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Tag: democracy

  • 2025: Democracy under attack

    2025: Democracy under attack

    By Yasemin Aydın

    The year 2025 will probably not be remembered as a dramatic breaking point for democracy.

    No sudden collapses. No single moment where everything fell apart. And that is exactly what makes it important.

    Institutions continued to function. Elections took place. Courts remained open. From the outside, democratic systems appeared intact. Yet something shifted underneath. Not abruptly, but steadily. Democratic erosion did not accelerate through shock. It deepened through repetition.

    This was not the year new threats appeared. It was the year familiar ones began to reinforce each other.

    Uncertainty as the starting point

    Europe entered 2025 already uneasy. The war in Ukraine not only tested military capacity. It exposed how dependent European security still is on the United States. Support from Washington continued, but it no longer felt automatic. Domestic polarization in the US and shifting global priorities made commitments appear conditional.

    READ ALSO; Why I walked away as Finance Minister – Kemi Adeosun

    In his government address on December 17, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated openly that Europe was losing significance in the eyes of the United States and described the moment as an epochal rupture. The language was striking not because it was alarmist, but because it acknowledged what had long been avoided: The transatlantic relationship could no longer be taken for granted. This shift was reinforced by the new US security strategy. Washington signaled a clear departure from its traditional commitment to Europe and from a rules-based international order. The symbolic breaking point for many came earlier that year, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was received in the Oval Office and treated in a manner widely perceived as humiliating. When Donald Trump publicly accused him of “playing with World War Three,” the moment left observers across Europe stunned, not because of diplomatic disagreement, but because of the tone. It marked a visible collapse of mutual respect. As Stephen M. Walt has long argued, deterrence weakens not only when power declines, but when intentions become uncertain. In 2025 that uncertainty was no longer theoretical. It was visible, audible and politically consequential. Uncertainty did not stay in foreign policy. It seeped into public perception.

    When truth stops convincing

    Where uncertainty grows, disinformation finds room to operate. Cyberattacks and digital interference were no longer abstract scenarios discussed in security briefings. They became tangible disruptions. As security experts noted at the time, these operations no longer took place solely along distant front lines but across civilian, digital and psychological spaces. Intelligence agencies across Europe and the transatlantic community confirmed what many had already sensed: Contemporary disinformation is not designed to persuade. It is designed to exhaust. The goal is not to replace one narrative with another but to undermine the idea that a shared reality is even possible.

    This development reinforced a broader realization: The boundaries between war and peace, external threat and internal stability, had blurred. What was at stake was no longer only territorial integrity but societal resilience.

    Hannah Arendt warned that politics becomes dangerous when people lose trust not only in facts but in the possibility of truth itself. In 2025 this warning felt uncomfortably accurate.

    Truth did not vanish. It simply lost its authority.

    People grew tired of defending it.

    Platforms don’t just host debate, they shape it

    This fatigue cannot be separated from the architecture of the digital public sphere. Platforms are no longer neutral spaces where debate happens. They actively shape what is seen, amplified or ignored. Not through bans but through ranking. Through design choices that reward speed, emotional intensity and constant engagement.

    Shoshana Zuboff describes this as a system built to predict and influence behavior, not to foster deliberation. Engagement becomes the measure of relevance, and relevance quietly replaces judgment. European efforts under the Digital Services Act reflect a growing awareness of this imbalance. The question is no longer whether speech is allowed, but who controls visibility in practice.

    Exhaustion as a political condition

    There is also a psychological layer to this story. An attention economy built on dopamine does not encourage reflection. It keeps users in a state of anticipation, always reacting, rarely settling. Gabor Maté has emphasized that addiction is less about pleasure than about escaping discomfort, a mechanism the attention economy exploits at scale. Young people feel this most directly. Attention shortens. Emotional overload becomes normal. Complexity feels heavy. Byung-Chul Han describes contemporary societies as exhausted rather than oppressed: overstimulated, yet increasingly passive. Exhausted societies do not disappear. They simplify. They don’t have any patience for complexity. But democracy is complex.

    Why populism starts to feel reasonable

    This is the moment where populism becomes dangerous: not because it shouts, but because it fits.

    What mattered most in 2025 was not the success of authoritarian actors themselves, but how mainstream politics reacted to them. Under pressure, established parties increasingly adopted populist framing, especially on migration and security, presenting it as pragmatism.

    Political theorist Jan-Werner Müller warns that populism is not neutralized by imitation. It is legitimized by it. Austrian political scientist Natascha Strobl describes this process as the normalization of authoritarianism: not through open rupture, but through shifting thresholds of what is considered acceptable. Authoritarian politics, she argues, does not need to abolish democracy. It only needs to redefine what democracy is expected to tolerate.

    This is why 2025 felt different.

    Exceptional measures no longer shocked.

    Oversight felt inconvenient.

    Complexity appeared inefficient.

    Authoritarian logic did not announce itself. It blended in.

    Not a moral failure, a structural one

    What 2025 revealed was not a collapse of democratic values. Most societies still claim them. It revealed a structural problem.

    Strategic uncertainty weakened confidence.

