Nigeria, May 6 -- On Saturday, 25 April, opposition political parties, led by the usual culprits, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Peter Obi, converged on Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and issued what they proudly termed the Ibadan Declaration. It was presented as a bold commitment to unite in a common front against the ruling All Progressives Congress and its perceived misrule. For a brief moment, it sounded like the long-awaited awakening of a fragmented opposition, a signal that perhaps, just perhaps, Nigerians would finally have a credible alternative.

Under the auspices of the African Democratic Congress, a party that had only just regained its footing following the Supreme Court affirmation of its David Mark-led leadership, man...