By Ehichioya Ezomon
Delusion of grandeur (or grandiose delusion) is defined by Google as a fixed, false belief that you possess extraordinary power, wealth, fame, superior intelligence, or a divine connection that completely contradicts reality. With key characteristics of unshakable belief, the conviction remains rigid even when presented with clear evidence that proves it wrong. Besides a disconnection from reality that goes far beyond normal self-confidence, ambition, or cultural/religious traditions, a delusion of grandeur’s impaired functioning frequently interferes with relationships, work, and personal safety.
Whereas everyday confidence/ambition, based on real skills, adjusts with new facts, and respects social limits, grandiose delusions are “fantasies that cannot be reasoned away, often leading the person to act as if the impossible claim is literal truth” – the kind discerning Nigerians see in former Director-General of the Progressives Governors’ Forum (DG-PGF), Alhaji Salihu Lukman.
Fast approaching the January 16, 2027, presidential election, Lukman, convener of the the political pressure group, G-100, holds the belief that the opposition parties, seeking an alliance against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), can still “forge a united front by rallying behind a consensus presidential candidate a few days to the election.”
As PUNCH reported on October 17, 2026, Lukman’s remarks come as opposition parties face the challenge of converting discussions about a common front into a workable political arrangement, “including agreement on a candidate, a shared policy agenda and a structure capable of securing the support of their respective constituencies ahead of the 2027 presidential poll.”
What can be more delusional than Lukman’s suggestion that “the eventual candidate could emerge from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), another participating party or a new party formed through an alliance”? He spoke on Channels Television’s ‘Hard Copy’ on October 7, expressing confidence despite disagreements and a trust deficit among their leaders.
 Claiming his group had made more progress in persuading political parties and presidential candidates to consider working together to strengthen the opposition, Lukman said: “Well, first, let me remind you that when we came together as G-100, our objective was to engage the political parties and their candidates and get them to recognise the challenge. So far, the indicators are there; we have succeeded beyond some of our expectations,” TheCable reported on October 17. “I can tell you categorically, and my confidence about that comes from what I see in the leadership of the parties: they are committed and they are working, taking all the steps necessary. So, it could be two months, some weeks to the election, or a few days to the election, they will come out and tell Nigerians this is the direction, and everybody will queue.” Lukman’s confidence is buoyed by expanded negotiations beyond the six (or five) political parties initially involved in the formation of the G-100, with efforts underway to bring other parties into the proposed alliance. “They are also working to expand; they are reaching out to other parties,” he said.
Emerging to unite opposition forces after an all-opposition summit in Oyo State capital city of Ibadan in April 2026, where participants resolved to pursue a common presidential candidate against the APC, the G-100 has yielded ground to political parties and their presidential candidates, “to take charge of negotiations to build the confidence needed for a possible alliance.”
 “The parties owned the process we had started and took it beyond, took it out of our hands and began to engage each other based on the need to develop the kind of confidence they need to trust one another,” Lukman said, adding that a summit held on August 31, 2026, at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, agreed to establish five working groups, one of which would handle the selection of a consensus presidential candidate.
With each party nominating representatives through its presidential candidate or the leadership, “in line with agreed terms of reference,” Lukman said “the collegiate is basically about ensuring that both the parties and their candidates are the ones taking the decisions.”
“At the same time, “the people doing the work are people who have the mandate of both the parties and the candidates, not anybody from outside,” Lukman said. “I’m sure the leadership of the parties will begin to make public statements themselves to indicate the direction they are going,” he added.
You then wonder why Lukman continues to act as their mouthpiece after the G-100 ceded powers to the opposition parties and their candidates, and saying they’re committed to the process and had “taken ownership of negotiations aimed at achieving a common presidential candidate, and preventing a split in opposition votes” in 2027!
It shows that in spite of his seeming conviction, Lukman harbours self-doubt, as he moves from being confident that “a consensus candidate is within immediate reach,” to pleading with the opposition parties and their candidates to “close ranks” against President Tinubu at the ballot.
Lukman warned opposition figures against “inflexible positions” over concerns that supporters of former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, former Vice-President and candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and ex-Kano Governor and running mate of the NDC, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, might resist supporting another candidate. Stressing that insistence on individual candidacies could undermine the opposition’s chances, and urging politicians to recognise that only one person would emerge as president, Lukman said that “taking a hardline position, a rigid position, is almost like working for the APC and the Tinubu government at this point.
