The APC primaries have left behind an admixture of raw emotions, balancing the thrills and frills of victory against the agony of defeat. Across the states, the political fallout is clearly obvious; some aspirants feel deeply betrayed by their governors, while others who recently decamped are betting big on presidential backing to save them. This internal friction remains inevitable because the sheer number of contenders will always outstrip the available political seats. Unfortunately, many politicians today lack an understanding of personal sacrifice, patience, and the strategic necessity of simply waiting for one’s turn.

This gap in understanding stems from a pervasive psychological trap in our political culture: the unshakeable, blind conviction of “I will win.” Even when an aspirant’s actual support base does not extend beyond their immediate household, this feeling persists. It is a mindset completely divorced from reality, which explains the deep shock, bitter disappointment, and immediate claims of betrayal that follow whenever actual election results are announced.

An experienced politician, one who has drunk deeply from the preserved cup of real-world political experience knows their true standing long before the ballots are cast. They can accurately read the room and determine whether they will win or lose. The same cannot be said about candidates like Desmond, who insisted on running despite being completely dropped by his political godfather. Even after his mentor had pushed, financed, and supported him at least three times in the past to secure a seat, Desmond still refused to see the writing on the wall when the godfather backed someone else. In a high-stakes scenario like that, a seasoned politician knows they are supposed to withdraw, protect their resources, and live to fight another day.

We can contrast that stubborn approach with the tactical maturity displayed by a PDP Senator in Kebbi. After decamping to APC on the assumption that he would automatically land the ticket, he ran into a major disagreement with the governor. Realizing instantly that the governor’s endorsement was out of the question, he wisely and quietly withdrew from the race to regroup his forces. Knowing when to step back isn’t cowardice; it is elite political strategy.

Yet, amidst the chaos and mixed feelings of these primaries, a powerful silver lining has emerged. The intense competition has given ordinary party loyalists a renewed sense of belonging and real leverage. It handed the rank-and-file the ultimate tool to pay back those arrogant elected officials who abandoned the party structure or virtually divorced the party once they tasted power. The primaries effectively restored the ultimate power of choice to the grassroots.

On social media and across communities, the sheer intensity of the contest became a viral talking point, with one online user noting that “this thing hot pass general election o.” This intense friction has successfully reawakened the dormant political spirit of the party members. However, energy without sustenance is like a well without water. If this momentum is not properly capitalized on right now, it will become a short-lived fad, a burst of political energy that vanishes into thin air long before the general election arrives.

This moment presents the perfect opportunity to harness this raw energy and turn it into a landslide victory in 2027. To do this, a page must be torn out of the ingenious political playbook of the BAT-Home-Cell framework. The BAT-Home-Cell is engineered to serve a triple purpose: to reconcile aggrieved members who feel neglected and bring them back into the fold, to maintain and deepen the loyalty of the existing base, and to aggressively win over new members into the party. It functions essentially as a mobile political party, taking politics out of distant secretariats and dropping it directly at the grassroots level.

It is beyond doubt that the national leadership cannot possibly know every card carrying member, and even the closest local stakeholders cannot keep track of everyone face-to-face. The BAT-Home-Cell is designed to bridge this exact communication gap. By breaking the party structure down into ultra-local micro-units spanning a minimum of five houses and a maximum of 10 houses per cell the party can organize intimate, localized meetings accompanied by light refreshments. This approach makes politics feel hospitable, conversational, and deeply personal. Furthermore, it creates an information hub where members who have benefited from government programs can share their testimonies, while simultaneously educating those who haven’t on exactly how to access social welfare, grants, and interventions.

Crucially, this model views the political party as a holistic family rather than just an election-season voting machine. The BAT-Home-Cell goes a step further by identifying members facing acute financial difficulties, mapping out households that cannot afford to send their children to school, and creating a micro-economy where party families patronize each other’s businesses. A true political family does not just show up to look for you when it is time to vote; it looks out for its own even when election season is completely out of view. By tapping into this initiative and embedding itself into the daily survival of the people, the party will completely reawaken its base and ensure no member is left behind on the road to 2027.

‎
Bamidele Atoyebi is the Convener of BAT Ideological Group, National Coordinator of Accountability and Policy Monitoring and a publisher at Unfiltered and Mining Reporting