Nigeria’s democracy in ICU with no doctor to save it, says Lukman

Salihu Lukman, a former vice-chair of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the north-west, says the country’s democracy is in an intensive care unit (ICU) with no doctor to save it.

In a statement on Tuesday, Lukman wondered if Olusegun Obasanjo, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida, former president and heads of state, are the doctors Nigeria’s democracy needs.

The former vice-chair said former military regimes are beginning to appear to be more receptive to recommendations than the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

“As president of the Federal Republic, President Asiwaju Tinubu is showing his worst side,” he said.

“All the so-called big parties don’t hold meetings of their organs. The APC is now more of a private limited liability company owned by President Asiwaju Tinubu. PDP, LP, NNPP and many of the registered parties are all faced with an avoidable leadership crisis that has strangulated them and is blocking them from holding meetings.

“With all these, citizens are denied options and capacity to produce alternative choices. Even the right to register new parties is being blocked seamlessly by INEC. With meetings not holding and opposition political leaders manipulated into terminal crisis, Nigerian democracy is in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with no Doctor to attend to.

“Could former President Obasanjo, former Military President Babangida, former Head of State Abdulsalam and retired General Gusau be the ‘Doctors’ needed to get Nigeria out of the ICU? If so, how can they achieve that?

“Former President Obasanjo, former Military President Babangida, former Head of State Abdulsalam and retired General Gusau are certainly leaders in their own rights who have paid their dues. At different times in the political history of Nigeria, they were able to intervene.

“Arguably, their interventions may have in one way or the other contributed to getting Nigeria to its current messy situation.

“To the extent of contributing to get Nigeria to the current messy situation, these leaders owe a responsibility to the nation to take it out of the ICU.”

Lukman said Nigerians need to come together to build a structure that would defeat Tinubu in 2027.