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OPINION:Nigeria Hosts Nyerere’s One-party Ghost

Published

7 months ago

April 27, 2025

By Festus Adedayo

It was almost impossible not to be infected by the joy writ large on the face of the One-party state Villa-fawning group this past week. It was akin to winning a tombola. The Mauritanian-Nigerian ex-spokesperson for the Arewa Elders Forum and until of recent, Special Adviser on Political Matters to the President, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, would not allow these elated countrymen the benefit of a hard-earned Saturnalia. Momentarily, he made sitting comfy on a stool a punishing exercise for the group. As he tendered his letter of resignation from government, fire billowed from Baba-Ahmed’s mouth like Sango, the Yoruba god of fire. In a viral video interview, the Mauritanian – beg your pardon – the Nigerian, reached for his ancient Arewa pouch and brought out an insinuation of the North’s oft-mesmerizing demographic talisman.

If the North’s foe in Aso Rock Villa was gloating about a power of incumbency, he should remember that the North is a behemoth that anyone could ignore only at their peril, he reminded the president, until of recent his boss. “No politician can become president without northern support, making the region’s stance crucial to any aspirant’s success,” he warned, garnishing it with the usual obstinate northern threat, “If they plan to rig the election, they should be careful. It won’t be good for Nigeria.” As if the north had always been a saint when it comes to rigging. How come this same north closed its eyes when the ruinous Muhammadu Buhari almost ran Nigeria aground in eight years?

So, last week, an ignited political bomb exploded. Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori and his EFCC-harangued predecessor, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Ifeanyi Okowa, shamelessly decamped from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC). An equally shameless Akwa-Ibom State governor gave indication that he would stay within the PDP and rock its boat. Both moves were replicas of same act some 2000 years ago by that notorious man who asked for a shekel to betray our Lord Jesus Christ. Political watchers say this political Iscariotism is a tip of the iceberg. More opposition party governors, they said, many of whom are first-termers, are having their buttocks placed on scalding-hot pressure cooker in the bid to make them leave their parties for the president’s. Chief among these, they say, are governors of Kano, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Akwa Ibom and Zamfara states.

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The gleeful repertoire of conquest narratives from the presidency and the Villa-fawning group fill the stratosphere. The glee was so thick you could cut a handful and swallow it. The epithets showered on the man who is considered to have broken the spinal cord of Nigeria’s opposition in such magisterial manner range from, “the enigmatic Master Strategist has struck again!”, to “The man who pocketed Lagos State in the last 25 years has added Nigeria to his state-pocketing craft.”

For the Yoruba, their naughty son with amoeba-shaped buttocks, who deserves their waist-beads and not an outsider – an “at’ohunrinwa” – the celebration is even more infectious. From their proverbs pouch, the Yoruba pulled out an ancient saying to justify and enable the perceived routing political craftiness of their son. To them, the rout is a perfect reply to the Mauritanian boaster. So, they say, “as it is on the day set for cultivation of a large farmland that the urgency to own a sharp cutlass becomes imperative, so is it gladsome to have a belligerent child when there is a declaration of war” (ijo a ba pa’juba laa wa ada, ijo ogun ba le laa niran omo t’o le). Only the man who is ensuring that opposition governors decamp to the APC can vanquish their centuries-old northern political foes who, at every drop of a hat, flaunt nebulous demographics as political weapon in electoral contest. The North’s snake has met its waterloo in its bid to swallow the Yoruba shrew.

For me, however, an eerie feeling of foreboding has since last week enveloped my reading of the projected epidemic of decamping opposition politicians. My mind immediately dashed down to eponymous Yoruba thespian, Alagba Adebayo Faleti and his sagely takes on Pyrrhic celebrations, the type that Aso Rock and its fawners are currently taking to the bank. With songs, sang in the cadences of an elderly’s, Faleti drilled down the surface of today’s clanking of champagne glass and saw a melancholic tomorrow. His cameo role in Saworoide, a satiric brainchild film of unarguably one of Nigeria’s most talented cinematographers, Tunde Kelani, provided Faleti an opportunity to penetrate this dense outer surface. Acting the role of Baba Opalaba, (a piercing broken bottle) an elderly palace staff, Faleti deployed music as tool to foretell, reprimand and correct. While the chiefs became a combine of evil, fascinated about immediate riches in a new king, and plotting against the tomorrow of the people, Baba Opalaba warned, singing, “Yes, they are unaware of their action’s repercussion/Tomorrow, they will” (Ko iye won/Yio ye won l’ola).

In another of his warnings, Faleti deployed a proverb to foretell doom: “The wretched wearing torn clothes dances like a king at nocturne, as if unaware that daybreak is nigh (Alakisa n jo l’oru/Bo pe, ile a mo l’ola). If only the Aso Rock/APC celebratory crew was aware of the wiles of their Mephistopheles, they would see what happened last week and what is projected to happen, as moments to, like biblical Israelites did when there was doom, decorate themselves in ashes and soberly mourn what lies ahead. The doom is also popularized by the song of Yoruba Sakara music great, Yusuff Olatunji. He sang of a hawk playing with the pigeon and the pigeon is filled with excitement, unbeknown to it that death lurks in the horizon (Asa n b’eyele se’re/Eyele n yoo/Eyele nfi’ku se’re).

One-party state regimes emerged in Africa during the decolonization period. They thereafter began to spread, with many of them adopting it as a means of consolidating power and, in their claim, promoting national unity.

Our African nationalist forefathers sold this system of governance to Africa as holding hope. Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Mali, Senegal, Burkina-Fasso and Tanzania were some of the countries that first adopted the one-party system. While foisting one-party rule on Tanzania in 1965, Julius Nyerere lauded it thus: “where there is one-party state and that party is identified with the nation as a whole, the foundations of democracy are firmer than they can ever be (in a situation where) you have two or more parties each representing only a section of the community.”

Kenya under successive one-party governments, not long after, degenerated into authoritarianism. The economic development which the likes of Jomo Kenyatta and Arap Moi envisaged became a mirage. Not long after, this one-party state morphed into a bud of corruption, disregard for merit and a system where loyalty to the Fuhrer was rewarded. Those who did not pledge full loyalty to the party and the president were hounded.

Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, which began the one-party system in 1964, became a dictatorial and authoritarian government. It repressed voices of dissent under the facade of maintaining unity.

One unique feature of the one-party states in all the above-named countries is that, as butterflies are attracted to nectar, those states always attracted military putsches. One by one, all the one-party system countries were dismantled by violent military takeovers. This is due to resistance and rebellion against their authoritarian rules.

So, for the celebrating Villa-fawning group that is shuffling its feet in acrobatic dance to the Bata drum as the group careens Nigeria towards a one-party state, the above examples are my own re-calibration of another of Baba Opalanba’s song. The sage sang: “The bird doesn’t just perch on the patio, it has ears and hears.” He rendered this thus, “Oro l’eye ngbo, eye o dede ba l’orule o, oro l’eye ngbo.”

For us as a collective, this gale of defection is more than a political chess-game. It is ominous. For those who know, it has high flavour of despotism, which is a by-word for the Fuhrer’s brand of politicking. Many one-party states’ helmsmen eventually morph into life presidents of the Gnasingbe Eyadema hue. While many see a mild, Cockney English accent-flavoured-speaking Villa boss, beyond this veneer is a totalitarian for whom “No” can never be an answer. Many of the first-term governors are currently being held on tenterhooks, their second term used as bait by Aso Rock. A case is a governor whose godfather was manifesting traits of dissent. Suspecting that the governor might go the way of his godfather, Aso Rock immediately began to sponsor a SWAGA Lord as countervailing force to run against him in the soon-to-be-held gubernatorial election. A few days ago, both the governor and his godfather addressed a press conference announcing their support for Aso Rock 2027!

There is the tendency for anyone to see an impending one-party state in Nigeria as too remote. There is also the tendency to say, all that is foul is fair in politics. Or that, others before the current occupiers of the Villa did worse. In the allegory of the hawk and the pigeon, it was only when the pigeon landed inside the hawk’s abdomen, with its entrails as gourmet meal, that the warning made sense.

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News

CDD Assesses Anambra Guber Poll, Says Vote Buying Prominent In South, Central

Published

5 hours ago

November 8, 2025

Editor

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), has released its preliminary observation in the November 8 Anambra State governorship election, lamenting that voting buying was prominent in Anambra Central and South senatorial districts.

