The approaching governorship election in Adamawa State is producing a familiar confusion between the number of people opposing a candidate and the strength of the opposition confronting him. These are different things. Several candidates can agree that one man must lose, while making decisions that improve his chances of winning. Each may command genuine support. Together, however, they may produce a fragmented challenge that leaves their common opponent ahead. This is the central weakness in some of the arguments against Ahmed Galadima Aminu, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His critics point to the growing field of opponents as though every additional candidacy necessarily brings his defeat closer. I read the situation differently and my assessment is that the emerging contest gives the APC a credible and increasingly favourable route to victory.
Adamawa and the opposition’s illusion of strength, By Mohammed Dahiru Aminu
