![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7eced419-36c6-4736-99dc-17b1bbdab212-200x300.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nBy Dave Agboola<\/b><\/p>\n
In Nigeria\u2019s political theatre, the stage has long been dominated by actors who treat parties like rented costumes\u2014discarded once they no longer fit the moment. This phenomenon, which I call political banditry, is the reckless switching of platforms without ideological conviction, a practice that has eroded trust and left citizens wondering if loyalty to principle even exists in our democracy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Take Atiku Abubakar for instance. Since 1999, his political journey has resembled a restless nomad\u2019s trek across the savannah. PDP, AC, back to PDP, then APC, then PDP again, and now whispers of ADC. His movements are less about conviction and more about convenience. Nigerians have watched him reinvent himself at every election cycle, not with new ideas but with new party logos. This is not strategy\u2014it is opportunism dressed up as pragmatism.<\/p>\n
Peter Obi, hailed by many as the \u201cpeople\u2019s candidate,\u201d has unfortunately fallen into a similar trap. From APGA to PDP, then Labour Party, and now murmurs of ADC or NDC, Obi\u2019s trajectory suggests a man perpetually searching for a platform rather than building one. His supporters, especially the youth, must ask themselves: what ideology anchors Obi\u2019s politics? Is it sustainable to keep chasing sentiment without structure? The truth is harsh\u2014sentiment alone cannot deliver power in Nigeria\u2019s political landscape.<\/p>\n
Contrast this with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Love him or loathe him, his path has been marked by consistency and structure. From AD to AC, then ACN, and finally the APC, Tinubu did not merely hop from one party to another\u2014he built platforms, merged blocs, and consolidated structures. The APC is not an accident; it is the culmination of years of deliberate political engineering. That steadfastness is why he could ride the same platform into Aso Rock.<\/p>\n
The lesson here is clear: in Nigerian politics, structure beats sentiment. Atiku\u2019s frequent movements and Obi\u2019s repositioning betray a lack of ideological backbone. Tinubu\u2019s builder path, on the other hand, demonstrates that longevity in politics comes from constructing a house sturdy enough to withstand storms, not from endlessly renting rooms in other people\u2019s mansions.<\/p>\n
For Nigerians, especially Obi\u2019s supporters, this should be an eye-opener. Passion is admirable, but passion without structure is wasted energy. Political banditry\u2014jumping from one platform to another\u2014weakens democracy, confuses voters, and reduces politics to a game of survival rather than service. If we truly want change, we must demand ideology, consistency, and the courage to build rather than borrow.<\/p>\n
Nigeria\u2019s future cannot be entrusted to political bandits. It belongs to builders. And until our politicians learn that, the cycle of opportunism will continue to rob us of genuine progress.<\/p>\n
Agboola writes from Lagos, Nigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Nigeria\u2019s political theatre, the stage has long been dominated by actors who treat parties like rented costumes\u2014discarded once they no longer fit the moment. This phenomenon, which I call political banditry, is the reckless switching of platforms without ideological conviction, a practice that has eroded trust and left citizens wondering if loyalty to principle even exists in our democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[871,111,125,92,9366,11579,22,193],"class_list":["post-26506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-adc","tag-apc","tag-atiku","tag-nigeria","tag-obi","tag-political-banditry","tag-politics","tag-tinubu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26506"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26506"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26511,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26506\/revisions\/26511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblogonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}