Renowned constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Professor Mike Ozekhome, has raised alarm over what he describes as Nigeria’s quiet descent into a one-party state—warning that such a trend, if unchecked, could culminate in outright dictatorship.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Hard Copy on Saturday, the rights advocate voiced serious concerns about the current state of Nigerian democracy. He criticised the growing pattern of politicians abandoning their parties without any ideological justification, noting that such behaviour is fuelling the collapse of genuine political competition.
“It’s like beans, akara, and moi-moi; they’re the same,” Ozekhome said, lamenting the lack of distinction among political parties in Nigeria. “In a one-party state, dictatorship reigns supreme. Everybody will agree. National Assembly pocketed, judiciary will be pocketed, and everybody will be saying ‘yes, yes, yes.’”
He described the prevailing atmosphere as “bootlicking at its highest level,” warning that continued political cross-carpeting and lack of ideological clarity among politicians is dismantling the foundations of democratic governance. According to him, Nigeria’s political elite now appear more driven by self-interest than national service.
Reflecting on the past, Ozekhome pointed to the former ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which once boasted of ruling Nigeria for 60 years but eventually collapsed under its own weight. He said such historical lessons are being ignored at the nation’s peril.
Turning to the current administration, the legal luminary observed that President Bola Tinubu’s strategic appointment of loyalists across key positions in government might soon leave him without a credible challenger in the 2027 general elections. “He may virtually run against himself,” Ozekhome remarked, suggesting that a fractured opposition poses a serious threat to the democratic process.
He also criticised what he called the passive attitude of many Nigerians in the face of growing hardship and injustice. Drawing an analogy from psychology, Ozekhome said the citizenry appear to be suffering from a form of “Stockholm Syndrome,” where victims become emotionally attached to their oppressors.
“The average Nigerian, pushed to the wall by hardship, would rather retreat than resist,” he said. “This creates a dangerous atmosphere of helplessness and hopelessness.”
Calling for civic vigilance and collective resistance against any form of authoritarianism, Ozekhome urged Nigerians to wake up and reclaim their democratic rights. “The power is yours; it is not theirs,” he declared.
