By Sa'adu Sani Zango
Just a year ago, the ADC coalition in Katsina State was the talk of the town. It arrived with force, energy, and promise. Political heavyweights from different backgrounds trooped into its camp, creating excitement among the people and sending shockwaves through the ruling APC.
Many believed a formidable opposition had finally emerged. The party was attracting influential politicians, experienced technocrats, community leaders, and thousands of ordinary citizens who were hungry for change. Everywhere, people spoke about the ADC's rapid rise and the possibility of reshaping the political landscape of Katsina State.
Today, that dream is rapidly turning into a nightmare.
What looked like a mighty political movement is collapsing under the weight of greed, ego, selfish ambition, and poor leadership. The same party that inspired hope is now struggling to manage its internal affairs. The same leaders who preached unity are now openly fighting one another.
Nothing exposes this crisis more than the embarrassing inability of the party to produce a governorship candidate after more than four weeks of endless meetings, disagreements, and confusion. A party that hopes to govern millions of people cannot even successfully organise itself.
Instead of presenting a united front, key figures within the party are busy issuing press statements, counter-statements, threats, and accusations. Almost every faction appears ready to pull down the entire structure simply because it did not get its way.
This is not leadership. This is political immaturity.
The tragedy is that the greatest victims are not the politicians but the ordinary supporters who invested their time, energy, and hope in the project. Thousands of loyal members joined believing they were becoming part of a disciplined and organised alternative. Instead, they are witnessing endless power struggles and public embarrassment.
A political party cannot survive when every leader wants to be king. It cannot grow when ambition becomes more important than principle. It cannot win elections when internal warfare becomes its daily routine.
The ADC came into Katsina like a storm that promised to shake the political establishment. But today it is leaving many supporters disappointed and disillusioned. What entered the political scene with thunder and lightning is now collapsing like a pack of cards.
Unless wisdom prevails, unless leaders put the party above personal ambition, and unless genuine reconciliation takes place immediately, the ADC risks becoming a textbook example of how a promising political movement destroyed itself from within.
The lesson is simple: no opposition can defeat a ruling party when it is busy defeating itself.
