Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, and former River State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, have raised alarms on how Nigeria is losing its hard-fought democracy.
Former Vice President Atiku warned that Nigeria risks losing its hard-fought democracy if it continues down its current path.
Speaking at a national conference in Abuja on Monday, Atiku told Daily Trust that the country faces a critical decision: to embrace or abandon democracy.
“We really are at a crossroads in this democratic experiment. We either decide we want to be democratic, or we decide to abandon it,” Atiku said.
He further stressed that courts, not the electorate, are now the ultimate deciders of candidates and election results.
He explained that the challenges political parties face today are directly impacting governance.
The government dictates to political parties rather than the other way around. Political parties should guide governance based on the people’s needs,” he stated.
Atiku emphasised the importance of legislative reforms to ensure political parties and governance align with democratic principles.
The former vice president questioned the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral body, comparing it to Turkey’s, which disqualified President Recep Erdogan after he failed to meet the constitutional threshold, Vanguard reported.
“Does Nigeria’s electoral umpire have the same integrity? That’s a question worth asking,” Atiku remarked.
In a bold revelation, Atiku alleged that the current administration attempts to buy off opposition leaders.
“I met with opposition party leaders, and they openly told me that the government gives them N50 million each,” he claimed.
El-Rufai urges the opposition to unite for democracy’s survival. The former governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, echoed Atiku’s warning, calling the political situation a national emergency.
He urged opposition parties to unite to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy.
“The way opposition parties are being targeted and the quality of governance today is a national emergency,” El-Rufai stressed.
He pointed out a recent poll showing that 75% of registered voters do not intend to vote in 2027, warning that this apathy could be a precursor to the collapse of the democratic system.
El-Rufai also warned of internal sabotage within opposition parties, particularly the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which he claimed is being systematically destroyed from within.
Amaechi: Civilian leadership turning authoritarian Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation, shared similar concerns, highlighting the danger of civilians adopting authoritarian practices.
He said: “We don’t want civilians to behave like the military, wearing babbar riga and suits,” he said, reflecting on Nigeria’s past under military rule.
Amaechi emphasised the need for a broad-based opposition coalition to prevent Nigeria from sliding into autocracy.
“If opposition parties don’t unite, we may end up losing everything,” he warned.
