Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised alarm over what he described as Nigeria’s descent into authoritarianism, warning that the democratic gains achieved since 1999 are being steadily eroded.
In a statement marking Democracy Day, Atiku said the country is teetering on a dangerous precipice, with the looming threat of one-party dictatorship replacing the democratic order.
He lamented that those who sacrificed their lives for Nigeria’s democracy did not do so for the people to suffer under what he called “authoritarianism and economic suffocation.”
“The ruling party and its federal government now govern with the unmistakable intent to dominate, subdue, and silence. Their tactics are not subtle,” Atiku said.
He accused the government of systematically erasing opposition voices, awarding multi-billion-naira contracts to cronies and family associates of the president, and renaming national institutions in his honour, likening the actions to treating the country like a private estate.
“What we are witnessing is not governance but conquest,” he declared. “This government represents the lowest ebb in our democratic journey. Institutions have been weaponised. Policies are designed not to empower the people but to instill fear, enforce obedience, and maintain control.”
Atiku said the common Nigerian has been abandoned in favour of elite comfort, describing the situation as a betrayal of the ideals of June 12.
He urged Nigerians to choose between democratic renewal and creeping despotism, stressing that the push to build a broad opposition coalition is not about power for its own sake.
“It is a moral imperative — about defending the legacy of June 12 and ensuring that no one, no matter how powerful, is allowed to privatise the state and reduce the people to pawns in a political chess game,” he said.
The former vice president emphasized that the coalition is not merely political but a moral crusade to rescue the country’s democracy, economy, and dignity from the grip of authoritarianism.
“Like every righteous struggle, it demands courage, clarity, and collective resolve. As long as oppression thrives, June 12 lives on — not just as memory, but as a movement. The time to rise is now,” Atiku declared.
