“Democracy, in my humble opinion, is the best kind of government and the rule of law man’s victory over the capricious use of power.”Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1909–1987).

Any country that has lost its history would undoubtedly be condemned to a lack of a thorough knowledge of its political, social, cultural, and traditional values. Before recently, Nigeria was at a crossroads when Olusegun Obasanjo, the country’s president, outlawed history as a subject in schools for the vile reason of trying to hide his shady political past.

Any Nigerian who is currently forty years of age or older may not, unless they work for it, have any historical awareness of the significance of our late political icon and sage, Chief Jeremiah Oyeniyi Obafemi Awolowo, to our wonderful nation because of Obasanjo’s local and presidential neglect. Awolowo, who passed away on May 9, 1987, is still regarded as the unquestionable father of progressive politics in Nigeria.

I apologize to the late Biafran warlord Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, but Awolowo will always be remembered as the “best president Nigeria never had” because of his lasting legacy. Additionally, Awolowo will always be regarded as the most prominent, knowledgeable, and powerful one-man political opposition this potentially great nation has ever produced—as long as Nigeria exists. Throughout his life, Awolowo was just as powerful as his political groups, which spanned both the first and second republics. His political organization, the Action Group, AG, which was founded on March 21, 1951, was as powerful as he was throughout the first republic. More importantly, the party was a rift in the fabric of the central government at the time and was firmly embedded in the hearts of his people.

Awolowo was a powerful opposition leader at the time, and the ruling party would suffer politically if it ignored him. In the first republic, his imprisonment served as a sign of the political era’s nunc dimittis. At that time, the Awolowo opposition phenomenon was so powerful.

Let’s go ahead to the second republic. Awolowo ran under his progressive Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), but he was unsuccessful. Although his UPN had the greatest and most empirically supported political party manifesto/program in Nigerian history, Awolowo continued to be a particularly powerful and effective opposition voice against mal-governance until the fall of that republic and beyond.

When Awolowo was the Premier of the Western Region in the 1950s, he founded his Action Group party, which is based on his welfare-socialism political philosophy. No Nigerian, educated or not, can dispute Awolowo’s developmental and progressive influence, which has made his region one that other sections of the country follow and envy, whether in the ancient western region, the present southwestern Nigeria, or the entire country. Free health care, free education at all levels, full employment for all residents, and integrated rural development are all programs that his party successfully implemented and that have been deemed too idealistic to accomplish by the nation’s succeeding administrations.

Awolowo is a selfless, intellectually astute, and prophetic opponent. He wrote to National Party of Nigeria (NPN) President Shehu Shagari in 1981, stating that the “ship of state is fast approaching a huge rock” and that Nigeria would suffer “unspeakable disaster” if nothing changed.

His warning was disregarded, and the disastrous results are, as they say, history. In the southwest of the country, no political party has been able to duplicate the Awolowo uniform cardinal program magic wand, not even in modern-day Nigeria.

Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida established a Political Bureau under the leadership of Professor Samuel Cookey just months after seizing power in a military coup in August 1985. Naturally, at the time, Awolowo was one of the prominent Nigerians summoned by the Bureau. However, Awolowo identified the Babangida abracadabra when no one else did in his brave letter to Professor Cookey dated February 28, 1986. “I do fervently and will continue to fervently pray that I may be proven wrong,” he said, speaking truth to ruthless military might. Because I have a strong gut feeling that the quest we have started is pointless. We would be extremely dissatisfied when the new order finally materializes. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the current president of Nigeria, was among the members of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) group that emerged from the horrific conclusion of that experience, which prevented Nigeria from having its best elections ever. At the time, few Nigerians took him seriously.

No opposition figure in modern-day Nigeria possesses the political ideological discipline and selflessness of an Awolowo. Now, despite current political divisions, we have avaricious political harlots posing as advocates for the public. They attack current leaders and the government for financial and appointment chances and criticize for their own personal gain rather than the good of the group.

The political opposition had a strong base thanks to Awolowo. Whether you like him or not, there is no denying his political savvy, moral integrity, and unwavering discipline. The administration of the time shuddered when Awolowo spoke. He served as the moral and political conscience of his time, something Nigeria has yet to replicate. Awolowo offered other viewpoints free of pointless resistance to a shared national issue.

In contrast to the selfless oppositional model of Awolowo, the modern opposition squandered a great deal of time, effort, and money settling preventable internal party disputes and divisions, leaving little opportunity for any significant checks on the current administration.

In the nation’s current political parties, there are numerous instances of power struggles and divisions that hinder the development of significant opposition. Because to their leaders’ insatiable desire for power and financial gain, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Labour Party (LP), and the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) are currently in avoidable political binds.

These political parties’ leadership lacks the political legitimacy and credentials necessary to persuade voters that they would be a good successor for the current administration.

Which person, Peter Obi or Atiku Abubakar, has crossed political parties in their excessive desire to control this nation, in defiance of any recognized ideology? Could it be Rabiu Kwankwaso or any of the former politicians running for president without any set policy programs or principles?

Nigeria’s opposition is disorganized and lacks coherence. They continue to harbor the delusion of taking control in this chaotic condition without a clear or alternative vision for governing. Instead of the nation’s opposition’s present weak and disorganized front, where is the intended strategic direction?

Is the current opposition able to hold the ruling party effectively accountable? The current opposition is unclear in its ideology. Rather than reinforcing their opposing base, they are more concerned with facilitating easy alignment with the ruling party. The absence of a strong message from the political establishment makes it understandable why the opposition always finds it difficult to carve out a place in the electoral landscape.

The opposition of today is still looking for a “Awolowo,” and finding answers to the nation’s ongoing security and economic problems is becoming increasingly difficult.