Great Imo Jonathan
When a sitting president says “all is fair in politics” ahead of an election, it lands differently in a country with Nigeria’s history. The phrase frames politics as war, opponents as enemies and rules as optional. It is not just a statement, it is a sign of desperation by a President who for his selfish interest is ready to destroy a nation and it is wake up call for the people to prepare to end the regime before it ends everyone.
This statement matters because in politics, language signals intent. His language suggests desperation to retain power regardless of process. It negates the fact that in democracies, elections are supposed to be contests of ideas, not battles where anything goes.
Immediately after the fake glitch that brought him to power through the back door, Tinubu made several appointments of people with questionable character, invited and protected others with questionable records, all in the name of politics. Today we have people who should be facing scrutiny over unexplained deaths in their environment, ex governors who ran their states like satanic agents with people missing in mysterious circumstances, thugs and notable gang leaders being made political associates. Some are facing court cases for looting their states but are now given tickets to come and serve at the national level.
That tells you that the moral fabrics of Nigeria is gradually being destroyed. All in a desperate move for state capture.
Questions have been raised about budget padding allegations, project costs, and revenue transparency. Civil society groups have called for more audits but President Tinubu remained silent. It is all part of his plan.
But history tells us that when a government descends into anything goes, it is no longer politics, it is a path towards anarchy.
Political science has examples of what happens when leaders treat elections as war. In Venezuela it got to a point of normalizing the idea that the state and ruling party are one and it led to institutional collapse. In Mexico, when political actors aligned with armed groups for electoral advantage, it empowered cartels and eventually led to decades of violence.
It has been like that throughout history. Especially in African countries where incumbents abandoned rules, protests broke out, government crackdowns led to violence across the country and eventually resulted in country collapse.
The lesson here is that once you tell citizens “anything is allowed,” you invite armed groups, thugs, and money politics to fill the vacuum. Institutions collapse and ordinary people pay the price.
But what Nigerians must know is that fear and threats should not determine the destiny of Nigeria. Now is the time to start mobilizing voters, call town hall meetings, engage across communities to educate the people on what to do against the emerging rogue regime. Nigerians must prepare to defend their votes and make those who plan to rig election pay dearly.
Nigeria’s strength has always been its people. No individual is bigger than the constitution. President Tinubu is not the God of Nigeria. Neither is any other leader. Power in Nigeria is on loan from the people and it is renewed or withdrawn at the ballot. Nigeria has survived rogue regimes and this will not be different.
Great Imo Jonathan
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