Former President Goodluck Jonathan has warned that Nigeria is sliding into a one-party state and which is dangerous for our democracy.
Jonathan was speaking in Abuja yesterday while paying a tribute to the late elder statesman, Edwin Clark, at a memorial lecture and day of tribute. Clark, an Ijaw leader and politician, died in February at the age of 97.
Jonathan warned that any attempt to drag the country into a one-party state through political machinations to soothe personal aspirations is detrimental to the country.
According to the former Nigerian leader, “If we must, as a nation, adopt a one-party system, then it must be designed, planned by experts—and we must know what we are going in for.”
“But if we arrive at it through the back door by political manipulations, then we are heading for crisis,” he warned.
Jonathan’s warning followed the alarm raised by some interest group that the country could be drifting into a one-party state, considering the wind of defections that befall some opposition parties jumping ship into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Some political analyst believed that the defections have further weakened the opposition, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Aside the defections, some PDP governors, including Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State and Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, are alleged to have started undermining their party internally through their activities of rallying support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term bid.
Jonathan explained that though some nations had successfully practiced one-party systems under unique historical and social conditions, warning that Nigeria’s complex ethnic, religious and political landscape demands a more inclusive and carefully designed political framework that can accommodate the divergent interest.
He said: “Yes, one-party states—countries have managed them. Yes, a one-party state may not be evil after all, because Julius Nyerere of Tanzania used a one-party state to stabilize his country in the early days of independence. He felt that the country, just like Nigeria, had too many tribes and tongues, and two principled religions—Christianity and Islam.
“If we allow multiple parties, some may follow religious lines, others tribal, and unity will be difficult. But it was properly planned; it was not by accident.”
Jonathan also urged the Clark’s family to, among other things, set up a yearly memorial lecture in his honour to continue to push his ideas and what he stood for, which according to him, is a united, equitable and prosperous Nigeria.
Some analysts believed that the defections of top politicians into the APC, including Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 general elections, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, have already undermined the coalition being spearheaded by Atiku and a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-rufai.
However, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule told State House reporters after meeting with President Tinubu that the APC did not want Nigeria to become a one- party state.
Sule disclosed that the APC was only interested in being the dominant party in Nigeria, capable of winning elections.
He described the mass defections into the APC as “a reflection of the performance of our party and the performance of Mr. President. Mr. President is carrying out a lot of reforms. We saw the first reforms. I don’t believe, by the slightest of imagination, that we are going to be a one-party state.”
Gowon Calls For putting national interest above personal interest
The chairman of the occasion and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, emphasized the importance of unity and patriotism above individual interest in the country.
“Nigeria can only make progress when national interest is placed above personal ambition,” Gowon said.
Nigeria’s unity fragile – Ohanaeze Ndigbo
Speaking at the event, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, expressed concerns over what he described Nigeria’s as fragile unity, reiterating the need for deliberate efforts to preserve it.
The Ohanaeze emphasized the importance of national cohesion.
Our past heroes’ labour already in vain – Obi
On his part, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, alleged that the labour of the country’s heroes past was already in vain.
According to the former Anambra State governor, “The state of insecurity, poverty in rural communities, and the rising cost of living has all betrayed their sacrifices.”
Recent voices against one-party state
Recently, a group of 18 activists and intellectuals, under the auspices of Democrats, alleged what they described as a calculated and systematic attempt by the Tinubu administration to dismantle the democratic foundations in the country and float a a one-party state to achieve his agenda.
“Under this administration, political pluralism is being eroded not by persuasion or performance, but by bribery, blackmail, and coercion,” the group had alleged, in its reaction to the mass movement of opposition party members to the APC.
A political analyst, Ikoro N. Ikoro, had posited that “If we run a system that says if you are not in the APC, then development cannot come to your area, then that is clearly unconstitutional. The Nigerian constitution, the laws and the federal character principle have been created to make sure that everybody will get what is due to them.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dayo Akinlaja, however, did not share the view that the country was tending towards a one-party party state.
“In my honest view, there is still a long way between now and 2027. So, it is still early in the day to conclude that there is unity of purpose in the ruling party. Dynamics change often, and political exigency never cease to throw up all manner of political configurations. It is safe to wait with bated breath in ‘siddon look’ posture.”
The Presidency said
Meanwhile, the Specal Adviser to the President on Information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement recently, denied the claim that the president was promoting a one-party state.
Onanuga said, “Contrary to the false claims in the propaganda materials in circulation across mainstream and social media, democracy is not under any threat in Nigeria. Accusations that the administration is moving towards authoritarianism are baseless and exaggerated.
“The opposition cannot blame President Tinubu and the governing APC for their poor organisation, indiscipline, and gross incompetence in managing their affairs. It is certainly not part of President Tinubu’s job to organise or strengthen opposition parties.
“We want to state that democracy is not threatened or undermined simply because politicians exercise their rights to freedom of association. Nigerians migrating to the APC and expressing support for Tinubu are doing so out of their free will, based on the belief that the reforms being executed are in the interest of Nigerians and the unborn generation.”
