Peter Obi, the Labour Party's 2023 presidential candidate, has accused President Bola Tinubu and his allies in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) of dismantling Nigeria's democracy. Speaking on ARISE TV on Monday, Obi expressed disbelief that individuals once seen as champions of democratic struggle were now presiding over its erosion. "Look at what has happened to our democracy. It is now being destroyed and is being destroyed by those who yesterday were victims of the same thing that we were shouting to the world," he said. Obi noted the contradiction in leaders who once fought military rule but now appear to suppress democratic opposition. He stressed that the current leadership should be protecting pluralism, not undermining it. "Nobody would have believed that we would find ourselves at this point in our democracy, given the people in leadership today," Obi added. The former Anambra State governor criticised the failure of leaders to uphold commitments once in power, describing it as a dramatic betrayal of public trust. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga did not respond to requests for comment. President Tinubu, speaking at an inter-faith event in Abuja with APC members and the Inter-Party Advisory Council, reaffirmed his support for democracy, stating, "There's no threat from any democrat under my watch. The rule of law must prevail. The majority will have their way, and the minority will have their say and their way. I must not stand in their way."
Peter Obi's critique cuts to the core of a shifting political identity — Bola Tinubu, once a symbol of pro-democracy resistance during military rule, is now being accused of enabling the very repression he once opposed. The irony is not lost on those who remember Tinubu's role in NADECO, a group that risked exile and imprisonment to challenge dictatorship, only for its key figures to now occupy positions where opposition voices are increasingly marginalised.
Obi's comments gain weight against the backdrop of ongoing tensions within the African Democratic Congress and the broader treatment of opposition parties under the current administration. His reference to leaders who "fail dramatically" when given power points to a deeper crisis of democratic stewardship — one where past credentials are being used to shield present actions from scrutiny. The fact that Tinubu felt compelled to publicly reaffirm his commitment to democracy suggests the perception of backsliding is gaining traction, even if concrete actions have not yet matched the rhetoric.
For ordinary Nigerians, particularly young voters who mobilised around change in 2023, this perceived erosion of democratic space could deepen political disillusionment. Those who voted for reform may now question whether the political class, regardless of party, is capable of breaking from old patterns of power consolidation.
This moment fits a recurring cycle in Nigerian politics: former agitators becoming the establishment, then defending it.
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