Politics in Nigeria over the years has always been denominated by notable peculiarities. This of course is relative to time and season. The gamut of its aes-thetics resides in the frills and thrills, dramas and theatrics, which it throws up. Electioneering engenders colour-ful rallies in stadia and open arenas, complete with songs, chants and dance. Oftentimes, such events build up into resplendent carnival crescendos in the African sunshine. Roadshows of-fer similar excitement, music booming and blaring from loudspeakers mount-ed on branded automobiles, electrify-ing the streets and cities, as huge pro-cessions accompany mobile platforms. It is the season when aliases are minted and sobriquets conjured, when major political dramatis personae are con-ferred with novel honorifics and no-menclatures. Nigeria’s First and Second Republic politics featured notable legends like Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo; Samuel Ladoke Akintola; Augustus Meredith Adisa Akinloye; Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi; Busari Adelakun and Adeniran Ogunsanya, from Nigeria’s present day South West. From the South East came icons like Alvan Azin-na Ikoku; Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe; Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe; Michael Iheonukara Okpara, while today’s global North had the Abubakar Tafa-wa Balewas; Sa’adu Zungurs; Aminu Kanos; Yusuf Maitama Sules, among others. Awolowo was nicknamed *Awo* evidently derived from the full spelling of his surname, while the fear-less, daring Adelakun was festooned with the alias *Eruobodo,* which means the “river fears no one.” For his pan-Africanist endeavours, Azikiwe was commonly referred to as *Zik of Africa,* while Aminu Kano was the *Baba’n Talakawa,* on account of his strident advocacy for the proletariat, the down-trodden. Aliasing on the political trail sub-sists even up until the present. Lamidi Adedibu, a colossus in the politics of Oyo State in his time, was reputed for his affinity with the underprivileged. As many urchins and street kids who accessed his expansive home in Molete, Ibadan, were assured of regular meals, the staple being *amala,* yam flour. While Adedibu in one breath was the exemplar of *amala politics,* he was also famously known as *Alaafin Mo-lete.* *Alaafin* is the title of the king of Oyo, a foremost kingdom in Yoruba and Nigerian history. Adedibu was said to have been eminently influential in his district, Molete, Ibadan, his hands strengthened by the swarming army of youngsters beholden to him as their ultimate benefactor. His wishes were his commands. The title of *Alaafin,* arguably the Number One royal in Oyo State, was therefore appropriated and honorarily bestowed on him. For as long as he lived, Adedibu was a ma-jor factor in the politics of Oyo State, whose voice indeed echoed in *Aso Vil-la,* seat of national governance. Nigeria’s botched Third Republic brought forth Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke as Governor of Osun State, in January 1992. He was a very cosmopolitan and charismatic personality who was born in Enugu in Nigeria’s South East. He was noted for the remarkable styling of his headgear, which pointed skywards like that of a chef, as against the norm in Yoruba land. He contested for the gov-ernorship of Osun State on the platform of the extinct Social Democratic Party, (SDP) and won, just months after the creation of the entity in August 1991. The manner of his first time sweep of the gubernatorial poll earned him the sobriquet *Serubawon,* the one dread-ed by his adversaries. Isiaka Adeleke’s younger brother, Ademola Adeleke who like his older sibling is Governor of Osun State, has since adopted and popularised his brother’s signature cap. Such are the variegated spin-offs of pol-itics in our own part of the world. Conversations around Nigeria’s 2027 presidential poll have begun rather early. The administration of President Bola Tinubu is barely two years in office, yet the national space has been drowned in the din of an election which is more than 700 days away. Cross-carpeting and defections have assumed fever-pitch as politicians try to secure their places in the political scheme, post-2027. Governors, parlia-mentarians, government appointees, serving and retired continue to move around like yo-yos. Their whole lives, their eternal relevance seem solely predicated on the sustenance of their proboscis, deep inside the torso of our collective patrimony. Many politicians in the present milieu have become permanent fixtures in our politics. As though they are the only Nigerians ca-pable of adding value to governance and nation-building. Proclamations about Tinubu being the sole presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidential ticket have been made. He will run unopposed. Oluse-gun Obasanjo, the First President of the ongoing Fourth Republic, was chal-lenged at the 2003 presidential prima-ry of his party at the time, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), by no less a politician and statesman, than Alex Ekwueme, Nigeria’s Second Republic Vice President, a foundation member of the PDP. This underscores the pol-itics of accommodation promoted by Obasanjo, a strong President in his own era. Affirmations are equally be-ing chanted, as affixture to the *on your mandate we shall stand* chant, popu-larised by Tinubu promoters during the 2022/2023 electioneering exercise. Mere mortals are making matter-of-fact declarations and pronounce-ments with the manner of certitude and conviction about the future which presupposes they know the plans and workings of the mind of the Almighty God Himself. Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has remained a very formidable factor in Nigeria’s politics since the days of the primordial SDP, back in 1992. Despite being a newcomer to partisan politics having just retired from public service at the time, Atiku posted a notably strong performance for a newbie at the party’s presidential primary in 1993. This ensured he was a decider in the subsequent emergence of Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abi-ola, (MKO), as presidential candidate of the SDP. Abiola beat Baba Gana Kingibe, in the runoff between both men, in Jos that year, largely because of Atiku’s personal sacrifice. Atiku continued to hone his skills as a politi-cian, build cross-national friendships and relationships and to align with democratic elements even under the dreadful regime of Nigeria’s former pseudo-maximum ruler, Sani Abacha. He was tracked to his Kaduna home by Abacha agents and attacked. A number of armed security operatives on guard in his house were neutralised just as he escaped by the whiskers and went into exile. Atiku was Governor-elect of Ad-amawa State, early 1999. He was await-ing inauguration when he was chosen to pair Obasanjo’s presidential ticket, after the PDP presidential primary. In-structively, the primary took place in Jos, where the SDP presidential prima-ry in which he previously participated, held six years before. The Obasanjo/ Atiku ticket won the presidential election proper and Atiku Abubakar became the First Vice President of Nigeria’s constituent Fourth Repub-lic. Talk about one politician who has friends and associates across all of Ni-geria’s 774 local government areas and you find that in Atiku Abubakar. He needs not grope in the dark searching for acolytes. And because he is ever in touch with his affiliates and foot sol-diers, they rally spontaneously to his beckoning and causes. If there is one politician today whose name evokes trepidation in the ranks of the establishment, that per-son has to be Atiku Abubakar. His vast public service experience; his success-ful forays into the private sector; his profound knowledge of the Nigerian conundrum; his deft organisational skills; his flexibility as a team player; his charm and charisma, combine to underline his formidability. Concerned Nigerians in recent weeks and months, have been reaching out to Atiku to lead the charge for change in the nation’s political leadership. While the overall socioeconomic health of the nation is draped in gloss and fine print by incum-bents, the situation is excruciating on the streets. There is palpable hunger, worsened by skyrocketing inflation. In-security continues to pummel the citi-zenry by way of kidnappings, banditry, insurgency and wanton killings across the breadth of the country. Depression has accentuated suicide rates as many succumb to despair and despondency. The national space is thick and dark with tangible foreboding. True, Nigeria’s opposition parties are almost irredeemably discombob-ulated as we speak. The very thought of Atiku commitedly attempting to sew a pathway out of the tatters, however, is very concerning to the status quo. The experience of the 2023 presiden-tial election where the APC capitalised on the fact of the dismemberment of the PDP behemoth into three politi-cal smithereens remains very fresh. Hopefully, political archaeologists will some day unearth the debauchery and chicanery which attended the tallying of the final results of that election. To forestall a recurrence of that incident, a viable cross-party partnership is be-ing conceived to rescue Nigeria from its present abyss, as Nigerians contin-ue to agonise about the glaring failures and failings of the incumbent regime. This underlines mass angst, with the Tinubu administration consistently fingered for excruciating hardship and the attendant national lachrymose. The evolving political alliance cal-culated to confront the incumbent dis-pensation, is gathering adherents by the day. At the centre of this movement is Atiku Abubakar whose every guest, every visit to like-minded politicians, every event he participates in, evokes interest and debate, in opposing po-litical quarters. Atiku is fittingly the contemporary *Serubawon.* He is the one whose sneezes reverberate across the political sphere, causing tremors in the ranks of his adversaries. The journey to 2027, by the way, is just be-ginning. There are no foreclosures as yet. Not at all. *Tunde Olusunle, PhD, Fellow of the Asso-ciation of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), is an Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Abuja