By John Ogunsemore

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Mike Ozekhome has raised the alarm over Nigeria’s gradual slide into a one-party state, saying the nation risked descent into a dictatorship if the current political trends remain unchecked.

The renowned constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate spoke as a guest on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme on Saturday, a day after Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ozekhome decried “bootlicking at its highest level” among the nation’s political elite, maintaining that the political landscape has become marked by ideological decay, opportunism, and blind loyalty to those in power.

He said, “In a one-party state, dictatorship reigns supreme. Everybody will agree. National Assembly pocketed, judiciary will be pocketed, and everybody will be saying ‘yes, yes, yes’.”

He slammed politicians who decamp from one political party to another, saying their action is mostly fuelled by personal gain rather than ideological conviction.

Lampooning growing lack of political diversity and ideological identity in the polity, the senior lawyer said, “it’s like beans, akara, and moi-moi; they’re the same.”

Ozekhome went down memory lane, recounting how the once-ruling PDP boasted it would rule Nigeria for 60 years but lost power after 16 years.

He stated that the ruling APC could become just as overconfident if the opposition parties continue to fail in forming a viable alternative.

The senior lawyer pointed to President Bola Tinubu’s consolidation of loyalists across key government institutions, cautioning that if opposition forces remain fragmented, the 2027 election could resemble a solo contest.

Ozekhome lamented the public’s apparent lack of interest in governance and the polity, which he likened to “Stockholm Syndrome.”

He said, “The average Nigerian is so helpless and hopeless, pushed to the wall. Yet, instead of challenging their aggressors, they retreat inwardly.”

The lawyer reminded Nigerians that power is theirs, not the politicians’, urging them to exercise their right to hold the government to account.