…Peter Obi’s Camp Demands End to “Fake Democracy” in Nigeria
By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin
Some political stakeholders in Kwara state have said that the new African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a strategic move by the opposition group to salvage the country from imminent collapse, even as 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, described Nigeria’s current democratic system as a complete failure that only serves the interests of the political elite.
The Kwara stakeholders and the camp of Labour Party Presidential candidate Peter Obi said this at a Colloquium which took place in Ilorin on Sunday.
In his welcome address, a former governorship aspirant of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state, Associate Professor Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia, at his second annual colloquium, stated that ADC is good enough as a credible coalition platform for the opposition.
“It is only a strong opposition, free of direct and indirect influence from the ruling party, that can wrest Nigeria from what can be called an irony of a collapsing rich nation”, he said.
According to him, ADC and other allied platforms symbolise more than party politics: “They are instruments of democratic restoration, vehicles of civic renewal, and tools to return power to the people.
Speaking on the theme of the colloquium: “Interrogating the Nigerian State, Its Democratic Institutions, and the Looming Threats of State Capture,” Ajia said: “their emergence is a reminder that democratic expansion and renewal is not only possible, but also already underway”.
“The colloquium stands in solidarity with all efforts, formal and informal, aimed at rebuilding the Nigerian State into a truly accountable, inclusive, and citizen-serving republic.
“This forum captures the urgency of our times, explained the essence of the platform as beyond an intellectual forum but as a civic duty, an annual call to interrogate power, demand reform, and reawaken the democratic spirit among citizens, thinkers, and changemakers”, he said.
In his presentation, one of the leaders of “O to Ge” political movement that challenged and ousted the Saraki political movement in 2019, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, urged Nigerians to erect new virtues and values in the country.
As an agitator, he posited that Nigeria has not really benefited from the ongoing democracy, saying: “26 years of democracy has not substantially taken us far from dictatorship in content, if not in form.
“The structure built by the founding fathers has completely collapsed. We need new founding fathers with new values, new structure and new national purpose.”
The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in his opinion described Nigeria’s current democratic system as a complete failure that only serves the interests of the political elite.
Represented by the National Interim Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Tanko Yunusa, Obi’s camp accused leaders of hijacking democracy and deliberately impoverishing citizens to remain in control.
Yunusa, questioned the true meaning of democracy in Nigeria, stressing that “Democracy is supposed to be the government of the people, by the people, for the people,”.
“But let’s ask ourselves — is the democracy we practice today really by the people? Is it delivering for the people? The answer is no.”
He further pointed to a system where wealth and influence determine who gets access to opportunities, leaving millions of young Nigerians jobless and hopeless.
“How do you explain that graduates are roaming the streets, unable to find jobs unless they ‘know someone who knows someone?’ Is that the democracy we fought for?”he queried
Yunusa said Nigerians were no longer begging for good governance — they were demanding it. “We are not requesting. We are demanding. It is our right. We are saying enough is enough,” he declared.
He also lamented the underutilization of Nigeria’s vast natural and human resources, using Kwara State as a case study. “Only Kwara State alone, if properly harnessed, can help develop this country. But the land is idle, the people are jobless, and the tools needed for productivity are missing. Government has refused to put machinery in place for production, and instead keeps the people poor to control them.”
He further drew comparisons with foreign farmers being invited to develop local lands. “Why should South African or Zimbabwean farmers be invited to develop land that belongs to us? Why can’t our own people be empowered to do it? The government is deliberately refusing to act.”
The Obidient leader also criticised government secrecy and lack of transparency in managing public funds, saying “If not for activists giving us data, most Nigerians wouldn’t even know how much the government is making. Nobody tells us how the money is spent. They don’t explain. They don’t account. What they do well is lie — consistently.”
He threw a challenge to Nigerian leaders: “If you claim to be serving the people, open a space on social media and answer questions from angry Nigerians.
“Let the president or governor come forward and listen. They won’t dare, because they know the truth will expose them.”
He concluded with a rallying call to Nigerian youths. “We will continue to demand good governance. We won’t stop. This is our country, and we deserve a system that works for all, not just for a few.”
Speaking in the same vein, the state Chairman/Coordinator of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Antonio Oshinewe, listed various challenges generally confronting the judiciary, suggesting solutions to them.
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