The Charade of Democracy: Nigeria’s Slide into Tyranny Under Tinubu

In the hallowed halls of academia, where constitutional democracy is taught as the bedrock of fair governance, a bitter irony unfolds in Nigeria today. The very principles that political science graduates swore to uphold—rule of law, accountability, and the sanctity of democratic institutions—are being trampled underfoot by those who once studied them. Shame on them, for they now prop up a charade masquerading as governance, all for personal gain. Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria is witnessing a dangerous precedent: the ruling party’s apparent reliance on violence and intimidation to suspend opposition governors, a tactic as old as it is condemnable. History warns us this will not end well—and it will come full circle

"Violence erupts in an opposition stronghold of of River sate as political tensions boil over."

The playbook is disturbingly simple. Send thugs to wreak havoc—kill, maim, and terrorize—for a few days in an opposition-controlled state, then declare a state of emergency and suspend the governor. Shikena! Done. It’s a tactic reminiscent of Nigeria’s dark past, one the opposition, including Tinubu’s own All Progressives Congress (APC) when it was out of power, vocally condemned. Yet, here we are again, with the same hatchet men now wielding power and repeating history’s mistakes. Precedent, they say, justifies it. But precedent is not destiny—it can be improved upon. Instead, the ruling party clings to this crude strategy, betting that might makes right.

This is not a uniquely Nigerian affliction. Across the globe, countries have danced this dangerous waltz of political violence and authoritarian overreach, only to face grim reckonings. Take Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe: in the early 2000s, his ZANU-PF party unleashed militias to brutalize opposition supporters ahead of elections. Governors and local leaders critical of Mugabe were systematically targeted, often removed under dubious pretenses. The result? A fractured nation, economic collapse, and Mugabe’s eventual ousting in 2017 by his own military—a poetic, if belated, turn of the wheel.

Or consider Pakistan in the late 1990s, where Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government used state-sponsored violence to suppress opposition strongholds. Governors faced trumped-up charges or were muscled out by orchestrated chaos. The backlash was swift: Sharif was deposed in a 1999 coup by General Pervez Musharraf, proving that such tactics only delay the inevitable. History whispers a chilling truth: it will go round in due course. Nigeria risks the same fate if this cycle persists.

"From Mugabe to Tinubu: echoes of authoritarianism across decades."

Where is the White House in all this? The @POTUS Donald Trump administration, so quick to trumpet democracy’s virtues, has remained deafeningly silent as Tinubu’s regime flirts with tyranny. This is not mere oversight—it’s complicity by omission. When President Joseph Biden sent a delegation to Tinubu’s inauguration in May 2023, led by Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge, it signaled the White House tacit approval. Now, as reports of political atrocities mount—thugs torching opposition areas, governors suspended amid bloodshed—Donald Trump's led Washington’s muteness is a betrayal of its own stated values. The U.S. has sanctioned lesser offenders; why the hesitation here? Is Nigeria’s oil too precious, or its strategic position too convenient, to risk a stern rebuke?

The Nigerian populace must wake up. This is not just about Tinubu’s grip on power—it’s about the enablers in the 10th National Assembly who rubber-stamp this descent into chaos. These lawmakers, many of whom owe their seats to the same political godfatherism Tinubu perfected in Lagos, have failed their constituents. They sit idly as democracy erodes, trading principles for patronage. Voting them out in the next election isn’t just an option—it’s a necessity. Their complicity fuels this fire; their ouster could douse it.

 "The power to change Nigeria’s course lies with its people."

The stakes are high.My giant of Africa Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, cannot afford to become another cautionary tale. Tinubu’s allies may gloat over short-term victories, but history is patient—and unforgiving. The blood spilled in opposition states today will stain the ruling party tomorrow. The people, battered but resilient, hold the key. They must demand better—not just from their president, but from every elected official who has forgotten the lessons of the classroom for the lure of the trough. For if they don’t, the wheel will turn, and the reckoning will come. It always does turn.