    Disinformation exploited that weakness.

    Platform design amplified distortion.

    Attention fatigue reduced resistance.

    Simplification filled the gap.

    Each element reinforced the next. Democracy today is not lost at once. It erodes across systems: in how information circulates, how attention is managed and how “normal” quietly shifts.

    There was no single moment in 2025 when democracy failed. There were many moments when it was simply adjusted. And that may be the more dangerous story.

  • Democracy in retreat everywhere

    Democracy in retreat everywhere

    In 1863, the United States of America was fighting for its very existence during the civil war that lasted from 1860 to 1865. In what is known as his Gettysburg address, President Abraham Lincoln said in his closing remarks to honour the living and fallen Union troops that:  “…it is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that these honoured dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people by the people  for the people shall  not perish from the earth.”

    Almost a century later in 1961 at his inaugural speech as president of the United States on January 20 1961, President J.F. Kennedy said America was ready to pay any price, meet any hardship for the defence of freedom and challenge his country people to not ask what America can do for them but what they can do for America in spreading the gospel of freedom enshrined in democracy. He ended his inaugural address by equating American defence of liberty which he called God’s work which every American should make their own work.

    From the time America was fully involved in global politics from the First World War through the Second World War, it had always been in the defence of freedom and democracy or presented as such.  The pivotal declaration of American presidency is to suggest that the defence of freedom is worth fighting and dying for. Of course, the revolt against the government of the United Kingdom and asserting their separate identity in 1776 was also always presented as a people justly fighting for freedom against royal tyranny. Cynics may dismiss the certainty and truthfulness and commitment of the American government which even though it fought a civil war from 1861 to 1865 partly to free the slaves and waited until 1965 before granting full franchise to blacks which even today President Donald Trump and the Republican Party would cancel if it had the chance.

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    Today, it is doubtful if the United States is fully committed to the defence of freedom, liberty and democracy as previous American presidents were determined to do. President Trump and people in his Republican corner are more favourably disposed to the authoritarian regimes in Arab North Africa and the Middle East and  their fellow travellers in South East Asia and the strong leaders in India, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea even though many of these countries parade  themselves as democracies  but they are not. Even in Europe, Trump is more at home with Vladimir Putin and the Hungarian president, Viktor Orban and the American Vice President JD Vance and their friend Elon Musk were heavily promoting right wing party Alternatif fur Deutschland (AFD) in recent German elections when Friedrich Merz was elected chancellor of Germany.  In Great Britain, Trump and Elon Musk his former buddy are clandestinely or openly supporting the anti-Europe and anti-immigrant Nigel Farage and Reform UK which does not hide its espousal of racist tendencies in Britain. This party today has highest support in the UK, if one believes the gallop polls. The Trump government has no African policy except to invite  Cyril Ramaphoza, President of South Africa to the White House and to humiliate him in front of the global media and to falsely accuse him of heading a murderous government killing white farmers in South Africa whereas it is white farmers who are killing blacks. The only other time he invited Africans is when he brought some leader of guerrilla forces in Congo DR and the country’s president to the White House and to ask them to stop fighting and then boasted to the whole world that he has magically brought peace to Africa. The following day, the effete Congo government allegedly alienated a large part of the country to American miners for rare earth mining. All these claims have been rightly denied.

    In Latin America, Trump is massing troops in Venezuela’s coast under the pretext of stopping drug smugglers into the United States. His Air Force has killed close to 20 people allegedly for smuggling drugs without any evidence. He is goading the country’s president, Nicholas Maduro to make a move before ordering the navy armada on its coast to start an invasion of the country.

    Maduro may be a bad president but that does not give America the license to invade a sovereign country. He is also poised to give the same treatment to erstwhile pro-American president of Columbia Juan Guaido the same treatment unless he bends to his will.

    At home under President Donald J. Trump, America appears to have abandoned its democratic constitutional tradition for authoritarian rule of one man supported by an oligarchy of fat cats to which the president is beholden. By executive fiat, President Trump is raising or lowering trade tariffs with all countries of the world according to his whim and caprices without reference to Congress. He is disobeying court judgements and rushing legal challenges of the lower courts to the Supreme Court whose membership he has packed with Republican judges who in most cases defer to him in their judgments. He is also weaponising the judiciary against his so-called enemies such as the previous head of the FBI and the Attorney General of New York State and some members of Congress who impeached him for offenses committed against the USA when he reluctantly ceded power to President Joe Biden but supported armed rebellion against Congress in 2020 after a concluded election. He is also using troops to force compliance to forced eviction of illegal immigrants and deportation of the same from the United States. He is against the constitution sending troops to states with Democratic governors under the pretext that the governors have lost control and threatened to arrest sitting governors and mayors if they resist federal troops and armed immigration enforcement.

    Now Congress has been shut down and federal workers are not being paid and the country is witnessing delays to civil aviation while he is junketing from one country to the other in Asia while his country is shut down. If what is happening in the USA were to be happening elsewhere, there would have been non-constitutional measures encouraged by the USA to force the issue.

