It is risky for Nigeria to turn into a one-party state, according to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
While honoring the late elder statesman Edwin Clark at a memorial lecture and day of tribute in Abuja on Wednesday, Jonathan delivered the warning.
Clark, an Ijaw politician and leader, was said to have passed away in February at the age of 97.
Jonathan argues that it would be harmful for the nation to strive to establish a one-party state by political maneuvers that would only serve to satisfy individual desires.
However, the former Nigerian leader said, “If we must adopt a one-party system as a nation, then it must be designed and planned by experts—and we must know what we are going for.”
“But we are headed for a crisis if we get there through the back door through political manipulations.”
Given the wave of opposition party defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress, or APC, some Nigerians have expressed concern that the country may be heading toward a one-party state. The former president has issued this warning in response.
Read Also: Nenadi Usman-led LP Raises Four-Man Committee To Probe Abure
It was believed that the opposition, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had been severely undermined by the defections.
Some PDP governors, such as Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke of Osun State and Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, are allegedly backing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ambition for a second term in addition to the defections.
While acknowledging that several countries had effectively implemented one-party systems under particular historical and socioeconomic circumstances, Jonathan issued a warning that Nigeria’s diverse ethnic, religious, and political environment necessitates a more inclusive and thoughtfully crafted political structure.
Indeed, one-party states have been governed by nations. Julius Nyerere of Tanzania used a one-party state to stabilize his nation in the early years of independence, so perhaps a one-party state is not as bad as it seems. He believed that the nation, like Nigeria, was overrun with tribes and languages, and that Islam and Christianity were the two main religions.
Allowing several parties will make it difficult to maintain unity since some may adhere to religious or tribal lines. However, everything was well-planned; it wasn’t an accident,” he continued.
