By Great Imo Jonathan
Nigeria stands at a dangerous precipice. What is happening under the All Progressives Congress, APC, government today is not normal politics. It is the systematic dismantling of democratic norms, the rule of law and public morality.
If this continues, the consequence will not be another election cycle. It will be collapse, anarchy, and possibly a return to the kind of military intervention Nigeria saw after the 1983 sham called election.
This is not an exaggeration. This is a warning based on facts Nigerians are witnessing daily.
An APC Senator was recently on record openly calling for the killing of opposition members. In a democracy, disagreement is settled with ballots, not bullets. When elected officials normalize political murder, they are telling millions of youths that violence is now official party policy.
An Islamic preacher invited by the APC was allowed to publicly label fellow Nigerians as “infidels.” Instead of condemning it, an APC Governor stood beside him and hailed him publicly. This is state endorsement of religious division. In a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country like Nigeria, that is how civil conflict starts.
When the President boasts that “all is fair in politics,” he gives license to every form of malpractice. Rigging, intimidation, and stealing become acceptable as long as your party wins. That statement tells INEC officials, party thugs, and civil servants that there are no rules anymore.
Today trillions in revenue are unaccounted for. Contracts are inflated. Budgets are padded. Fake agencies are created to siphon money. We are witnessing outright stealing at a scale that has pauperized the people. Meanwhile, ordinary Nigerians cannot afford food, fuel, or medicine.
Forgery is being officialized through electoral law amendments. A sitting APC Governor is accused of taking landed properties that belong to his state and distributing them to party supporters as personal rewards. This is not governance. This is state capture.
APC thugs are now openly telling citizens not to come out to vote unless they are voting for APC. That is not an election. That is a threat. When people are afraid to vote, democracy has already died.
What we are seeing is worse than 1983. At least in 1983, the excesses were condemned. Today, they are celebrated, defended, and rewarded.
Nigeria is in a spiral of moral decadence. When leaders lie, steal, incite, and intimidate without consequence, they teach the next generation that crime pays.
Reasonable Nigerians are watching. Civil society is watching. The international community is watching. Most importantly, history is watching.
But there is now the need to remind Mr. President, APC Leadership, APC Governors and Senators that this path you are on is an invitation to anarchy.
When citizens lose faith in elections, in courts, and in government, they look for alternatives. And in Nigeria’s history, when democracy fails this badly, the military has stepped in.
No reasonable Nigerian wants that. But no reasonable Nigerian will also sit and watch the country be destroyed by impunity.
You still have a chance to pull back, call your members to order and publicly condemn violence and hate speech. There must be account for public funds and you have to prosecute those involved in contract inflation and budget padding.
APC must respect INEC and the electoral law. Do not legalize forgery. Protect the right to vote for all Nigerians, regardless of party. Return public assets to the people of the state.
Democracy is fragile. Once broken, it takes generations to rebuild.
APC must decide now if it will be the party that saved Nigeria’s democracy, or the party that destroyed it. Nigeria belongs to all of us. Do not burn it down to keep power.
Great Imo Jonathan