    In short, America has ceased being a beacon of democracy to the rest of the world. The same President Trump is testing the waters of a possible third term knowing fully well  that it would illegal and unconstitutional but nevertheless, he is  flying the kite of a third term and he and his supporters are saying why not? It seems anything is possible in Donald Trump’s United States of America.

  • Group cautions against attempt to truncate democracy

    Group cautions against attempt to truncate democracy

    Yoruba Assembly, a coalition of diverse Yoruba socio-political and cultural groups, has warned of grave consequences, should there be any attempt to stage a military coup in Nigeria.

    The group said such an action would destabilise the country, erode democratic gains and plunge the nation into turmoil.

    The warning was issued in a communiqué released after the group’s conference on the State of the Nation, held in Lagos and attended by over 1,000 delegates from across Yoruba-speaking states, including representatives from the Yoruba diaspora and other ethnic nationalities like the Itsekiri.

    The Chairman, Olawale Oshun, who read the assembly’s statement, said the group was disturbed by reports suggesting the possibility of anti-democratic conspiracies in the country.

    He cautioned against any attempt to truncate Nigeria’s democratic process, noting such an act would have “unprecedented and irreversible consequences.”

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    Oshun, Chief Whip of the House of Representatives during the aborted Third Republic, said: “We warn military adventurists to stay away from politics. Any attempt to truncate democracy at this moment will end up creating unprecedented violence and instability.”

    The assembly expressed concern about intelligence reports alleging planned attacks by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) on parts of Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Osun states, warning that Yoruba communities must begin to organise themselves for self-defence.

    “Our people cannot remain silent witnesses to the invasion of our homeland. The Yoruba must unite to resist any attempt to subjugate or destroy our heritage,” the group said.

    The assembly condemned the recent spate of killings in Kwara, Kogi states and Itsekiri land, describing attacks on Yoruba people anywhere in Nigeria as “an attack on all Yoruba.”

    It called on the Federal Government to protect Itsekiri communities in Delta State and Yoruba populations in Kogi and Kwara states, warning that ‘’the continued neglect of these vulnerable areas can lead to unrest.

    “The Yoruba in Kogi and Kwara states are facing a declaration of war. Itsekiri people are also facing historical injustice, with pipeline protection contracts handed to their adversaries. These situations can no longer be tolerated,” the communiqué said.

    The body identified restructuring as the most viable solution to Nigeria’s lingering instability, urging the Federal Government to return the country to a true federal system similar to the pre-independence arrangement.

    “The antidote to Nigeria’s instability is to restructure the federation along regional lines, allowing each unit to control its resources and chart its development path,” the statement said.

    The group criticised Southwest governors for failing to collaborate on security and development issues, enjoining them to prioritise governance and work together to establish subnational policing systems to safeguard lives and property.

    “No single governor can protect his people alone. They must work collectively and push for state and regional policing to confront the security challenges head-on,” it said.

    The assembly underscored the critical role of Yoruba traditional rulers in uniting and defending their people, calling for a summit of Yoruba monarchs to be convened by the Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo to reassert cultural and ancestral leadership.

    “Our monarchs must take their rightful place as custodians of our spirit and heritage. Their unity is essential to the preservation of Yoruba civilisation,” the statement emphasised.

    It acknowledged recent improvements in macroeconomic indicators — including a decline in inflation from 34 per cent in mid-2024 to 22 per cent by September 2025, and GDP growth of 3.8 per cent — but expressed concern that ‘’these figures do not translate into real benefits for ordinary Nigerians.’’

    “We can recite positive statistics, but they mean little if they do not improve the lives of our citizens. Development must be people-centred, not just paper growth,” Oshun noted.

    The group called for renewed investment in agriculture, small-scale industrial production and the revival of Industrial Development Centres (IDCs), to promote local enterprise and job creation across the Southwest.

  • Killing democracy one lie at a time

    Killing democracy one lie at a time

    I have listened to many an opposition politician cry to high heavens that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is destroying democracy by turning Nigeria into a one-party state, because some Governors defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress to which the President belongs. One of the proponents of one-party-state even took a leap into prophecy: President Tinubu wants to rule forever!

    Not one of them provided any evidence of pressure on the defecting Governors by the President, only speculations and innuendoes. Nor did any Governor complain of pressure as each of the defectors gave reasons for their action. Proponents of one-party-state are willing to deprive the defecting Governors of freewill, of the ability to make their own independent decision. Yet, the proponents themselves are in one or the other of the 19 registered political parties in Nigeria, many of them having defected from one party to the other, some several times! Their hypocrisy is further illustrated by their continuing effort to recruit more members from other parties into their own.

    The point here is that this phantom of a one-party-state is yet another political gimmick to undersell our democracy by portraying it in bad light, all in the attempt to incite voters against President Tinubu, preparatory to the 2027 general elections. It all started in 2022 as preparations were underway for the 2023 elections. Candidates used a variety of tactics, including false allegations of certificate forgery, corruption, drug trafficking, exploitations of ethnic and religious tensions, allegations of electoral malpractices, exploitation of electronic voting failures, and baseless legal challenges. Throughout the campaign, social media were mobilised to spread misinformation, disinformation, trolls, and manipulated images, all to discredit Tinubu and delegitimise his election. The concerted attack on INEC was a strategy to achieve this goal. To be sure, INEC did have its shortcomings during the election.

