2027: I have preference among opposition leaders, but they don’t know arithmetic — Onaiyekan
Former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan has said he has a preferred candidate among opposition leaders seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections, but criticised them for failing to unite behind a common alternative.
Onaiyekan warned that allowing multiple opposition candidates to split votes against the ruling party could enable the incumbent government to win by default.
The cardinal spoke in an interview on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, where he urged opposition leaders to set aside their individual ambitions and work towards presenting Nigerians with a viable alternative in the next general election.
He said Nigerians should prepare to use their votes to assess the performance of their leaders rather than resign themselves to the belief that elections could not bring change.
“Once in four years during the election, the people have the opportunity to assess their leaders. Their leaders, who are supposed to be also their representatives, not their bosses,” he said.
Onaiyekan urged Nigerians dissatisfied with the government’s performance to use their voter cards to demand a change, describing the election as the democratic means of holding political leaders accountable.
He also faulted those who had lost faith in elections, saying the country was not ready to return to military rule.
According to him, the major concern ahead of 2027 is whether voters will have credible alternatives to choose from.
“We all know who the government is, but we don’t know what the alternative is,” he said.
The cardinal argued that opposition leaders who individually claim they can defeat Tinubu risk undermining their own chances if they fail to agree on a common candidate.
“Five people saying this government is not good, and each one says it’s me who will rule. They don’t know arithmetic,” he said.
He added, “If five of you are opposing one man, and you are telling all of us to scatter our votes among you, don’t you know that by simple arithmetic, the status quo will simply win by default?”
Asked whether he supported a coalition among opposition leaders, Onaiyekan said the different groups and individuals needed to find common ground and present a candidate capable of challenging the ruling party.
“Whatever you call the names, these scattered voices should find a way of coming together to give us a viable alternative that we can vote for,” he said.
Although he disclosed that he had a preferred opposition figure, the cardinal said individual preferences would not necessarily produce the change Nigerians wanted if opposition leaders remained divided.
“It’s not as if, among the so many of them, I don’t have my preference, but I’m not happy if I vote my preference. You vote your own, and they vote their own,” he said.
Onaiyekan said the opposition needed to agree not only on rejecting the current administration but also on what should replace it.
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