Former Atiku campaign spokesman sounds the alarm on opposition strategy ahead of 2027 presidential battle
If you think the 2027 presidential election is going to be a straightforward affair, think again. Kenneth Okonkwo, the popular Nollywood actor turned politician and former spokesman for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign, has dropped a bombshell that is already generating serious conversations in political circles across Nigeria.
His message? Simple and direct — if Peter Obi dares to face President Bola Tinubu one-on-one in 2027, he should expect to be swallowed whole.
“Tinubu Will Eat Him Like Biscuits”
In his characteristically blunt style, Okonkwo did not mince words when assessing the Labour Party presidential candidate’s chances against the incumbent. According to him, going into the 2027 elections without a solid opposition coalition would be political suicide for anyone hoping to unseat Tinubu from Aso Rock.
The colourful warning — that Tinubu would “eat Peter Obi like biscuits” — is more than just a spicy sound bite. It speaks to a deeper political reality that many Nigerians already understand: incumbency is a powerful weapon in Nigerian politics, and President Tinubu, love him or loathe him, is not a man who takes political battles lightly.
The Coalition Question
Okonkwo’s position is clear — the opposition must unite. A fragmented opposition, he argues, is exactly what the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would love to see heading into 2027. When opposition votes are scattered among multiple candidates, it becomes nearly impossible to defeat a sitting president with the full weight of federal might behind him.
This is not a new conversation in Nigerian politics. Many political analysts have long argued that the reason the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party failed to dislodge Tinubu in 2023 was largely due to the lack of a unified opposition front. Atiku and Obi ran separately, splitting the anti-APC vote right down the middle — and we all saw how that story ended.
What This Means for 2027
For everyday Nigerians — from the market women in Onitsha to the okada riders in Kano, from the students in Ibadan to the oil workers in Port Harcourt — the 2027 election represents something bigger than party loyalty. It is about who will address the biting cost of living, fix the naira, create jobs for our teeming youth, and restore a sense of dignity to Nigerian life.
But here is the hard truth: good intentions alone do not win elections in Nigeria. Strategy matters. Structure matters. And numbers — especially unified numbers — matter most of all.
Okonkwo’s warning should serve as a wake-up call not just to Peter Obi and the Labour Party, but to every opposition figure who genuinely wants change in 2027. The obidient movement showed that Nigerians are hungry for something different. That energy, however, must be channelled smartly.
The Ball Is Now in the Opposition’s Court
Whether Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, and other opposition figures can set aside their individual ambitions to form a formidable coalition remains the biggest political question of the moment. Nigerian political history is littered with examples of “big men” whose egos got in the way of progress.
One thing is certain — 2027 is shaping up to be one of the most consequential elections in Nigeria’s democratic history. And if the opposition does not get its act together, they may find out the hard way that Kenneth Okonkwo’s biscuit warning was not just talk.
The question now is: who will blink first?
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