By Kashim Ibrahim-Imam

Ahead of the 2027 general elections the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has become a beautiful bride of sorts to prominent opposition politicians who are determined to stop the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

Of recent, the ADC has emerged as a platform for coalition-seeking politicians from the APC, People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and Labour Party, LP, among others. Those in support of the coalition with ADC as vehicle include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the PDP 2023 presidential candidate; his LP counterpart, Mr Peter Obi; former Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi; former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai; and former Senate President, David Mark.

The ADC was adopted as a coalition party in 2019 but it did not make a huge impact. Will it succeed in 2027 giving the calibre of politicians that have joined its platform

Commenting on the chances of the nascent coalition, Mr Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, a public affairs analyst, said in a political climate where the powerful silence dissent, every act of resistance becomes an act of patriotism.

According to him, the African Democratic Congress may not be revolutionary, but its refusal to vanish from the 2027 ballot could be the most consequential act of national courage since Nigeria’s return to democracy.

He continued: The ADC is no stranger to Nigerian politics. It is not new, not young, and not without baggage. Yet, at a time when it mattered most—when President Tinubu’s perceived vision of a one-party state seemed inevitable, ADC leaders are saying no to one party state.

And that stance, in the current political atmosphere, is no less than a lifeline for our democracy. In refusing to be bulldozed, bought, or buried, the ADC did not only save itself.

It may have also saved the Republic. Before now, we were already threading on the dangerous path of

President Tinubu’s legacy in Lagos where he presided over two decades of democratic suffocation which was scaling nationally.

It was unfortunate that once vibrant Governors were almost silenced to the consternation of Nigerians. Even members of the National Assembly who ought to stand on their feets were turned into choir of yes-men. The Opposition which should be the bastion of democracy have been utterly fractured and infiltrated. Critical State institutions aligned not with the constitution, but with President Tinubu’s personal ambition. Even before seeking a second term in office, he already enjoyed unquestioned control of the state.

This is not a democracy under construction it’s a palace under siege.

Importance of the coalition

The ADC coalition is important. No one is throwing a party for the ADC. They are not poster children for change. But they are the ones who didn’t step aside.

And sometimes, that is the only difference between a nation that lives and one that loses itself. Their continued existence on the 2027 ballot does three critical things: Breaks the illusion of inevitability around Tinubu’s reign, keeps political competition alive and gives the people one more shot at reclaiming the future.

Democracy does not always need angels. Sometimes it just needs survivors who won’t quit.

This is the time for the middle class to wake up. This is a call to Nigeria’s thinkers, builders, and believers, the engineers, doctors, and entrepreneurs exhausted by bad governance. The students and graduates whose brilliance is wasted in joblessness. The diaspora citizens looking back home with dread and disbelief.

You do not have to love the ADC. But you must understand this: If Tinubu succeeds in erasing choice, your country disappears next. If there’s no one left to vote for, what will be left to live in? We are not asking you to wear ADC colours. We are asking you to celebrate the principle they’ve upheld the principle that no man, no matter how rich, ruthless, or revered, should own Nigeria. This is not a victory for the ADC. This is a victory for the idea that our democracy still breathes. And in 2027, that breathe may be the only thing standing between us and a political tombstone.