo, Amaechi, and Lawan tried their luck to clinch the APC presidential ticket but lost to Tinubu. Many political analysts and opinion leaders believed that the Vice President shouldn’t have contested against his erstwhile boss and political godfather.
Although other aspirants stepped down for Tinubu, those who refused to step down, contested and lost include Amaechi, Osinbajo, Lawan, Senator Rochas Okorocha, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Pastor Tunde Bakare and Mr Tein Jack-Rich.
Also, there were reports that the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, allegedly tried to impose Lawan as the ruling party’s consensus candidate, but a quick intervention and announcement by the Northern APC governors led by Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State cleared the path for Tinubu to coast to victory. But many claim that Osibanjo, Amaechi, and Lawan’s ambitions ‘relegated’ the trio to the political back seat in the scheme of things in the APC.
Peter Obi and ‘Obidient’ Movement
