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I think that this is something anyone who knows Nigerian politicians should have anticipated. Making Nigeria work will be a difficult task and to succeed you must find ways of dealing with all the roadblocks to progress that will be put by those who benefit from the current rotten system. Starting with getting a ticket. So perhaps this is your first real test. If you cannot find a way around the system and create a platform that works, then why should people trust that you will be able to govern Nigeria and make very difficult changes (all of which will be fiercely and violently opposed by the parasites currently sucking the life out of Nigeria). Goodwill alone will not work. Being nice will not work. This is why those of us watching could predict this outcome from the day you decided to partner with the very people you once accused of destroying the country. Did you think the people who you know benefit from Nigeria being the way it is would just let you have a platform with which you will snatch stolen food from their mouths? In the famous words of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, if you ride the tiger, you will end up in its belly. Nigeria is very difficult and it is bold even just to try. But you cannot assume you will do this by partnering with people whose very existence relies on the broken system. You still have the chance to go back and build the platform that millions of Nigerians gave you, one where you are not dependent on the whims of the very people you have so loudly condemned. You still have support among millions of Nigerians. This is not something you can rush. Because whatever they did to ADC they can do to NDC. In the end, as many of us fear, being a third (popular) candidate and splitting the votes has the potential of guaranteeing an even bigger win for the incumbent who currently has a stable political party, and the resources and will to stifle opposition. Either completely distinguish yourself from the rest and prepare to fight, or fully join them and play their game until you can find a way from within (highly unlikely but not impossible). You cannot have one hand on the table of dysfunction and hope that those who sit on that table with nowhere else to go will play fair and help you dismantle the table.

Fellow Nigerians, good morning. I woke up this morning after my church service with a deeply reflective heart, and despite every constraint, I felt compelled to share these thoughts with you. Many people do not truly understand the silent pains some of us carry daily—the private struggles, emotional burdens, and quiet battles we face while trying to survive and serve sincerely in difficult circumstances. We now live in an environment that has become increasingly toxic, where the very system that should protect and create opportunities for decent living often works against the people—a society where intimidation, insecurity, endless scrutiny, and discouragement have become normal. More painful is when some of those you associate with, believing you would find understanding and solidarity among them, become part of the pressure you face. Some who publicly identify with you privately distance themselves or join in unfair criticism. We live in a society where humility is mistaken for weakness, respect is seen as a lack of courage, and compassion is treated as foolishness—a system where treating people equally is questioned simply because you refuse to worship status, tribe, class, or power. Personally, I have never looked down on anyone except to uplift them. I have never used privilege, position, or resources to oppress others, intimidate the weak, or make people feel small. To me, leadership has always been about service, sacrifice, and helping others rise. Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them. However, the same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building. Even within spaces where one labours sincerely, one is sometimes treated like an outsider in one’s own home. You and your team become easy targets for every failure, frustration, or misunderstanding, as though honest contribution has become a favour being tolerated rather than appreciated. And when you choose to leave so that those you are leaving can have peace, and you step out into the cold, you are still maligned and your character is questioned. Despite all your efforts to continue working for a better Nigeria and engaging people with sincerity and goodwill, those who do not wish you well continue to attack your character and question your intentions. There are moments I ask God in prayer: Why is doing the right thing often misconstrued as wrongdoing in our country? Why is integrity not valued? Why is the prudent management of resources, especially when invested in critical areas like education and healthcare, wrongly labelled as stinginess? Why are humility and obedience to the rule of law often taken to be weakness rather than discipline? Let me assure all that I am not desperate to be President, Vice President, or Senate President. I am desperate to see a society that can console a mother whose child has been kidnapped or killed while going to school or work. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people will not live in IDP camps but in their homes. I am desperate for a country where Nigerian citizens do not go to bed hungry, not knowing where their next meal will come from. Yet, despite everything, I remain resolute. I firmly believe that Nigeria can still become a country with competent leadership based on justice, compassion, and equal opportunity for all. A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO