…charges 2027 presidential candidates on sacrifice
By Ime Silas
Nigeria’s democracy is still standing today not by accident, but because of the personal sacrifices made by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, National Chairman of the Labour Party, Senator Nenadi Usman said.
Speaking to journalists in Bauchi on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue, Senator Usman said the country was pulled back from the brink of political crisis when Jonathan conceded defeat even before the final votes were counted in the presidential election.
According to her, that single act redefined politics in Nigeria and set a standard that current office seekers must emulate as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.
“Nigeria’s democracy survived the doomsday predictions of bookmakers in 2015 because of President Jonathan’s concession of defeat in that year’s election, even before the final votes were tallied,” Usman said.
She described the move as unprecedented on the Nigerian political horizon. “Such a principled approach to politics had never before been witnessed on the Nigerian political horizon,” she added.
The Labour Party Chairman recalled that from the inception of Jonathan’s presidency, he maintained consistently that neither his election nor remaining in power was worth the blood of any Nigerian. She noted that when that position was put to the test, the former President lived up to it.
“On the day that this oft-repeated refrain was put to the test, the former President lived up to his preaching,” Usman said.
The 2026 edition of the annual lecture series of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation held in Bauchi with the theme, “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?” The dialogue drew political leaders, traditional rulers and civil society actors from across the country and beyond.
Among those in attendance were former President Olusegun Obasanjo, founder of the Foundation and former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President Namadi Sambo, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023 Mr. Peter Obi, former Plateau State Governor Jonah David Jang, APC Deputy National Chairman South Dr. Ben Nwoye, and the Emir of Bauchi, HRM Dr. Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu CFR.
Using the forum to speak to politicians eyeing the 2027 presidency, Usman urged them to play by the rules and to prioritize national interest over personal ambition. She quoted American investor Warren Buffett to buttress her point.
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago,” she said. “The democracy Nigerians practise today has survived till this day because Jonathan made sacrifices in the past.”
She then posed a direct challenge to the current political class. “Given the enormity of inflammatory rhetoric coming from the camps of political parties, if any of the present-day presidential candidates would be capable of making such sacrifices in the interest of the nation,” she wondered.
Shifting to party matters, the former Minister of Finance said the Labour Party is entering the next election cycle as the most structured opposition platform in the country. She argued that with the backing of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, both constitutional members of the party, Labour is uniquely positioned to challenge the ruling APC.
“The Labour Party is the most structured political party in Nigeria going into the next general elections,” Usman stated, maintaining that “With the combined strength of the NLC and the TUC, no Nigerian political party is better positioned to show the APC government the exit door than the Labour Party.”
She also made a pitch to other opposition parties considering a coalition ahead of 2027. According to her, they should collapse their structures into the Labour Party, which she said remains the only opposition party with a realistic presence in all 186,000 polling units nationwide.
The Bauchi dialogue ended with calls for stronger political parties, an independent judiciary, and a culture of issue-based politics as Nigeria prepares for another electoral cycle.