    Nevertheless, there was nothing about the election that could have changed the overall results. The outcome of the unanimous verdict of the Supreme Court, in which judges directly chastised the petitioners for the baselessness and frivolity of aspects of their cases, further highlighted the validity of the election. Of course, the petitioners turned around to insinuate that the judges were bought, all of them. By the time the election and litigation were over, all major institutions had been discredited.

    The misinformation about the person and candidacy of Tinubu and outright lies about various aspects of the 2023 elections prepared the grounds for two major developments that followed the presidential election. One, foreign media bought into the lies and further propagated them. Some supporters of a losing candidate even went to the White House in Washington, DC, to protest the Nigerian presidential election results. They thus pushed election denialism to then President Joe Biden, whose opponent had used similar tactics to deny his own election. It was easy for Biden and Western leaders to see through the shenanigans of Nigerian election deniers.

    Two, the exploitation of the Muslim-Muslim ticket by Christian candidates, their supporters, and Christian religious leaders laid the foundation for false claims of genocide against Christians. The escalation of conflict over land in the Christian South, accompanied by herdsmen clashes with farmers over grazing land, worsened the narrative. But domestic proponents of the narrative knew too well that Muslims were also killed in large numbers in the Muslim North, where conflict rages between land and cattle owners, involving banditry and kidnapping for ransom. But what the world knows is what we portray about ourselves in the media.

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    One consistent negative portrayal of ourselves is in the economic sector. So much negative propaganda about the economy is spewed that it is hard to believe that Nigeria could survive. It is as if President Tinubu came to destroy the economy, while he has been doing the best possible to revive it by following the road not taken (see Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, Follow Who Know Road, The Nation, October 15, 2025). True, the tripartite measures he had taken to revitalise the economy—removal of fuel subsidy, unification of the exchange market, and overhaul of the tax system—came at a cost to consumers. Nevertheless, the coast is gradually clearing. There is an interesting irony here. While political opponents see a dying economy, foreign observers—the World Bank, the IMF, and rating organizations—see a revamped economy on the way to full recovery. This is one area where statistics truly don’t lie: the Naira has stabilised, fuel cost is at least 50 percent cheaper than it was at the peak of the crisis of fuel subsidy removal; inflation is down by over 30 percent of its peak; and food prices are coming down gradually.

    However, nothing better illustrates the desire of political opponents to destroy our democracy than their insistent call for a military take-over. It’s a call they have been making since the election results were announced. The cancellation of 65th independence anniversary celebrations last October gave room for their conspiracy theory that the cancellation was to avert a military take-over. The same people who would have chastised the government for celebrating in austere times quickly turned to a phantom military coup.

    Incidentally, the ongoing disciplinary action against some army officers for various offenses provided the leeway for their conspiracy theory. It took the Defense Headquarters to deny coup rumours trolling online. It explained (1) that the investigation of some officers was to instill discipline and professionalism, rather than in reaction to a coup plot and (2) that the cancellation of the anniversary celebration was to allow President Tinubu to attend a “strategic bilateral meeting”, which he indeed attended, and has since returned.

    There is no doubt that a military coup would have been the death of democracy as it was for over 30 of the 65 years of independence, when the constitution was suspended and full dictatorship was established. Why detractors of President Tinubu would want that situation to reoccur is beyond sanity. Assuming that many of their social media supporters had no idea what military dictatorship looked like, it is a shame that the elders among them who know are willing to cut their nose off to spite their face.

    It will be more profitable as the next election season approaches for our politicians to focus on policies and solutions to national problems than to keep destroying our democracy by lying about it.

  • We’ll ensure legislative arm promote true democracy – OGHASC chairman

    We’ll ensure legislative arm promote true democracy – OGHASC chairman

    The Chairman, Ogun State House of Assembly Service Commission, Rt. Hon. Suraj Adekunbi has assured that the Commission under his leadership would ensure that the legislative arm of government truly promotes democracy .

    Adekunbi who gave the assurance during a study tour of the Commission to the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission in Lagos, said basically the tour was based on quest for innovations and also to draw from the wealth of knowledge and experience from the Commission to enhance better productivity in the legislative arm of Ogun State government.

    Applauding the Acting Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission, Ms.Habibat Omowunmi Ogbara, members of the Commission and the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa for the swift response towards the study tour, the erstwhile Speaker commended the collaboration that the two States enjoys.

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    On her part, the Acting Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission, Ms. Habibat Omowunmi Ogbara, urged team Ogun to create synergy with its House of Assembly and the mainstream to achieve smooth operation in the legislative arm.

    In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, Ogun State House of Assembly Service Commission, Mr. Taiwo Opaleye acknowledged that the Ogun Assembly Commission has the same work pattern with the Lagos Assembly Commission, stating that the Commission would work on some areas to improve quality of service delivery.

