by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
The long awaited Peter Obi, Mal. Nasir El-Rufai and Atiku Abubakar alliance ahead of 2027 democratic dispensation has been faulted and described as a “Carefully Laid Trap and Coalition of Deception” by a patriotic Nigerian, Mr. Meche Oswald.
This critics were contained in an elaborate statement where Mr. Meche Oswald watered-down the composition and again described it as “dangerous political trap” designed not to build a new Nigeria, but to bury the very hope of it.
His word: “In Nigeria’s high-stakes political arena, not every handshake is born of peace, and not every alliance is rooted in goodwill. Recent reports suggesting a coalition talk between Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, and Atiku Abubakar have stirred both curiosity and concern across the country, especially among Obi’s supporters, the Obidients. But behind the smiles and symbolic gestures lies a dangerous political trap, one designed not to build a new Nigeria, but to bury the very hope of it.
Let’s peel back the layers. The Wound That Never Healed: El-Rufai’s Grudge Against Obi.
In 2006, during the Anambra State gubernatorial election, Nasir El-Rufai, then the powerful Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, arrived in the state as an election observer. Governor Peter Obi ordered his arrest and detention, citing a breach of protocol and security concerns, El-Rufai entered the state without notifying the governor or relevant authorities.
Though, El-Rufai was released shortly after, the humiliation never left him. He has repeatedly referenced the incident, bitterly, over the years. In a public interview, he said: “Peter Obi as governor got me arrested and detained when I visited Anambra as an election observer. I was treated like a common criminal. I will never forget.”
Dear reader, now ask yourself, is this the kind of man who suddenly develops a political ‘romance’ with the very person he publicly swore never to forgive? Or is this something more sinister, a well-orchestrated vendetta cloaked in diplomacy?
What about El-Rufai and His Track Record of Anti-Igbo Sentiments?
Nasir El-Rufai is not just holding a personal grudge against Peter Obi; his track record reveals deep-seated disdain toward the Igbo people as a whole. From his controversial statements during elections to threats of violence, his rhetoric has often come across as divisive, exclusionary, and inflammatory.
Why then would he suddenly seek to partner with the supposed leading political voice of the Igbo people in 2023, the same Peter Obi whose movement has awakened a generation and given many Easterners a sense of long-lost political agency?
Simple. He wants to kill that movement from the inside. El-Rufai, always the tactician, knows he cannot defeat Peter Obi in an open contest. So, the next best strategy? Infiltrate. Undermine. Destroy.
Then comes the Waziri of Adamawa, former Vice President of Nigeria, Alh Atiku Abubakar, the perennial presidential aspirant who sees Peter Obi as the obstacle that ruined his last shot at Aso Rock.
In 2019, Obi was Atiku’s running mate; a move Atiku believed would help him secure Southeast votes. But by 2023, Obi had risen in stature and refused to play the second fiddle. He launched his own campaign, inspired a generational movement, and did what no third-force candidate had done in decades – win in Lagos, FCT, and dominate across the Southeast and South-South.
Atiku has never forgiven him for that. Behind closed doors and in public insinuations, Atiku refers to Obi as “my boy”, an unspoken but clear reminder that in his mind, Obi was only meant to serve, not lead.
Now, as talks of a coalition surface, Atiku’s intentions are not unity or progress. It’s payback. If Atiku cannot be president, then he believes Peter Obi should not dare to dream of it, either.
The Coalition is a Trojan Horse. A lion does not share the throne, and vultures don’t gather around a healthy body. The so-called ‘coalition’ is a carefully baited trap, designed to do one thing: dismantle Peter Obi’s credibility, confuse his supporters, and fracture the only genuinely organic political movement Nigeria has seen in decades – the Obidient Movement.
If Obi walks into this alliance, many of his supporters will become disillusioned, unsure of what he stands for anymore. It will appear as though he has returned to the same political establishment he once rejected, the same system that mocked, marginalized and manipulated him. For his enemies, that loss of clarity is victory enough.
And then, there’s the subtext, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the sitting president and master of realpolitik. A divided opposition is the best gift he could ever ask for in 2027. If El-Rufai – once part of Tinubu’s inner circle – is now courting Peter Obi, we must ask: Who is he really working for?
Many suspect that El-Rufai’s new “friendly” posture is not genuine outreach but a strategic assignment – to infiltrate Obi’s movement, create confusion, sow division, and leave the base shattered before the next election.
It’s classic divide-and-rule, and sadly, it’s working on some. Obidients, Get Sense. This is not the time for confusion. It is the time for clarity.
Peter Obi represents a new vision – youthful, disruptive, people-powered politics. Aligning with those, who symbolize everything this vision opposes, will not strengthen it; it will erase its meaning.
El-Rufai has not forgotten. Atiku has not forgiven. And the establishment has not stopped plotting.
The coalition is not a handshake. It is a chokehold in disguise. Nigeria’s future will not be built by those who ruined its past.
Let those with ears, hear.
*#ObidientsGetSense* *#HistoryMatters*