Former President Jonathan Raises Concern Over One-Party Rule in Nigeria

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan warns that Nigeria risks becoming a one-party state.

Jonathan gave the warning on Wednesday in Abuja while honoring the late elder statesman, Edwin Clark, at a memorial lecture and day of tribute.

Clark, an Ijaw chieftain and politician, was believed to have died in February at the age of 97.

According to Jonathan, any attempt to create a one-party state by political maneuvers to satisfy merely personal desires would be harmful to the country.

The former Nigerian leader, however, noted that “If we must, as a nation, accept a one-party system, it must be developed and prepared by experts—and we must know what we are getting into.

“But if we arrive at it through the back door by political manipulations, then we are heading for crisis.”

The ex-president’s warning comes after some Nigerians expressed concern that the country was on the verge of becoming a one-party state due to a surge in defections from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress, or APC.

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The defections were seen to have damaged the opposition, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Aside from the defections, certain PDP governors, like Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State and Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, are said to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term campaign.

Jonathan agreed that other countries had successfully implemented one-party systems under unique historical and socioeconomic conditions, but warned that Nigeria’s diverse ethnic, religious, and political terrain necessitated a more inclusive and properly crafted political framework.

“Yes, one-party states are administered by countries. Yes, a one-party state may not be evil after all, as Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere used one-party rule to stabilize his country during its early years of independence. He believed that the country, like Nigeria, had too many tribes and tongues, as well as two main religions: Christianity and Islam.

“If we allow many parties, some may follow religious or tribal lines, making unification harder. But it was well-planned; it was not an accident,” he explained.