The Traffic

PRESIDENT TINUBU KNOWS OPPOSITION COALITIONISTS TOO WELL,  UNBOTHERED BY THEIR ANTICS

By Musa Bakare

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is no stranger to Nigeria’s rough and tumble politics. For over three decades, he has fought and won political battles that would have buried lesser men. 

From the days of military rule when he stood with NADECO, to the pitched battles against PDP hegemony as Lagos Governor, the struggles that birthed the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the very fierce battle for the occupation of Aso Rock, Asiwaju Tinubu has proven himself as one of Nigeria’s most tested political strategists.

It is this history that explains why, as the 2027 presidential election draws nearer, President Tinubu will never be rattled by the noise of opposition coalition politicians. He knows them too well. He understands their patterns of desperation, their culture of negative propaganda, and their obsession with power without vision. 

For Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, their remarks are nothing more than political chatter,  distractions to be ignored while he focuses on governance.

Today’s opposition forces are not new actors. They are politicians Nigerians have seen for decades. Many of them, unable to inspire genuine hope, fall back on the old playbook of name calling, propaganda, and coalition gimmicks.

They have contested for the presidency since 1993, always promising change but never able to inspire national consensus, struggles to break out of his myopic shell.

Some of them commands youthful passion, but lacks the political machinery to translate emotion into electoral victory, now wildering around coalition politics, but their credibility deficit makes them unconvincing to Nigerians.

President Tinubu has engaged each of these men at different points in his career, either as allies, adversaries, or rivals. He knows their strengths, their weaknesses, and their limits. Having defeated stronger and more united opposition in the past, he will not be unsettled by today’s fragmented coalitions.

To understand  Jagaban’s composure today, one must revisit his history of political resilience.

In the 1990s, when those now forming coalition were wholesomely morally compromised, Asiwaju Tinubu risked everything as part of NADECO, confronting Abacha’s dictatorship. He lived in exile, fought through underground networks, and helped keep democracy alive. A man who survived military dictatorship will not tremble at mere civilian opposition press conferences.

In the PDP Years, as Governor of Lagos state (1999–2007), Asiwaju Tinubu stood alone. The federal government seized Lagos funds, tried to weaken his administration, and unleashed political warfare. Asiwaju Tinubu responded by building internal capacity, growing Lagos’s IGR, and laying the foundation for the state’s current prosperity. He learned to govern under siege, a skill now useful as opposition politicians try to distract him.

Perhaps his greatest political triumph was forging the APC merger. Asiwaju Tinubu united unlikely allies across regions to dislodge PDP’s 16 years grip on power. That required patience, strategy, and foresight  qualities opposition politicians still underestimate.

Having conquered these storms, President Tinubu now faces opposition coalitionists with calm and confidence. He knows that negative remarks cannot undo decades of tested political sagacity.

Opposition coalition uncomlimentary remarks, no matter how loud, cannot shake Jagaban Tinubu because he knows their antics, propaganda, misinformation, and character assassination. He has faced them before. He knows their limits, their fragmented coalition will always collapse under the weight of personal ambition, greed and desperation.

President Tinubu knows Nigerian people, they  want  performance and results, not recycled promises. This is why he remains above the fray. He understands that the true measure of leadership is not in trading insults but in delivering reforms that touch lives.

While opposition coalition waste time in meetings, President Tinubu is writing a new chapter in governance. His reforms may be tough, but they are necessary to rescue Nigeria’s economy and reposition it for the future.

For decades, fuel subsidy was a cancer eating Nigeria from within. It drained trillions, enriched a few, and left the masses in poverty. In his first days in office, Tinubu scrapped it, freeing funds for development.

Multiple exchange rates created corruption and instability. Tinubu’s bold move to unify them restored transparency and gave confidence to investors. The economy is now being restructured on fairness and openness.

From the Lagos - Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto - Badagry Highway to renewed investments in rail, power, and housing, President Tinubu is laying foundations for productivity. He also reignited interest in Ajaokuta Steel a symbol of Nigeria’s industrial giant.

Understanding the hardship reforms bring, President Tinubu expanded cash transfers, food security programs, and support for farmers. He is cushioning the people even as he fixes the structural economy.

History teaches us that leaders who focus on reforms always outlast those who chase political shadows. The 2027 election will not be won by noise makers. It will not be decided by recycled slogans or empty promises. It will be decided by Nigerians who weigh who is bold, working hardest for their future.

While the opposition shouts, Jagaban works. While coalitionists scheme, he builds. That is why, ahead of 2027, he already stands on firmer moral and political ground and will win.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR knows opposition coalition politicians too well. He has fought tougher battles and defeated stronger foes. Their uncomlimentary remarks cannot shake him; their desperate coalitions cannot distract him.

His eyes are on the ball,   governance, reforms, and the longterm transformation of Nigeria. That is what will define 2027, not the noise of coalitionists who value power over progress.

For President Tinubu, the verdict is already tilting his way, PDP South West has  adopts him as their candidate ahead of 2027 presidential election, Asiwaju is indeed the master strategist, the grandmaster of coalition. His influence crosses party, region, religion, ethnic and other lines, that is not politics that is leadership. 

Nigerians sees the difference.  While coalitionists recycle ambition, he delivers reforms, while they plot, he builds. And that is why he will remain above the fray, unbothered, and focused on bettering the lives of Nigerians and will win their votes come 2027 massively.

Musa Asiru Bakare, member of the APC and political analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
August 27, 2025