Nigeria’s former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has warned that the country is on the verge of becoming a failed state due to deteriorating democratic conditions, weak institutions, and growing public skepticism in administration.
This is because, as she stated, democracy does not belong to politicians but to the people.
Speaking at the Movement for Credible Elections, Emergency Stakeholders Engagement on Monday in Abuja,
Ezekwesili stated that Nigeria’s democratic system has continuously deteriorated since 1999, with voters increasingly losing faith in elections and public institutions.
Ezekwesili, the coordinator of the Movement for Credible Election, emphasized that the low voter participation in 2023 demonstrated widespread cynicism in the democratic process.
“It is quite evident that years later, our democracy has degraded to a churn. In all the indicators that define functional democracies, we absolutely do badly,” she said.
Furthermore, the recorded 23% turnout in the 2003 presidential election demonstrated that Nigeria had fallen short of Africa’s democratic average.
She blamed the issue on institutional weaknesses, including INEC, the judiciary, and security services, and warned that the abuse of state authority against dissenters poses a significant concern in 2027.
“One major crisis is the increasing use of state power against dissenting voices,” she said.
Ezekwesili also advocated for collective citizen action, stating, “Democracy does not belong to politicians. Democracy belongs to the people.”
She also chastised the political establishment for emphasizing personal ambition over national welfare, claiming that instability and abductions were being neglected while politicians concentrated on elections.
She cautioned that the growing idea that elections are “purchased with money” had exacerbated corruption and fragility, ranking Nigeria among the world’s most vulnerable countries.
“There is growing anxiety that our elections have entirely been purchased and that nothing else matters in our democratic processes than loads of money, and when you remember that none of the politicians have shown evidence of generational wealth before they came to public reckoning, then it becomes clear to me that there is a strong correlation between the level of public corruption that has reduced Nigeria to as close a failed state as can be defined by the global measure that ranks countries in terms of their fragility.
“Nigeria has persistently declined, and today we are within the range of the 13th or the 14th most fragile country. It just takes a tiny little push, and it goes into the category of failed state,” she said.
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, represented by Yinusa Tanko, expressed worry about the ongoing voter registration process, alleging disenfranchisement of eligible voters, particularly in the South-East, and warning that faults in the voter register could jeopardize the 2027 election.
Obi advocated for immediate electoral reforms and increased public participation, saying, “We should take these messages to the streets and fight this specific problem so that we can have the correct electoral reform.
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who was represented at the event, stated that credible elections are critical to national security and accountability, warning that weak democracy promotes instability.
He mentioned recent instability in Oyo State, involving kidnappings and deaths, and described the situation as profoundly distressing.
Makinde stated that the government has issued an executive order to regulate local security systems, emphasizing that modern insecurity necessitates coordinated actions.
He also stated that legitimate elections and security were two sides of the same coin, emphasizing that democratic legitimacy guaranteed responsibility.
He also cautioned that a lack of trust in elections may lead to instability, stating that “ballots eliminate the need for bullets.”
The Social Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, accused the Tinubu administration of aiming to centralize power across political and electoral institutions, warning of a shift toward authoritarianism.
He claimed interference in party affairs and claimed security agencies had been used against opposition groups.
“The general police were used just last week to come and invade the National Secretariat of the SDP like Gestapo,” he said.
He added that government-backed actors were being imposed within parties to create internal crises.
According to him, “The government is using our money to do fake primaries and conventions for every political party. Let me summarize what we are facing.
“It’s not complicated. We are facing a non-performing public officer who wants to pretend that he’s performing and wants all of us to get along and perform with him, and he wants to write a Shakespearean tragedy where we’ll be given roles to play.
“So I’m supposed to be a fake opponent, for example. So pretending to be contesting against him without contesting”.
Adebayo also berated INEC, saying the electoral umpire lacked independence and was under political pressure.
He warned that Nigeria risked losing democratic credibility if institutions were not protected, urging citizens, youths, and the media to become more active in defending democracy.
He said, “It’s our destiny to defeat Tinubu. It’s our destiny to put an end to this idea that Nigeria can become the personal estate of one person.”
The African Action Congress presidential candidate and publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, said participation in Nigeria’s elections had become an endorsement of systemic failure, insisting that political elites had consistently manipulated institutions to retain power.
“They will announce the election, and they know that every four years we will run around, and we expect, foolishly, that we will get justice from those courts. It’s impossible,” he said.
Sowore noted that Nigeria’s crisis reflects a broader “rotten elite” that cuts across party lines, describing President Tinubu as symbolic of a wider system.
“Even if Tinubu leaves tomorrow, they have tonnes of Tinubus,” he said.
He made a call for radical resistance and greater activism, saying reform efforts had failed.
“There is no way you can save this country without revolutionary zeal. Without stronger resistance, Nigeria’s democratic crisis would persist,” he emphasized.
