A Republic on Edge: The slow march toward a one-party Nigeria, by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE
What is unfolding in Nigeria’s political landscape today is deeply unsettling. The signs are unmistakable, the tension is mounting, and anyone paying close attention can see the pattern hardening. For more than two years, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has operated like a meticulously assembled machine—one steadily navigating Nigeria toward a single-party political order. It is a leviathan growing openly and confidently, a crisis inching toward ignition.
Developments once deemed improbable are now landing with disturbing frequency, catching citizens unprepared and forcing a sobering confrontation with a harsh truth: this is not governance in any ideal sense. It is an aggressive consolidation of power. Central to this unfolding drama is Barr. Nyesom Wike—whose manoeuvres, alongside those of his allies within both the PDP and the ruling party, reveal a more calculated and dangerous agenda.
The indicators are everywhere. Rivers State is on the brink, trapped in a crisis designed to entrench political dominance while fear and silence permeate the atmosphere. In Kano, the Emirate crisis has been weaponised, turning a respected cultural institution into a political pawn. Lagos is locked in internal power plays. Osun’s unresolved legal and political tensions linger ominously in the background.
READ ALSO: A Nation in Peril: Wike’s shadow over Abuja, by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE
Meanwhile, genuine national crises are spiralling—banditry, relentless kidnappings, Boko Haram, ISWAP, Lakurawa incursions, an economy struggling to breathe, deepening cronyism, and rising diplomatic strain. The recent assassination of an Army General along the Damboa–Biu axis, the abduction of schoolgirls, and the killing of a Vice Principal in a Kebbi girls’ school are grim reminders of a nation losing its grip on security and moral order.
Layer onto this Wike’s troubling public confrontations—from the altercation with Lt. Yerima over a land dispute to his dramatic storming of Wadata Plaza, the PDP national secretariat, accompanied by armed loyalists—and the broader picture becomes even more alarming. At this point, any Nigerian who values democracy, justice, and institutional order should be worried. This is no longer a PDP problem; this is a Nigerian problem. It concerns the very soul of our democracy.
The PDP, once a formidable national force, is now at its weakest since 1999—battered, confused, and adrift. What was once a political powerhouse has faded into fragmented structures and nostalgic memories, while the ruling party observes with satisfaction. Yet the lesson remains: a democracy without a credible opposition is a democracy struggling to breathe.
A Hausa proverb captures the moment perfectly: “Yaro bari murna, karen ka ya kama zaki.” A victory that feels sweet today may become a source of regret tomorrow. And that is precisely the danger the ruling party is courting. Its strategy is clear: engineer confusion, cultivate betrayal from within, deploy state power as a political weapon, and weaken the opposition until a one-party reality becomes inevitable.
READ ALSO: Wike and the price of power, by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE
Wike has become the emblem of this internal sabotage—hollowing out the PDP and weakening its ability to serve as a check on the ruling administration. When an opposition party can be remotely influenced from outside, that is no longer politics—it is the onset of authoritarian control.
One of the most disheartening indicators of the PDP’s decline was its public appeal to U.S. President Donald Trump to “rescue Nigeria’s democracy.” That was not a strategy; it was a confession of ideological fatigue and structural collapse. True opposition is built on robust institutions, sound ideas, and moral credibility—not foreign intervention.
Meanwhile, the ruling party tightens its grip—capturing institutions, muting dissent, and shrinking the civic space. History is unambiguous: unchecked power does not stay benign. It mutates. It becomes reckless. It eventually destabilises even those who once enabled it.
Nigeria needs strong institutions, not towering individuals. It needs leaders who respect tradition yet remain accountable to the future—leaders who understand that democracy thrives not through domination but through balance, restraint, fair competition, and accountability.
The drift toward a one-party state is no longer speculative. It is unfolding, visibly and dangerously. Unless those at the helm pull back, exercise restraint, and recognise that power is temporary while consequences endure, Nigeria risks crossing a threshold that may take generations to reverse.
READ ALSO: When Power Blinds: Lessons from Wike’s fall from grace, by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE
This is a moment for vigilance—real vigilance. Because once democracy slips, reclaiming it becomes a long, unforgiving struggle.
Written by Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE.
Email: bgabdullahi@gmail.com
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