By Rhoda Godwin
For many Nigerians, politics has increasingly become a contest of personalities, alliances and electoral calculations. But for a generation of political activists who witnessed the struggles that shaped Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, politics was once about something deeper: principles, sacrifice and the courage to stand for an idea.
It is against this backdrop that former members and surviving leaders of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) are preparing for what organisers describe as an “Epochal Homecoming Reunion of the Old Guard.”
The gathering, scheduled to take place under the aegis of the National Democratic Congress, is not being presented as a reunion simply to remember the past. Its organisers say it is an attempt to bring the experience and ideals of an earlier generation of democrats back into Nigeria’s increasingly complicated political conversation.
The theme, “Reclaiming Our Moral Mandate: A National Democratic Conversation for a Reborn Polity,” captures the central question confronting the gathering: what happened to the principles that once inspired Nigerians to fight for democratic change, and can those principles still provide a compass for the country?
For the old guard, the answer appears to be yes.
The Alliance for Democracy emerged as one of the major political platforms associated with the pro-democracy movement and the political struggles surrounding the return to civilian rule. Its history is closely associated with figures who insisted that democratic politics should be rooted in values rather than merely the pursuit of power.
Decades later, many of those who participated in that political journey believe Nigeria has reached another critical moment.
The organisers argue that the country is witnessing an era of “transactional politics and eroded ideology,” where political loyalty can often appear to be determined by immediate interests rather than long-term national objectives.
The proposed reunion therefore seeks to do more than look backward.
It is intended to create a space where veterans of the democratic struggle can sit with younger Nigerians, intellectuals, political actors and patriots to examine the state of the nation and discuss what should come next.
At the centre of the gathering will be a National Democratic Conversation aimed at interrogating the present democratic dispensation and developing what the organisers describe as a credible, people-centred and electorally sustainable pathway for Nigeria.
The significance of the event is also reflected in the personalities expected to participate.
Chief Michael Odurinde, Senior Special Adviser to the late Pa Ayo Adebanjo, seniormost Afenifere chieftain and one of the founding fathers of the Alliance for Democracy, is named as the Father of the Day.
His presence is particularly symbolic.
Pa Ayo Adebanjo represented a political tradition in which ideological commitment, democratic accountability and the defence of constitutional values were treated as matters of principle. For many members of the old political generation, reconnecting with that tradition is part of the reason the homecoming is being convened.
The Chief Host is Senator Seriake Dickson, former Governor of Bayelsa State and National Leader of the National Democratic Congress.
Also expected are former members of the National Executive Committee and National Working Committee of the Alliance for Democracy, alongside prominent Nigerians from different parts of the country.
Among those listed are Ambassador Mamman Yusuf, Comrade Usman Adamu Song and Professor Udenta Udenta, who served as the first National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy.
Their participation is expected to add historical, intellectual and political depth to the conversation.
But perhaps the most important question is what happens after the speeches.
Nigeria has witnessed numerous conferences, political summits and public conversations where participants identified the country’s problems with impressive clarity. The difficulty has often been translating those diagnoses into sustained action.
The organisers of the AD homecoming appear conscious of this challenge.
Their message is deliberately framed around moving “from commentary to construction” and “from lamentation to leadership.”
That language suggests an ambition beyond simply criticising the current political system.
For Nigerians struggling with unemployment, insecurity, poor public services, economic hardship and declining confidence in political institutions, the value of such a gathering will ultimately be measured by whether it can contribute to practical solutions.
The old guard carries something that cannot easily be recreated: memory.
They remember political battles that younger Nigerians know mainly through history books and stories. They witnessed the sacrifices that preceded democratic rule and experienced the early years of the Fourth Republic.
That experience can be valuable—but only if it is connected to the realities facing today’s Nigeria.
The younger generation, meanwhile, brings a different political consciousness. Many young Nigerians are less attached to traditional party structures and more willing to challenge established political assumptions. They are demanding accountability, inclusion and a political system that responds to everyday realities.
The meeting between these two generations could therefore become one of the most important aspects of the homecoming.
The question is whether experience can meet innovation without either side dismissing the other.
The organisers describe the gathering as an opportunity to “harmonise experience with vision, memory with mandate and legacy with responsibility.”
It is a powerful proposition.
Nigeria does not lack political history. What it often lacks is the ability to learn from that history.
The Alliance for Democracy veterans are returning at a time when political parties are already positioning themselves for the battles ahead. Electoral calculations are beginning to shape political conversations, while citizens continue to ask whether the next election will genuinely produce better governance.
Against that backdrop, the old guard’s return to the national conversation could force an uncomfortable but necessary question:
What exactly is Nigerian democracy supposed to deliver to the people?
Is democracy simply about winning elections, sharing political positions and building alliances?
Or should it also be about protecting citizens’ dignity, strengthening institutions, expanding opportunity and ensuring that government remains accountable to the people?
For the organisers of the homecoming, the answer appears clear.
They want the moral language of democracy restored to the centre of political discourse.
Whether the gathering succeeds in doing so will depend not on the prominence of those attending, but on what they are prepared to build after leaving the room.
For a country that has spent years lamenting the failures of its political system, perhaps the most meaningful homecoming would not be a return to the politics of yesterday.
It would be a return to the principles that made democratic struggle worth fighting for—and a determination to adapt those principles to the Nigeria of today.
The old guard is coming home.
Now, the bigger question is whether Nigeria is ready to listen.
