Nigeria, May 7 -- As Nigeria approaches yet another general election cycle, the political landscape is buzzing with activity, but it feels pretty empty in terms of substance. The opposition, which should ideally be a hotbed of innovative ideas and a check on those in power, has turned into a dizzying ride of party switchers, legal battles, and heated exchanges.

Parties are less concerned with building ideological clarity or policy depth than with calculating which platform is least encumbered by court cases and most viable for a presidential ticket. It is politics in constant motion, yet going nowhere.

At the heart of opposition messaging today is a single refrain: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must go. That sentiment, in itself, is not u...