A leading voice in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition, Mallam Salihu Lukman, has said that the group does not have any member with the towering political stature of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking on Arise TV on Wednesday, Lukman argued that Buhari’s passing should serve as a wake-up call to Nigerian leaders to live up to their responsibilities and reconnect with citizens.
Lukman, who last year resigned as National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), urged ADC coalition leaders to set aside personal ego, embrace teamwork, and build a formidable political party capable of both defeating the APC and addressing Nigeria’s current challenges.
“What we must learn, most especially in the coalition, is that we don’t have somebody with the kind of intimidating profile like that of late Buhari,” he said. “That means all the leaders of the coalition need to be humble and acknowledge that they need one another. In that context, they must develop strong teamwork. I think that is the challenge we are all facing.”
He stressed that the goal should not only be to unseat the APC and President Bola Tinubu but to create “a new, fresh political template” that meets Nigerians’ expectations.
Lukman also discussed Buhari’s legacy and its consequences for Nigeria’s political future on Tuesday night’s episode of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He pointed out that a lot of northern politicians had grown unduly dependent on Buhari’s personal support, which frequently resulted in regional election wins. That dynamic, he said, encouraged complacency and a lack of genuine engagement with voters.
“I am aware, being somebody from the North, that many politicians looked forward to him raising their hands and endorsing them. That almost guaranteed victory in many places,” Lukman said. “That, in a way, made politicians lazy.”
With Buhari gone, he warned, no single figure remains who can sway elections simply through endorsement. This, he argued, places greater responsibility on politicians to humble themselves, listen to citizens, and fulfill campaign promises.
“The challenge of having somebody like late President Buhari now absent in Nigerian politics is that politicians must realise, especially those who want to contest elections, that if they are to win — except if they want to rig — they must be humble and relate to citizens with a higher level of humility rather than the current arrogance,” he said.