    Lending her voice, the Commissioner III, Ogun State House of Assembly Service Commission, Hon. Folakemi Akintayo appreciated the Lagos Commission’s team for the warm welcome and for exposing them to their wealth of knowledge, noting that Ogun Assembly Commission would not relent in giving its best to the legislative arm of government.

  • Irony of ignorance in defence of democracy

    Irony of ignorance in defence of democracy

    • By Oseloka H. Obaze

    Nigeria is 65. She struggled for her independence, but never fought for it.  That has made all the difference in her appreciation of her nationalism, unity and democracy.  Also, Nigeria fought a civil war to stay united, but because the agonizing consequences of that war were not equally felt, the appreciation of the war’s underpinning value varies.

    The choice of Nigeria becoming a democracy was not one made by Nigerians. It was a convenient and not-so-hard choice made on their behalf by colonial masters.  As surmised by one writer, “Nigeria is a nation that insists on playing in the theatre of democracy, while the script is being written elsewhere.” Nigeria’s present ethnic composition, defaults respectively to the feudal, monarchical, and republican system. If Nigeria was predicated purely on linguistic and ethnic considerations, there would have been, perhaps, five nations: Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw, and Fulani.  Other smaller ethnicities might have also qualified as confederations. Efik-Ibibio would be one such nomenclature.

    Because some things only happen in Nigeria, the nation is what it is, by expedient experimental foreign design.  That is the stark reality. A corollary, is that in Nigeria, the defence of democracy or lack thereof, is quite often driven her fractured nature, systemic ethnic biases and by the ever-present irony of ignorance. Oftentimes, these ironies border on political idiocy.  Nigeria is a perfect case study of a nation that has experienced colonial rule, self-rule, authoritarianism, military anti-politics and a dual subset of participatory democracy; as a parliamentary system and now, a presidential system.

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    The debate about Nigeria’s trajectory as a united nation has always been animated. Historically, Nigeria has tethered on the brink, but hardly ever reaching the tipping point. The presumptive basis for consolidated nation building has been dissected in all forms and manner, usually under the rubric of restructuring.  Not even the Aristotelian dictate that emphasizes equality amongst equals and proportionality amongst the unequal seems to have helped.

    As a nation of over 250 languages, with many ethnic groups and a surfeit of minorities, the dominant Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo tribes (WAZOBIA), have held the leadership sway since her independence in 1960. Yet, as unlikely as it seemed, by a twist of natural attrition and constitutional fiat, a member of a minority tribe, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, fortuitously led the nation as president in the Fourth Republic.

    Yet, discussing past, present, and future of democracy in Nigeria inevitably yields mixed results. Why? Because Nigerians covet democracy, but seem incapable of living up to its ideals. Some now even consider the military era, as more constructive, productive and cost-effective in developmental terms. Perhaps, democracy in Nigeria calls for putting new eyes on old ideas and controversies that hobble the nation.

    The practice of democracy in Nigeria tends to negate the concept “of government predicated on the principle that power should be vested in the people.” Also, democracy for Nigerians is no longer predicated on political beliefs as much as it’s driven by ethnic and social identities. Such identity paradox creates unending dissonance in democratic politics and governance. By extension, it amplifies Nigeria’s “growing distrust of and frustration with democracy.”  But then, Nigeria is not by any means the only nation where democracy has caused hyper-divisions in her political landscape.

    A recent op-ed I wrote elicited the following rebuttal from an octogenarian, who was born in pre-independent Nigeria, lived in Biafra and served in her army, and consequently served as a career Nigerian Foreign Service Officer, rising to the rank of ambassador.  His words:  “If this Nigeria doesn’t die, a rebirth of a new Nigeria might be a hoax.”  His perspective is Biblical and Botanical.

    Biblically, we read about destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days, which for believers, is epitomized by the consequent death and rise of Jesus Christ.  Botanically, seeds die in order to regenerate and germinate and bring forth new plants and growth.  Another interlocutor asked: “How will Nigeria not die or be saved when Nigerians are afraid to die or even make sacrifices for the sake of saving her.” 

    These observations are beyond rhetoric. The debate about Nigeria’s fate and future tends to be schizophrenic: blunt and dodgy at the same time. Nigerians covet democracy but are unwilling to make sacrifices that underpin its efficacy, robustness and survival.

    The desirable quest for a New Nigeria is aimed at amplifying and consolidating her democracy, with its consequential rights, liberties and equality for all. The defence of democracy in Nigeria is all about finding common cause and equity in an egalitarian society.  Ironically, that quest is frequently subsumed and subjugated by the notion that democracy works well, only when a certain ethnicity is in charge. As such, various ethnicities are fixated on the notion that Nigeria only work well, if not better, under their leadership. Again, such ironical thoughts negate the fundamental notion that democracy is the government of the people by the people. Such ironies are born of ignorance or primordial considerations. 

    Meanwhile, governance experts have adduced three kinds of democracy: “Constitutional democracy – governed by a constitution. Defensive democracy – a democracy that limits some rights and freedoms in order to protect its existence. Deliberative democracy – in which authentic deliberation, not only voting, is central to legitimate decision making.”  Nigeria has dabbled, I believe, in the first two and now seeks to find her grounding in deliberative democracy. General Ibrahim Babangida unwittingly, foisted a defensive democracy on Nigeria, with a restricted two-party system inclined “a little bit to the left, and a little bit to the right.” That system flopped, courtesy of its originating dubious intent.

