Nigeria marked her Democracy Day last Thursday, June 12, 2025. It was a day set aside since 2018 to celebrate the country’s unbroken civilian rule since 1999. As expected, President Bola Tinubu used the occasion to honour and celebrate some pro-democracy and civil rights activists, journalists and politicians imprisoned, exiled, tortured and beaten by the military regime. In his address to the joint session of the National Assembly, he praised his administration in many aspects, but failed to address many critical areas.

 

 

One of such unaddressed issues is the reform of our political and electoral systems. Agreed, Tinubu was one of those who fought for this democracy. But his current attitude appears to indicate that he does not have the general interest of the people at heart. He is only after the pursuit of power and the resultant benefits.

Undoubtedly, our elections are controversial. It is so because of the fight by politicians to grab power and run away with it. The 2023 general election is a typical example. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) promised to conduct a free and credible election. It introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and promised to transmit results via the INEC result viewing portal (IReV) to prevent manipulation and clear any doubt about the outcome of the election. When the chips were down, INEC bungled the entire exercise, claiming technical glitches. This cast serious doubt about the outcome of the election.

A selfless, proactive leader would have put a stop to further bastardization of our elections by initiating reforms aimed at amending our electoral legal framework to accommodate compulsory electronic voting and true independence for INEC. Tinubu will likely not do this because it will go against his interest. If elections are held today across Nigeria, the President will probably lose that election. So, he has to look the other way in order to allow the abnormal status quo to remain.

The President has gone further to appoint some alleged card-carrying members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in some states. Some of them are said to be Etekamba Umoren (Akwa Ibom), Isah Shaka Ehimeakne (Edo), Bunmi Omoseyindemi (Lagos), and Anugbum Onuoha (Rivers). Onuoha, the REC in the September 2024 governorship election in Edo State, is said to be a cousin to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.

Penultimate Sunday, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged the President to review the appointments of these politicians as RECs. It implored him to replace the partisan figures with people of unquestionable integrity as demanded by Section 156(1) and Part 1, Item F, Paragraph 14(2) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The presence of the alleged politicians in INEC, the group said, could damage the credibility of the 2027 elections.

In his address also, the President said he would not be a party to a one-party state. According to him, he remained in the opposition throughout the reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a proof of his commitment to multi-party democracy.

“To those who ring the alarm that the APC is intent on a one-party state, I offer you a most personal promise. While your alarm may be as a result of your panic, it rings in error. At no time in the past, nor any instance in the present, and at no future juncture shall I view the notion of a one-party state as good for Nigeria. I have never attempted to alter any political party registration with INEC. Equally, my friends, we cannot blame anybody seeking to bail out of a sinking ship even without a life jacket,” he said.

Tinubu is obviously enjoying the defections to the APC. Quite rightly, he admonished political parties fearful of losing members to examine their internal processes and affairs “rather than fearfully conjuring up demons that do not exist. For me, I would say try your best to put your house in order. I will not help you do so. It is, indeed, a pleasure to witness you in such disarray.”

Somehow, I blame the current situation to the discord among the opposition parties. It is not that the ruling party is doing anything wonderful to warrant the defections. The hardship in Nigeria today is unprecedented. Poverty and hunger are at their peak. Over 133 million Nigerians live in multi-dimensional poverty. Nigeria is among the leading hunger hot spots in the world as food insecurity decapitates millions of citizens.

The spate of kidnapping and other forms of insecurity have not abated. Terrorists and bandits have killed hundreds of thousands of Nigerians in the past two years. The North-East and North-Central are the worst hit.   

Our President is not bothered that this could cost him the 2027 election. Apparently, he is banking on the governors and other political leaders to do their usual magic and win the 2027 election for him. The calculation is that if he gets the governor of a state, he has got the entire state. The Delta State governor Sheriff Oborevwori defected recently with the entire PDP leadership structure in his state. They said it’s in the interest of the state whereas it’s in their own selfish interests. Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, did not just defect to the APC, he threatened his appointees to defect with him or lose their appointments. And we call this democracy! Glad that some of his appointees braved it and resigned.

The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, is officially in the PDP, but his body and soul are with the APC. He played ignoble role in the last election in Rivers State. And he was rewarded with a ministerial appointment. He has boasted that Tinubu will return to power in 2027. How he will achieve it remains a matter for deep reflection.

Wike and his cohorts know what they are doing. They probably want to replicate what they did in Rivers State in the 2023 election in the FCT and elsewhere in 2027. But in a free-and-fair contest, they will fail woefully. And they know it.

Wike’s successor, Siminalayi Fubara, appears to have been cowed. He is of the PDP, but it is not certain what his next political moves will be. Initially, he tried to be recalcitrant. They slammed a state of emergency in his state and suspended him for an initial period of six months and appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd) as a sole administrator. Fubara is still serving his suspension. But the other day, he visited the presidential villa to meet with Tinubu. He is yet to fully unfold his plans.

The way some politicians hail Tinubu, you would think he is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria. At least, seven public places have been named after him since he became President two years ago. The latest one is the renovated International Conference Centre Abuja which gulped N39 billion. Wike renamed it Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre. It will not be a surprise if they name the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Highway Bola Tinubu Highway.

After all, it is Bola Tinubu’s democracy. He has the legislature under control. The judiciary cannot do without him. Some opposition governors are rushing to join him in the APC. He has the power to appoint INEC Chairman and RECs. He is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. It is total state capture. If you have not seen the handwriting on the wall of 2027, then you are a political neophyte.

It will be a miracle for him to reform the system which he knows will not be in his favour. So, the opposition and other Nigerians who have been calling for reforms and restructuring should perish the thoughts. They are wasting their time. Even if there will be any serious reforms, it will be after the 2027 elections.

Nigerians are up against a formidable force that can do anything to remain in power. There is danger ahead. The days and months leading up to the election are ominous. Only a united and formidable opposition supported by a broad spectrum of Nigerians can push the power grabbers out and liberate themselves. As Senator Ali Ndume put it recently, former President Goodluck Jonathan had the support of 22 PDP governors in the 2015 polls. Yet, he still lost his re-election bid. But will the opposition put their acts together? The answer is blowing in the wind.

 

 

Re: Encounter with notorious Benin Bypass police

Casmir, what a sordid encounter you had with devils incarnates! Their hearts are certainly cast in stone! But to God be the glory, you and your family members left the place unharmed. Those officers are the mean types/desperadoes and anything could have happened.

But God forbade it! Not even the sight of a crying one-year-old baby moved them!

It is obvious that they wanted you to ‘roger’ (bribe) them. Since you were unwilling to ‘play ball’, they had to make you uncomfortable by delaying you. In terms of security, police are the ‘1st born child’ of the president, but they are not usually well catered for in Nigeria as against the trend or culture in advanced/civilised countries. Citizens – as tax payers – are better respected and they are treated with utmost courtesy.

Nigerian police behave as if they are the only ones experiencing the economic crunch imposed by succession or series of bad leaders that we have had till date.

They take out their frustrations on the populace. This is most unfortunate to say the least! There is a need for a change of orientation. If you are a police man/woman, do your policing well and don’t bring the force into further disrepute. Over to you – National Orientation Agency. Policemen must show empathy when and if necessary, like your situation demanded.

You & your family members are covered by the blood of Jesus. No weapon fashioned against you shall prosper. Amen! May it be well with the soul of the Nigerian police force and Nigeria in general IJN, amen!

– Mike, Mushin, Lagos, 0816 111 4572