…A legal dispute turns into a spectacle of agitation, rumours, and political excess.
https://www.digital.zenithbank.com/ZEQ/ZEQ-jan-2026/index.html#p=1Few political controversies capture Nigeria’s contradictions as vividly as the ongoing ADC saga. The debate and agitation surrounding the issue are as intriguing as they are peculiarly Nigerian. The political space has become increasingly heated by dramatists who trivialise serious matters, reducing weighty national questions to personal and, at times, ridiculous spectacles.
At its core, the derecognition of Senator David Mark’s leadership of the ADC by INEC is a legal issue, pure and simple. What is contradictory, however, is the desperation of opposing factions, each seeking to outdo the other through sponsored demonstrations. Such actions are not only worthless and incompetent, but they also amount to little more than garrulous political gymnastics, noise without substance.
Before rushing to conclusions or taking sides, we would do well to recall the old Latin wisdom, audi alteram partem, hear the other party. No narrative is ever complete without the opposing voice. Given the claims and allegations, serious ones at that, INEC deserves commendation for subjecting the matter to review and maintaining a neutral posture. In doing so, it has rightly surrendered the issue to the courts for proper legal interpretation and judgment.
The attempt to drag the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, into this controversy is both absurd and unnecessary. Equally misplaced is the reflexive invocation of the ruling party. Such reactions betray not strength, but a troubling mix of hypocrisy and incompetence within sections of the ADC leadership.
Rumours have flourished, been fabricated, embellished, and romanticised. Those who peddle them know exactly what they are doing, yet persist in hoodwinking a gullible public. What we are witnessing is a tangled web of whispers, half-truths, and concealed motives. These are best left to be unravelled through due legal process by those committed to seeking truth beyond surface-level chatter. Let the courts decide.
It is also curious that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is reportedly engaging Washington-based interests to shape his narrative abroad. There is, without doubt, more here than meets the eye. Likewise, claims that the ADC is appointing representatives across twelve global locations sound more like audios than credible political strategy. If anything, such developments point to a deeper societal unease, a troubling indictment of our institutions and the state of our democracy.
What we are witnessing cuts across the political landscape like an unforgiving convergence of personal animosity, entrenched political hatred, and a dangerous my-way-or-the-highway mentality.
At moments like this, political maturity must prevail. Conflict and dissatisfaction are inevitable in any democratic society. Differences in opinion on how best to serve the common good are not only natural but necessary. However, when actions begin to tilt toward destabilising the state, the question of altruism and the pretence surrounding it is laid bare.
We appear, sadly, to be drifting under the force of centrifugal acceleration, pulling us further apart. One is left to question the sincerity and genuineness of the unity so often professed. It seems to have evaporated far too quickly, leaving behind a fragile and uncertain political landscape.
In the end, law must not only prevail, it must be seen to prevail. Let the law take its course. Let reason prevail over noise.
Olufemi Adefemiwa writes from the United States of America.
