Human rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, has explained why he would prefer President Bola Tinubu to former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, if both men contest in the 2027 general election.
Speaking on Channels Television on Friday, Adeyanju said his position was not about loyalty to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but about his personal convictions on democracy, tolerance, and political conduct.
“Why would somebody like me support the APC? Support the APC for what? If the opposition presents Peter Obi, I will vote Tinubu,” he said.
“This is because we cannot have a situation where a man’s supporters cannot tolerate criticism. Anybody who does not support their candidate is labelled an enemy of Nigeria, or accused of being paid and compromised.”
Adeyanju rejected claims that he was working with the APC to weaken the opposition, insisting that his political interventions had always been consistent and independent.
He recalled voting across party lines in past elections based on his judgment of candidates.
“I have never voted for a bad candidate in my view. In 1999, I voted for Obasanjo. In 2011, I voted for Goodluck Jonathan. In 2015, I voted for Jonathan again because I couldn’t support Buhari. And in 2023, I voted for Omoyele Sowore,” he stated.
The activist said his opposition to Obi was influenced largely by the conduct of some of his supporters during the last election. He alleged that many of them engaged in online attacks and intimidation against dissenting voices.
“What we are saying is that we must sanitise our polity. We cannot have a country where people terrorise others for having different opinions,” Adeyanju said.
“Look at what they did to Joke Silva during the election. They had artists and Nollywood people supporting them and nobody terrorised those ones. But they harassed that woman because she supported Tinubu. People have rights. I have my right too.”
He added that opposition politics in Nigeria could only thrive if there was unity among key players, warning that a divided opposition would only continue to give APC an advantage.
Adeyanju said although he initially found Obi’s candidacy “exciting” because it represented an opportunity for the South-East to aspire to the presidency, his enthusiasm faded as the campaign progressed.
“The idea of Obi’s candidacy excited me because the South-East has not produced a president since independence. But I couldn’t reconcile with some of the things I saw in the movement,” he noted.
The activist also reminded Nigerians of his long record of advocacy, saying he had faced multiple arrests under different governments for defending democracy and free expression.
“We have put our lives on the line for this country, at personal cost of prosecution. At one point, I was almost charged with terrorism. They’ve charged me for all kinds of offences in this country,” he said.
Adeyanju stressed that his stance against Obi should not be mistaken for partisanship.
“Because we cannot have a situation in our polity where political extremism becomes the order of the day. Nigerians witnessed what happened in the build-up to the last election,” he added.
