₦airaland Forum

Nigeria is drifting toward a de facto one-party state under President Bola Tinubu, as opposition politics is steadily weakened through fragmentation, intimidation, coercion, and inducement rather than democratic contestation.

Opposition parties are engulfed in recurring internal crises, factions, leadership disputes, and parallel executives, that many believe are deliberately encouraged and financed by the Tinubu regime to keep them disorganized and ineffective. This systematic destabilization has severely diminished the opposition’s capacity to offer a credible alternative.

The growing perception that state institutions, particularly anti-corruption agencies, are being selectively deployed against opposition figures deepens concerns about the misuse of state power. Investigations and prosecutions are increasingly viewed as instruments of political pressure, fostering defections and silencing dissent.

Equally troubling is the use of public resources to lure opposition figures into the ruling APC. Reports have it that opposition governors are offered enormous financial inducements, with figures as high as 250 billion naira mentioned in public discourse. Such claims reinforce fears that political allegiance is being bought rather than persuaded.

Tinubu’s governing style is not new. For over two decades, he has held Lagos State firmly within his political grip, presiding over a system critics argue prioritised political control and elite accumulation over transparent stewardship of the state’s commonwealth. Built a conduit pipe connecting the the state Treasury to his personal pocket, siphoning and milking the entire common wealth, with nothing almost left for the people. That same model of dominance now appears to be unfolding at the national level.
The parallels with Cameroon under Paul Biya are increasingly difficult to ignore: elections persist, but meaningful opposition steadily erodes.

The irony is profound, had the opposition been emasculated in this manner in the past, Tinubu’s own party, the APC, may never have emerged.

Democracy deepens on competition, not consolidation.

Elrufai has already warned us

Ofunaofu:
Elrufai has already warned us

It is important to state clearly that short-term economic hardship and political challenges remain real concerns for many Nigerians, and not all gains are yet widely felt at the grassroots.
However, the argument for giving a reform-focused administration, like that of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, more time is essentially a strategic one: enabling deep economic restructuring and institution-building, much like policies pursued by long-term development builders such as Lee Kuan Yew, who spent six terms of about 30 years, to develop Singapore, tends to require patience and sustained commitment beyond immediate political cycles.

President Tinubu did not drag, force or intimidate anyone to join Apc.

Serious politicians would prefer to align with a political party with strong and stable leadership. The so called opposition leaders can't even beat their chest that they are the one in control of their political party

It's just so funny that the people who initially claimed the politicians defecting have only one vote, that the 2027 election is going to be between Nigeria and Apc are the same creating this thread

What's the crying about one party system? Are the Nigerians who are going to face Apc in 2027 already chickening out as the beating is inevitable?

Use your vote to vote out Apc in 2027. If your likes are in majority, your candidate should win . 2027 election will be more free, fair and credible than 2027 election

Ofunaofu:
Elrufai has already warned us

The guy you people tagged " the butcher of kaduna " is now ur darling and you guys lap up everything he says .