Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recently held a high-profile, closed-door meeting with his former primary rival, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, in Lagos.This meeting is a classic textbook move in Nigerian political chess.
Looking back at the 2023 PDP primaries, Hayatu-Deen—an economist, former banker, and seasoned corporate strategist—walked away from the contest citing the heavy monetization of the process. For Atiku to seek him out now in Lagos signal a few highly strategic motives.
​Before you can build a formidable external coalition, you have to heal internal party fractures. Hayatu-Deen represents a highly respected, technocratic wing of the political class. Reconciling with him is an attempt by Atiku to signal that he is willing to listen to aggrieved party stalwarts and bring intellectual weight back into the fold.
​The ruling party (APC) always benefits when the opposition is fragmented. By initiating high-stakes, closed-door meetings early, Atiku is likely trying to lay the groundwork for a broader, united front. In Nigerian politics, these early alignments are crucial for testing the waters regarding who might step down for whom, or how a potential mega-party alliance could be structured.
​Holding the meeting in Lagos, the commercial nerve center and traditionally a massive political battleground–is no coincidence. It underscores the geographical scope of these early-stage consultations, moving beyond the usual Abuja political bubble to engage key stakeholders where economic and political influence intersect.
In politics, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. While it’s too early to tell if this will lead to a formal alliance or a joint ticket, it clearly shows that the opposition is actively trying to consolidate its strength and rewrite the narrative well ahead of the next electoral window.
