By Iniobong Udoh II
If there’s one thing I’m very good at, it’s studying human psychology, trends, and patterns.
That is why I’m a big fan of data, because data hardly lies when properly analyzed.
And recently, I’ve been noticing the spirit of Ahithophel moving strongly inside APC.
Because many of the political traps they carefully designed for Peter Obi and well meaning Nigerians are now backfiring on them badly.
And this is why I keep telling people that manipulation eventually consumes the people using it.
Look at what has been happening politically.
For years now, APC has been strategically trying to weaken opposition parties, destabilize coalitions, and gradually turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
Then on March 11, 2026, the House of Representatives suddenly moved with unusual speed to amend the Electoral Act 2026 to criminalize dual party membership. The amendment proposed a ₦10 million fine or two years imprisonment for anyone found belonging to more than one political party at the same time.
Now pause and think deeply.
Laws that would benefit ordinary Nigerians can stay forever without urgency.
Electricity reforms.
Security reforms.
Education reforms.
Healthcare reforms.
Minimum wage implementation.
Youth empowerment.
Those ones can sleep in committee rooms forever.
But once it becomes political strategy and power retention, speed suddenly appears.
Suddenly lawmakers become active overnight.
Because APC believed they were being strategic.
The game was obvious.
Create confusion in the opposition.
Use Atiku to politically hold Peter Obi down inside ADC.
Create legal and structural complications around coalition politics.
Push narratives.
Destabilize movements.
Trap Peter Obi politically before 2027.
That was the calculation.
But Peter Obi and Kwankwaso read the room early and beat them to their own game.
And now the same law and political structure many APC politicians supported is beginning to consume them too.
That is the spirit of Ahithophel.
The trap you set for others becoming the same trap swallowing you.
On Saturday, May 16, 2026, APC held its House of Representatives primaries across the country.
And suddenly many powerful APC politicians who helped build this aggressive political structure started getting bitten by it.
Many serving lawmakers lost their tickets.
Many incumbents who thought they were untouchable suddenly became politically stranded.
Reports showed that at least 12 serving House of Representatives members lost their return tickets during the APC primaries.
Even the House Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, reportedly lost his ticket.
In Benue alone, six APC House of Reps members lost their re-election bids.
In Imo, four sitting lawmakers lost theirs too.
Others were disqualified entirely.
Now here is where the psychology gets interesting.
Many of these politicians supported a political structure designed to make movement difficult.
They supported political intimidation.
They supported the shrinking of opposition space.
They supported turning party loyalty into political imprisonment.
Because they thought the trap was only for Peter Obi and the opposition.
Now the same structure is holding many of them hostage.
Because once you lose your ticket under such a tightly controlled system, decamping elsewhere suddenly becomes difficult politically, legally, and structurally.
Now APC is left with angry politicians everywhere.
Frustrated loyalists.
Wounded egos.
Internal bitterness.
Silent rebellion.
And this is what always happens when power becomes too obsessed with control instead of governance.
Cracks start appearing from inside.
This is why Nigerians should pay attention closely.
There will still be more missed opportunities for APC.
More internal confusion.
More political backfires.
Because when a party spends more energy trapping opponents than solving the suffering of the people, the system eventually starts collapsing inward.
And while all this is happening, Nigerians should not lose focus.
This is not the time to be discouraged.
This is the time to prepare mentally, politically, and psychologically.
Get your PVC.
Sensitize the people around you.
Understand the mind games being played.
Because APC already knows Nigerians are tired.
That is why propaganda is moving aggressively.
But suffering has a way of defeating propaganda eventually.
People cannot continue living in hunger, insecurity, darkness, hopelessness, and economic suffocation forever while pretending all is well.
And that is why I strongly believe that come 2027, meaningful Nigerians will rise beyond tribe, religion, propaganda, and manipulation to take Nigeria back for good.
Because this country belongs to the people, not political emperors.
And the day Nigerians fully realize how powerful their collective voice and votes are, many of these politicians who behave like untouchable gods today will suddenly remember they are ordinary citizens too.