The CDD said these “multiple incidents of vote buying and trading,” often “carried out in full view of voters and officials, directly undermined the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.”

In a preliminary assessment statement read by Professor Victor Adetula, Chair,
CDD-West Africa Election Analysis Centre, during a press briefing in Akwa, said in some instances, party agents used money transfer platforms rather than direct cash payments to complete the transactions.

“In Awka South, Anambra Central, and in Nnewi North LGA, vote buying was observed in high-density polling clusters, including Nodu Village Hall 1 (PU 009, 2,780 registered voters), Nodu Hall 2 (PU 010, 1,983 voters), and Ezinifitte Hall 2 (PU 008, 3,352 voters) and Nibo 002 Maternity I. Voters were seen participating in “vote-and-snap” behavior taking pictures of their marked ballots, likely as proof of compliance in exchange for financial incentives.”

He added: “Party agents offered voters up to ₦10,000 and ₦5,000, depending on the location. For example, in PU 005, Achina Ward 3, and in Aguata LGA, opposite PU 012, Ward 1, agents distributed ₦5,000 and ₦2,000 payments to voters.”

According to the CDD, despite “strong interest shown by youth during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) period, turnout among young voters on election day was visibly low, especially in urban centres such as Awka and Onitsha.”

The CDD said the “contributing factors appeared to include disillusionment with the political process, logistical delays, and perceived lack of impact.”

The CDD lamented that “Women, particularly female candidates, continued to face voter apathy and discriminatory behaviour,” adding that “observers recorded instances where female candidates were subjected to dismissive or sexist commentary at polling units, reinforcing the cultural and institutional barriers to women’s political participation.”

REAS ALSO: AnambraDecides: KDI Decries Vote Buying, Compromise of Ballot Secrecy

“Accessibility for persons with disabilities remained limited in several areas, including Onitsha North and Idemili South LGAs.

“Despite INEC’s public commitment to inclusion, observers reported that many polling units lacked wheelchair access, signage for the visually impaired, or priority voting arrangements.”

On security, the CDD said it observers “observed a high concentration of security officials, media and election observers in polling units associated with popular political figures,” noting that “in contrast, polling units with fewer registered voters showed inadequate security coverage, which aligns with the 12.7% of PUs that had no security personnel present.”

“The absence of law enforcement in these units exposed electoral officials and voters to potential risks and created space for political interference.

“This disparity in deployment raises concerns about strategic allocation of security resources, especially in rural polling units.

“While the overall security coverage was sufficient in most areas, the lack of consistent deployment risks undermines electoral integrity and public trust.

“All polling units, regardless of size or location, require adequate and competent security coverage to safeguard the voting process and ensure that all voters can participate without fear or interference,” CDD advocated.

On BVAS, the CDD said “in 78.9% of polling units, a single BVAS device was deployed, while 18% had two machines available, and 1.5% reported having more than two devices.

“Our observers also noted that in 96.2% of polling units, the BVAS machines correctly displayed the required zero count before the commencement of accreditation.”

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Yiaga, Kukah Centre, CEMESO, Others, Assess Anambra Guber, Advocate Electoral Laws Enforcement

Published

6 hours ago

November 8, 2025

Editor

A coalition of election monitoring civil society organisations has released a preliminary assessment of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election, focusing on deployment of election materials
and personnel, accreditation and voting, as well as inclusivity and
accessibility, amongst others.

The coalition, referred to as Anambra Election Observation Hub,
comprised of Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, International Press
Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Nigeria
Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHER, and TAF Africa.

Addressing journalists in Akwa on behalf of other partners, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said the coalition jointly deployed 711 citizen observers across the 21 LGAs of the state, Each organization leads on a specific thematic pillar, including election integrity, results verification, election security, disability inclusion, gender participation, peacebuilding, misinformation tracking, and media safety.

He described the election as generally peaceful with a secure environment, adding that election officials and security personnel in polling units displayed
professionalism and adequate knowledge of electoral procedures.

According to him,
while electoral materials were deployed as scheduled
in most polling units, some logistical challenges, such as delays in the arrival of materials
and election personnel, were recorded, adding that these led to the late commencement of polls
in some polling units.