    Still, it should matter little, who leads a nation in a true and vibrant democracy, if the leaders abide strictly to the rule of law, and give primacy to respecting the constitution, its dictates and legitimate decision-making processes.  One of the beauties of democracy, is the holding of periodic, genuine and credible elections, in which the citizens decide who should rule them.  Voting and transparently electing who should rule in accordance with the extant laws, is a form of defence for any democracy.  Inherent in that process, is what ought to be the unfettered ability to vote out bad and underperforming leaders. Ironically, out of ignorance, miseducation, poor orientation, or blinkered bigotry, Nigeria’s voting population continue to default to ethnic considerations or financial inducement and other set of ironies predicated on ignorance.

    A major challenge dogging Nigeria’s present day democracy is the seeming inability of her leaders to abide by constitutional dictates and legitimate decision making processes.  Not only are constitutional rights eroded routinely, the pillars of any true democracy, the separation of powers are also holistically ignored. Above all, the core principle of making the people’s vote count has never been accorded priority, despite existing laws to that effect. It is this reality that has led to the endless quest for restructuring and electoral reform.

    However, because the culture of impunity and sectionalism has eaten every reform and restructuring strategy (apologies to Peter Drucker), change has remained elusive. It is the culture eating strategy that has technically, emasculated political opposition and weakened national democratic institutions. Today, Nigeria is not only insecure, physically, fiscally and psychologically, the nation is progressively on a lawless boil. This is what makes Nigeria an “undemocratic democracy.”

    Some Nigerians now advocate for a return to the parliamentary system. Their thesis is that the system ensures proportional representation in government based on votes won.  The objective is to overcome the prevailing myth of representation that is essentially lineal and skewed unapologetically in favour of the winning party. The attraction of this proposition, beyond its cost-effectiveness, is that it ensures opposition’s concerted role within and outside the government.  But it does not ensure the fealty of the system’s operators within and outside the corridors of power. It is this nexus between political idiocy and irony of ignorance, which quite often are fungible that compounds the lack of political will and shirking of sacrifices required for true nation building.

    Whereas our democracy has advanced in numerical years, it is stultified in concrete terms and still operationally nascent.  As such, Nigeria’s unchangeable past will consequentially instruct and define her unknowable future. Meanwhile, democracy is hard work.  We have to work hard at it.  But we can’t do so with the present cadre of political leaders, who are not only short-sighted, but utterly indifferent to the fundamentals ethos that undergird any sustainable democracy. Happy Independence!

    •Obaze is MD/CEO, Selonnes Consult – a policy, governance and management consulting firm in Awka.

  • Democracy and the messiah-villain binary trap

    Democracy and the messiah-villain binary trap

    • By Oladoja M.O

    In the grand, often tumultuous, theatre of African politics, a deeply entrenched and insidious narrative persists: the messiah-villain binary. This simplistic, yet devastating, framework casts political leaders not as fallible public servants, but as either divine saviors or malevolent destroyers. It’s a binary that suffocates nuance, stifles accountability, and, in a continent desperate for democratic maturity, acts as a corrosive cancer on the body politic. We must call this what it is: a dangerous delusion that has shackled Africa’s progress for far too long.

    This orientation, a relic of post-colonial strongman politics, reduces the complex art of governance to a moral melodrama. Citizens, conditioned to see their leaders as larger-than-life figures, become spectators in a perpetual battle between good and evil. When a new leader emerges, they are instantly elevated to the status of a messiah, the one chosen to slay the dragons of poverty, corruption, and instability. Any opposition is, by default, cast as the villain, a saboteur working against the people’s will.

    This is not just a rhetorical device; it’s a profound psychological trap that prevents a healthy, critical relationship between the electorate and those they elect.

    Look no further than the story of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. In the euphoric dawn of independence in 1980, Mugabe was the indisputable messiah. He had led the liberation struggle, promised land to the people, and was seen as the architect of a new, prosperous Zimbabwe. But as his rule solidified, dissent grew. His brutal suppression of the Gukurahundi massacres and his increasingly authoritarian tendencies were not seen by his staunchest supporters as the actions of a flawed leader, but rather as the necessary evils required to defeat the ‘villains’—the opposition, foreign agents, and internal critics. This narrative allowed him to dismantle democratic institutions and cling to power for nearly four decades, all while his country’s economy imploded. The messiah had morphed into a tyrant, but the binary, with its pre-assigned roles, kept many from seeing the reality until it was too late.

    A similar pattern can be seen in Rwanda, albeit with a different trajectory. Following the 1994 genocide, Paul Kagame was hailed as the man who pulled his nation from the brink of total annihilation. He is undeniably a messiah figure for many Rwandans, credited with bringing stability, order, and remarkable economic growth. Yet, this messianic status has made it incredibly difficult for a genuine political opposition to emerge. Critics, journalists, and political rivals who question his iron grip on power are often swiftly silenced, accused of undermining national unity or of being sympathizers of the genocidal past.

