Nigeria, Oct. 14 -- What is the point of voting for an opposition party if the people elected under its banner eventually help the president they opposed to secure another term? A voter may understand that a governor must work with the president, regardless of party affiliation. What is harder to understand is why that governor should also help organise the president's re-election campaign while continuing to draw political authority from a different party. At some point, the question ceases to be about political strategy and becomes one of democratic honesty. What exactly were voters being asked to choose in the first place?

Nigeria's preparations for the 2027 presidential election have brought this contradiction into focus. The All Pr...