“Politicians can lie to themselves, and at the end of the day let the candidates continue to hang on to their candidature; at the end of the day only one person will be president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Lukman said.Â
Noting that “many signatories to the G-100’s open letter are supporters of either Obi or Atiku,” Lukman said the group “has consistently urged them to place national interest above individual political ambitions,” as “the country is superior to any individual.”
Lukman recalled an intervention on Channels Television by His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Archbishop emeritus of Abuja – a fiery critic of the Tinubu administration, and against the president’s re-election in 2027 – arguing that opposition candidates “cannot divide the votes among themselves and still expect to defeat the ruling party.”
“The arithmetic is simple: you can’t split votes five ways and expect victory in one of you,” Lukman said, referring to Atiku of the ADC; Obi of NDC; Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of Allied Peoples Movement (APM); Prince Adewole Adebayo of Social Democratic Party (SDP); and former Cross River Governor Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). Identifying the “trust deficit” among opposition parties and their candidates as the “biggest obstacle to reaching an agreement,” Lukman noted the August 31 summit agreement to establish five working groups, with one handling the selection of a consensus presidential candidate, arguing that the joint platform “needs to build relationships that will make them willing to sacrifice individual ambitions.” “For us, unless that is addressed, all these issues about coming up with a united front or a single candidate, we may not be able to achieve it. There is no way this country can continue the way it is today. Something just has to give,” he said, even as he added, “I am positive, and I am very sure that all these candidates are rational. They will accept all these and work together.”
 Ahead of arriving at a common candidate, Lukman’s upbeat that the parties would reconcile their policy differences arising, for example, from the proposals by the candidates of the SDP and PRP, Prince Adebayo and Mr Duke for a starting petrol pump price of N300 and N200 per litre, respectively.
“The objective is not to merge their (opposition candidates’) manifestos. it’s basically to come up with a minimum programme of action, which the government to be produced post-2027 will prioritise implementing,” Lukman said, adding that the programme would be agreed upon before the selection of a consensus candidate, “to ensure that whoever emerges will be committed to implementing the common priorities.”
Stating that all the candidates would subscribe to the programme in advance so that “in the event that any of them emerges as the candidate there is no debate,” Lukman said the groundwork shouldn’t be difficult as the presidential campaigns had developed their policy positions.
“I’m sure the Peter Obi campaign has done some work; I am also sure Prince Adewole Adebayo and all the other candidates have done their own work,” he said, adding that “the eventual candidate could emerge from the ADC, another participating party or a new party formed through an alliance.”
Lukman may’ve spoken metaphorically about a “new party formed through an alliance,” as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in line with the provisions of the altered 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, and the Electoral Act 2026, has closed the window for the nomination of presidential candidates – and indeed all candidates – for the 2027 election. The exception is where a candidate officially withdraws their nomination, or there’s a court order for fresh nomination!
 The G-100 convener dismissed suggestions that he’s pursuing personal political ambitions through the coalition-building effort, saying, “I don’t have ambition to contest election, and I don’t have ambition to hold any appointive or elective office,” even as he returned to the ADC he’d withdrawn his membership on grounds of “internal issues” in Kaduna State bordering on his fear that the party was “shifting to a direction where we will end up reproducing the old order we have left.” The question is, has the ADC re-evented itself or sunk deeper into the type of politics that informed Lukman’s earlier withdrawal from the party? This has allegedly created concerns within the other opposition parties and among their candidates that the Lukman G-100 group has some ace up its sleeve to project Atiku as the “common presidential candidate” to face President Tinubu at the poll on January 16, 2027.
Going by Google’s explanation of a “grandiose delusion” or a “delusion of grandeur,” let Lukman assume he can fix the “trust deficit” in the opposition camp, to enable the political parties and their candidates pick a challenger who can defeat President Tinubu at the poll on January 16, 2027!
 Perhaps, Lukman “believes he’s a prophet, a messiah, or chosen directly by God for a unique mission; believes he’s a celebrity, a royal figure, or in secret daily communication with world leaders; believes he can read minds, control the weather, or hold the only cure for a major disease; and believes he’s immortal or immune to physical injury and illness.”
• Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos. He can be reached on X, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp @EhichioyaEzomon. Tel: 08033078357
