As Nigeria inches towards another fiercely contested presidential election, Labour Party National Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, has challenged the political class to prove that the nation’s democracy is bigger than the ambition of any individual.
Usman said the survival of Nigeria’s democracy after the turbulent 2015 general election was largely secured by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to concede defeat rather than allow political power to become a trigger for violence.
She made the submission on Tuesday in Bauchi at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue, where political leaders and stakeholders gathered to examine the future of democracy in Africa.
The dialogue was themed, “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?”
According to Usman, Jonathan’s concession remains a rare example of political restraint in Nigeria, particularly because it came at a moment when the country faced widespread fears that the 2015 election could plunge it into violence.
She recalled that Jonathan had repeatedly declared that neither winning an election nor remaining in power was worth the life of a Nigerian.
When the moment came to choose between political power and national peace, she said, the former President honoured that principle.
Usman argued that Nigeria’s democratic continuity today is partly the dividend of that decision, asking whether the politicians preparing for 2027 possess the same capacity to sacrifice personal ambition for national stability.
She expressed concern over what she described as the increasingly inflammatory language emerging from rival political camps ahead of the next presidential election.
“Would any of the present-day presidential candidates be capable of making such sacrifices in the interest of the nation?” she asked.
Quoting Warren Buffett’s famous tree-and-shade analogy, Usman urged politicians to remember that democratic stability enjoyed today may have been secured by sacrifices made by leaders in the past.
She therefore called on all presidential aspirants and political parties to play by the rules, warning that the true measure of democratic leadership is not simply the ability to win but also the courage to accept defeat when necessary.
Labour Party positions itself for 2027
Turning to the 2027 contest, Usman declared the Labour Party the most structurally positioned opposition party in the country.
She hinged the claim on the party’s relationship with the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, which she said gives Labour an organisational advantage across the country.
According to her, no opposition party is better positioned to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress than the Labour Party.
She consequently urged political parties considering a coalition ahead of 2027 to collapse their structures into the Labour Party.
Usman argued that Labour remains the only opposition platform with a realistic organisational presence across Nigeria’s polling units.
The remarks came against the backdrop of growing efforts by opposition parties and political groups to forge a common platform capable of challenging the APC in the 2027 presidential election.
The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue attracted former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President Namadi Sambo, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, former Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, APC Deputy National Chairman, South, Dr Ben Nwoye, and the Emir of Bauchi, HRM Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, among other dignitaries.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the central question raised by Usman goes beyond who wins the presidency: whether Nigeria’s political class can place the survival of democracy above the pursuit of power.