    The messiahnic narrative, while perhaps initially justified, has become a tool to legitimize the suppression of democratic pluralism. The ‘villain’ is no longer the genocidal regime, but anyone who dares to challenge the man who defeated it. This is a profound danger: when a leader’s infallibility is tied to a nation’s salvation, dissent becomes tantamount to treason.

    The messiah-villain binary is a disease that festers in the heart of African electoral politics. It’s visible in the fervent, almost religious, rallies where supporters see their candidate not as a political leader with a manifesto, but as an oracle. The 2017 Kenyan election and the subsequent crisis offered a stark illustration. Both Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga were cast as messianic figures by their respective supporters. For Odinga’s base, he was the long-awaited liberator, the man who would finally lead them to a promised land of social justice. For Kenyatta’s supporters, he represented stability and continuity, the man protecting the country from the ‘villainous’ forces of instability. This emotional fervor, fueled by tribal and regional loyalties, led to a deeply polarized society where compromise became impossible. The result was not just political gridlock, but a cycle of violence and deep-seated animosity that continues to haunt the nation. The election wasn’t a contest of ideas; it was a crusade.

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    This binary is not just a problem of the past; it’s alive and well today. In Nigeria, the perennial politics of ‘savior’ and ‘enemy’ plagues the electoral landscape. From the military regimes to the current democratic dispensation, every election is framed as a life-or-death struggle against forces of darkness. A new candidate emerges, promising to sweep away the corruption of the past, and is instantly elevated to a messianic pedestal. Yet, once in power, the same old patterns of patronage and unaccountability emerge. The people, having invested their faith in a person rather than in institutions and processes, are left disillusioned, only to repeat the cycle with the next messianic figure. This prevents the building of strong, independent institutions, a free press, an impartial judiciary, and a non-partisan civil service, because the entire political system revolves around the individual, not the rules.

    The messiah-villain binary is a trap, a narrative cul-de-sac from which genuine democratic progress cannot escape. It’s a cancer because it preys on hope, exploiting the legitimate frustrations of the populace for political gain. It turns citizens into blind followers and opponents into sworn enemies. This dangerous orientation must be dismantled. We must stop looking for messiahs. There are no magical saviors. There are only men and women fallible, flawed, and accountable to the people they serve. We must demand a politics of substance, not spectacle. We must judge our leaders not by the promises they make on the campaign trail, but by their respect for democratic institutions, their commitment to the rule of law, and their willingness to be held to account.

    The true liberation of Africa as a continent, Nigeria as a nation will not come from a single hero, but from a critical, engaged citizenry that understands that the power to govern belongs to them and that no politician, no matter how charismatic, is a god. It is time to retire the messiah, to dismantle the villain, and to embrace the hard, unglamorous work of building a true and lasting democracy.

    • Oladoja writes from Abuja and can be reached via mayokunmark@gmail.com
  • Democracy cannot thrive without civic freedoms, credible elections – Group 

    Democracy cannot thrive without civic freedoms, credible elections – Group 

    Civil society groups have emphasized that Nigeria’s democracy cannot flourish without civic freedoms, empowered citizens free from poverty, and credible electoral institutions.

    The position followed a six-month study under the Civil Space, Poverty and Election (CISPEN) project, jointly undertaken by Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) and the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD).

    Presenting the outcomes of the reform-driven initiative in Abuja on Tuesday, WRAPA’s Director of Programmes, Yemisi Nathaniel, and Centre LSD’s Director of Strategy, Ita Otabo, urged stakeholders to chart a path toward a more credible, inclusive, and democratic future.

    They called on the executive and legislative arms of government to incorporate the project’s recommendations in ongoing constitutional and legislative reforms, while charging the judiciary to uphold its role as guardian of democracy and citizens’ rights.

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    The groups also stressed the need for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to embrace neutrality, transparency, and institutional reforms to strengthen electoral credibility.

    Ahead of 2027 elections, the two groups also expressed concern over the process of appointing Chairman and Federal Commissioners for the electoral agency as the tenure of the incumbent Chairman of INEC ends in November. This, they said, would help instill confidence and trust in the electoral process.

    They also charged the civil society and the media to remain vigilant in educating, mobilising, and holding leaders accountable.

    They added, “Citizens, especially women and youth, should be vigilant and resilient, resist short-term inducements for vote-buying and selling, while upholding their rights to demand accountability. Together, we can build a Nigeria where elections reflect the true will of the people, where poverty is not politicised, and where civic freedoms flourish.”

  • Media urged to lead fight against corruption, safeguard Nigeria democracy

    Media urged to lead fight against corruption, safeguard Nigeria democracy

    Nigeria’s media has been tasked with taking the lead in tackling corruption while ensuring the sustenance of democracy and transparency in governance.

    The call was made at the 12th International Annual Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), held in Effurun, Delta State, under the theme: “Corruption, Governance and the Media in Nigeria.”

    The conference, which brought together journalists, academics, public officials, and security experts, served as a clarion call for stronger collaboration between the media and institutions in advancing good governance.

