The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has dismissed fears that Nigeria may drift into a one-party state, following the increasing rate of defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Amid growing concerns from political analysts and citizens over the collapse of opposition strength, Adebayo insisted in a statement that such fears are unfounded, asserting that the country’s deep social and economic inequalities make the idea of a one-party state impractical.
According to him, Nigeria is too ideologically fragmented to adopt a single-party system. He argued that the disparity in welfare, employment, and security systems between the ruling elite and the masses makes it impossible for the nation to unite under one political umbrella.
“There’s no one system of employment. There’s no one system of security,” Adebayo said. “The benefits of politics are flowing in the direction of politicians, and a welfare politician changing from party to party cannot say he’s in the same coalition with the poor, who cannot pay their children’s school fees, who cannot sleep well at home, and who cannot keep a job.”
He stressed that the chasm between the elite and the downtrodden rules out the possibility of a unified political order. “How can people who are standing in the rain waiting for a car to carry them be in a one-party system with those who are using multiple private jets paid for by the public? It is not possible.”
Adebayo noted that massive defections into a single party do not constitute a one-party state. Rather, a one-party state only emerges when all other political platforms are legally or practically barred from existence.
“If all the governors go to one party, Nigerians will elect a new set of governors. If all the senators go to one party, Nigeria will choose another set of senators,” he said. “What makes a one-party state is when people think that they don’t need any other party outside the one that is ruling, or when people are being forced by law not to create another party.”
He emphasized that Nigeria’s constitutional freedom allows for the creation of as many political parties as citizens desire. However, the sustainability of such parties depends on the commitment of their members.
“In Nigeria, you can create as many parties as you want, but what will sustain a party is whether the members believe in it,” Adebayo added. “That’s what we’ve been working on since we started leading the SDP—to ensure that only those who believe in the party join the party.”
He concluded that as long as political ideologies differ and citizens continue to seek representation for their distinct aspirations, Nigeria cannot descend into a one-party state.
