Former President Goodluck Jonathan has warned that it is dangerous for Nigeria to slide into a one-party state.
He spoke in Abuja on Wednesday while paying a tribute to the late elder statesman, Edwin Clark, at a memorial lecture and day of tribute. Clark, an Ijaw leader and politician, died in February at the age of 97.
Jonathan warned that any attempt to bring about a one-party state through political machinations to soothe only personal aspirations would be detrimental to the country.
Jonathan, however, stated that “If we must, as a nation, adopt a one-party system, then it must be designed, planned by experts—and we must know what we are going in for.”
“But if we arrive at it through the back door by political manipulations, then we are heading for crisis,” he warned.
Jonathan’s warning came on the heels of the alarm raised by some Nigerians that the country could be drifting into a one-party state, given the gale of defections from some opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defections had been perceived to have further weakened the opposition, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Aside the defections, some PDP governors, including Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State and Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, are also believed to be supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term bid.
Jonathan acknowledged that some nations had successfully practised one-party systems under unique historical and social conditions, warning that Nigeria’s complex ethnic, religious and political landscape demands a more inclusive and carefully designed political framework.
He said: “Yes, one-party states—countries have managed them. Yes, a one-party state may not be evil after all, because Julius Nyerere of Tanzania used a one-party state to stabilise his country in the early days of independence. He felt that the country, just like Nigeria, had too many tribes and tongues, and two principled religions—Christianity and Islam.
“If we allow multiple parties, some may follow religious lines, others tribal, and unity will be difficult. But it was properly planned; it was not by accident.”
Jonathan also yesterday called on Clark’s family to, among other things, set up a yearly memorial lecture in his honour to continue to push his ideas and what he stood for, which according to him, is a united, equitable and prosperous Nigeria.
Some politicians and analysts have said that the defections of top politicians to the APC, including Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the running mate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 general elections, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, would also hinder the coalition being spearheaded by Atiku and a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-rufai.
On Tuesday, Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule told State House reporters after meeting with President Tinubu that the APC did not want Nigeria to become a one- party state.
Sule said the APC was only interested in being the dominant party in Nigeria, capable of winning elections.
He described the mass defections into the APC as “a reflection of the performance of our party and the performance of Mr. President. Mr. President is carrying out a lot of reforms. We saw the first reforms. I don’t believe, by the slightest of imagination, that we are going to be a one-party state.”