    Speakers at the event paid tribute to Nigeria’s legacy of fearless journalists, recalling figures like Herbert Macaulay, Dele Giwa, and Fisayo Soyombo, whose investigative work exposed injustice, often at great personal risk.

    Renowned communication scholar, Prof. Ayo Ojebode, in his keynote address, urged the media to reclaim its role as democracy’s watchdog through fearless journalism and active community engagement.

    Citing the example of a community radio journalist in Lavun, Niger State, who exposed corruption at the local government level, Ojebode highlighted the transformative power of grassroots media.

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    He further challenged Nigerian universities and media houses to stop stifling young talents, decrying newsroom censorship and academic structures that discourage investigative reporting.

    “When a journalist decides to uncover opacity, they have signed up as a combatant in bloody warfare. And the media must be ready to protect its warriors,” he said.

    Representing Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Dr. Ebenezer Okorodudu, Executive Director (Projects) of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), shared evidence of fiscal discipline: a 55% reduction in Delta’s domestic debt—from ₦465.4 billion in June 2023 to ₦204.7 billion by March 2025—achieved through careful debt restructuring, reduced overheads, and data-driven economic planning.

    He also noted Delta’s regular publication of audited financial reports, urging other states to adopt such transparency as standard practice.

    Acknowledging the media’s vital role, Dr. Okorodudu called for a partnership built on integrity: “We urge the media to hold us accountable, but also to uphold truth, fairness, and context. Sensationalism does not serve democracy.”

    In a speech delivered on behalf of Senator Nwoko by Mrs. Gloria Okolugbo, the Senator warned that corruption is not just a moral issue but “a direct assault on our collective future.” 

    Nwoko stressed that democracy cannot survive without a “fearless, professional, and ethically uncompromising” media.

    In a goodwill message, Prof. Eserinune Mojaye, President of the Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON), emphasized the power of scholarly research in combating systemic corruption.

    “Corruption thrives in secrecy. Our duty is not just to critique, but to construct, to offer data-backed alternatives and amplify voices of ethical leadership,” he said.

    He called on academics to bridge the gap between research and action, treating communication as a transformational tool in governance.

    Capt. Waredi Enisuoh, Executive Director, Technical, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, warned of the impact of crude oil theft—one of the country’s most damaging forms of economic sabotage, further urging the media to integrate oil theft into Nigeria’s broader anti-corruption narrative, using storytelling to inform, mobilize, and pressure for accountability.

    Earlier in his welcome address, the President of ACSPN, Professor Rotimi Olatunji, rallied journalists and communication professionals on the need to “be fearless, or fail,” declaring that the media must reclaim its place as a watchdog and vanguard of accountability in Nigerian society.

    “We are the watchdog, the truth-teller, and the public advocate. Our role is not just to expose corruption, but to educate, empower, and inspire a culture of integrity,” he stated.

    He also expressed gratitude to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Senator Ned Nwoko, and private sector players such as Tantita, for their support.

    Advocating protection of the press, the speakers called for a national journalist protection framework, awards for impactful investigative journalism, collaboration between academia, newsrooms, and civil society, and reform of journalism education to prioritize critical thinking and investigative courage over credentials.

  • Lessons from 26 years of stable democracy

    Lessons from 26 years of stable democracy

    • By Sunday Olagunju

    Sir: On May 29, our democracy clocked 26 years and uniquely, it was uninterrupted by the military. Many Nigerians regarded it as a milestone in the political history of the country since independence, and more so, a giant stride in the quest for nation building.

    Constitutionally, there is a dichotomy between the civil society, as represented by the politicians, and the military, whereby, while the politicians govern, the military defend the inalienable territorial integrity of the country.

    Strict adherence to such constitutional separation of powers by the older democracies, have been the nexus between their greatness and stability as nation states. Thus, while politicians could not be entirely immune from making mistakes, or committing political infractions, they are allowed to correct themselves based on the maxim that “only a fool will hit his head twice against the same spot”.

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    It has been 26 years of learning the democratic rope, devoid of undue threat or braggadocio military march against the politicians, irrespective of their human errors or mistakes. There is a great lesson to learn by some other African countries from this democratic precedence, especially those still grappling with military incursion into politics, an area exclusively the preserves of the civil societies, while leaving their own terrain of the defence of the country to suffer due to neglect.

    Politicians deserve enough ample chance in the act and practice of democratic process and not just shove off in a whiff by desperate military eager to strike and seize power under a trite and least opportunity. The key to African continent’s better tomorrow does not lie in its military seeing themselves as alternate power to the politicians, but in each power, civil and military, recognizing its role and responsibilities to the populace and discharging them appropriately.

    Finally, having laid the template for a stable polity as evidenced by the events of the past 26years of democratic experiments, the onus lies with the current governments throughout the country to start to build sustainable institutions as opposed to personalities or individuals that are capable of outliving any incumbent government by providing a fulcrum for the incoming administration.

    This was the admonition of Barrack Obama former US President for the African continent governments. And it is the right counsel for them to follow.

    •Sunday Olagunju,

    Ibadan, Oyo State