He said BVAS, register of voters, voting cubicle, and Indelible Ink were present in 100% of polling
units observed, noting that election materials like the PWD Voter information and Statistics
Form (Form EC 40H) were seen in 86% of polling units, and PWD Poster (Form EC 30E) in
84% of polling units.

“Additionally, 5% of the polling units had two or more BVAS devices deployed. However,
in 3% of polling units, the BVAS accreditation count were not displayed to voters before
accreditation commenced. This procedural oversight could undermine transparency and
affect voter confidence in the integrity of the accreditation process,” he added.

He said “notable gaps in security coverage were also recorded. In some polling units,
such as PU 014, Nkwelle Ezunaka, Oyi LGA, voting commenced without the presence of any security personnel. Such security gaps expose polling units to potential disputes,
intimidation, or electoral malpractice, especially in politically tense or high-stakes areas.
It also questions the accuracy of the 55,000 security personnel deployed for the election
as reported by the security agencies.”

Itodo, however, decried the prevalent of vote buying in the election, saying “these acts undermine the
integrity of the election.”

The Yiaga Africa ED, while calling for an urgent enforcement of electoral laws to deter vote buying and selling at election, noted: “In some instances, political agents adopted new and covert strategies to perpetrate vote buying.

“We received reports of party agents recording the details of voters for post-voting financial inducement. POS machines were also deployed at or near polling units to facilitate financial transactions in exchange for votes.”

News

AnambraDecides: KDI Decries Vote Buying, Compromise of Ballot Secrecy

Published

8 hours ago

November 8, 2025

Editor

The Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has decried political parties agents interference and vote trading in the November 8 Anambra State governorship election.

KDI, in mid-electiom findings made available to newsmen in Akwa, said the interference and vote buying by party agents “represents a fundamental assault on the integrity of the electoral process, undermining the principles of free, fair, and credible elections.”

The KDI, in the mid-electiom statement signed by its Team Lead, Bukola Idowu, stated that failure
of INEC officials and security personnel at affected polling units to curtail these
activities raise serious concerns about enforcement of electoral guidelines and protection of voters’ rights.

“One of the most concerning
developments observed across polling units is the pervasive interference by
political party agents in the voting process.

“Our observation documentation
shows systematic violations of electoral guidelines by agents representing
primarily the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress
(APC), and Young Progressives Party (YPP).

“Party agents were observed
engaging in blatant vote-buying operations, approaching voters with cash inducements ranging from ₦3,000 to ₦10,000, establishing “verification points”
where voters received payments after casting their ballots.

“These violations
represent a fundamental assault on the integrity of the electoral process, undermining the principles of free, fair, and credible elections, while the failure
of INEC officials and security personnel at affected polling units to curtail these
activities raise serious concerns about enforcement of electoral guidelines and protection of voters’ rights.”

Key Observations

The CSO said it observers in the field recorded late “commencement was due to absence of
INEC officials in some places, voters and at the instance of INEC ad-hoc officials they link this to the absence of security officials,” adding that compromise of ballot secrecy
across several polling units, and relatively efficient BVAS was also observed.

KDI said despite the huge number of security personnel deployed to the state for the election, troubling disconnect
between these figures and actual ground presence was observed.

“Our observers have documented sparse and uneven distribution of security personnel at polling units, with many locations having minimal or no visible security presence, while security forces appear concentrated at strategic locations – There were report of
security concentration in Anambra South – like Aguata but major urban centers, and semi-urban LGAs seems to have sparse. Reports show that in Awka South
LGA, Ward 19, PU-21, as at 9:57am, no security officer was seen,” it said.

On violence, KDI said it observers recorded “twenty-one (21) incidents of violence across the
over 1000 polling units observed,” adding, “these incidents involved group clashes, voter intimidation and harassment, physical assault, and ballot box snatching.”

It further said: “Of the
reported cases, seven (7) in Oyi, three (3) occurred in Ogbaru, Njikoka, and one
(1) in Anambra East, Anaocha, Nnewi North, Orunmba and Nnewi South.

“The perpetrators were identified as party agents and voters, with one incident
involving a security officer who discharged tear gas at a polling location.”