By Bamidele Atoyebi

Nigeria’s political establishment has spent decades confusing political longevity with political competence. But having spent years contesting elections, occupying public offices and moving between political parties does not automatically make one a better politician. Sometimes, it only exposes lack of consistency and inability to build something sustainable.

A comparison between Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Omoyele Sowore offers a compelling illustration.

Atiku’s political journey dates back to the early 1990s. He contested the Social Democratic Party’s presidential primary in 1993, finishing third behind MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe. He was elected governor of Adamawa State in 1998 before becoming vice president under Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007. Since then, his political peregrinations has been characterised by repeated party switches, from the Action Congress to the PDP, then the APC, back to the PDP, and eventually the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

For a politician with more than three decades of experience, this raises a fundamental question: what exactly has Atiku built politically that can survive without his personal presidential ambition?

His latest move to the ADC was particularly questionable. A politician of his pedigree should understand the importance of conducting proper due diligence before jumping into a party. Yet, the ADC’s leadership crisis culminated in a Federal High Court judgment on November 5, 2026, nullifying the David Mark-led leadership and Atiku’s presidential nomination. The party has announced plans to appeal, but the horse has already bolted from the stable and damage to its political credibility near irreversible.

The question is not whether Atiku is experienced. He is. The question is whether that experience has translated into sound political judgment.

Peter Obi presents a similar, though not identical, case. He began his political journey with APGA, under which he became governor of Anambra State. He subsequently moved to the PDP, contested as Atiku’s running mate in 2019, defected to the Labour Party in 2022 and joined the ADC in December 2025. By May 2026, he had like a speck seeking new landing spot at every shaking, moved again, this time to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Obi’s 2023 presidential performance was significant. According to INEC, he secured 6,101,533 votes, while Atiku polled 6,984,520. Those figures demonstrate considerable electoral appeal. However, electoral popularity does not translate to ability to build and sustain a political institution.

The Labour Party’s internal leadership crisis, which intensified during Obi’s tenure on its platform, raises questions about the durability of the political structure behind his movement. His subsequent departures from the LP and ADC further reinforce the concern that Nigeria’s opposition politicians are fair weather politicians and often better at mobilising around personalities than building stable institutions.

Sowore, on the other hand, offers a different political proposition.

In 2018, he established the African Action Congress (AAC), creating a political platform through which he contested the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections. Unlike Atiku and Obi, he has remained associated with the same party and has continued to pursue his political ambitions through it.

This is not to suggest that the AAC has been free of internal crises. It experienced a leadership dispute in 2019, which eventually reached the courts. However, the Court of Appeal affirmed Sowore as the party’s national chairman in 2022. The distinction is that Sowore has continued to invest in his own political platform rather than jumping ship at every little challenge like the duo of Atiku and Obi in pursuit of presidential ticket.

That is a meaningful demonstration of political consistency.

Atiku and Obi have held elective offices, and their administrative experience cannot simply be dismissed. But political leadership requires more than a résumé of public offices. It requires strategic thinking, institutional development, consistency and the ability to build structures that outlast individual ambitions.

Sowore’s electoral numbers remain modest. INEC recorded 33,953 votes for him in 2019 and 14,608 in 2023. These figures do not establish that he has greater electoral strength than Atiku or Obi. What they do reveal is that he has continued to contest through a platform he helped establish, despite the limited electoral returns.

The argument, therefore, is not that Sowore has already demonstrated superior presidential leadership. He has not held an executive public office comparable to Atiku’s vice presidency or Obi’s governorship. Rather, the argument is that he demonstrates a stronger commitment to independent political institution-building and consistency.

What I understand about Sowore, and one similarity he shares with PBAT, is consistency. A principled man sticks to his convictions, while opportunists recycle political parties after every election cycle. Every politician alive will go to Bourdillon after 2031 for Politics 101.

Nigeria needs politicians who can hbuild, not merely inherit, occupy or abandon political platforms at every challenge. If decades of political experience still leave a politician dependent on the next available party to pursue a presidential ambition, then that experience deserves serious scrutiny.

Atiku and Obi may be more established politicians in the conventional sense. But on the question of political consistency, party ownership and the willingness to build an enduring platform, Sowore has a stronger case.

And perhaps that is the distinction Nigeria needs to begin making: between politicians who have spent decades in the game and politicians who are genuinely building something.

Comrade Bamidele Atoyebi is the Convenor of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Ideological Group, National Coordinator of Accountability and Policy Monitoring PR and a publisher of Unfiltered and Mining reports.