One-party-system: Nigeria may plunge into dictatorship – Ozekhome

Renowned constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Mike Ozekhome, has raised concerns over what he termed Nigeria’s steady drift towards authoritarianism, cautioning that the country risks sliding into a one-party state if current political trends remain unchecked.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme on Saturday, Ozekhome expressed alarm over the shrinking space for political diversity and ideological identity within the nation’s democratic framework.

“In a one-party state, dictatorship reigns. The National Assembly will be pocketed, the judiciary will follow, and everyone will be left to chorus ‘yes, yes, yes,’” he warned.

The legal expert decried the growing culture of political defections and opportunistic cross-carpeting among the political class, describing it as evidence of Nigeria’s weak ideological foundations.

He compared the nation’s political parties to varieties of the same dish, remarking, “It’s like beans, akara, and moi-moi, they’re essentially the same.”

Citing Nigeria’s political history, Ozekhome recalled the days when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) boasted of ruling for 60 years, only to be removed after 16.

He warned that a similar pattern of complacency and power consolidation could now be playing out under the current administration.

He further criticised President Bola Tinubu’s increasing grip over key government institutions, suggesting that the 2027 general election could become a mere formality if opposition parties remain divided and ineffective.

Equally worrisome, according to Ozekhome, is the apparent political apathy among ordinary Nigerians.

He likened it to a national case of Stockholm Syndrome, where citizens grow accustomed to their political captors and begin to sympathise with them.

Calling for a revival of civic engagement, Ozekhome urged Nigerians to reclaim their democratic power.

“The power is yours; it is not theirs,” he declared, emphasizing that citizens must rise above indifference to demand genuine governance and accountability.