Distinguished Fellow of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought and Founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, Professor Udenta Udenta has warned that Nigeria is gradually drifting into competitive authoritarianism, arguing that the country is experiencing growing state capture and weakening democratic institutions that threaten the integrity of its political system.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, Nigeria has reluctantly, maybe, embraced what most people now call competitive authoritarianism, or a hybrid regime moment. That is what we are witnessing in Nigeria today. State capture is virtually the moment that is upon us,” he warned.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, Prof Udenta argued that Nigeria’s democratic system is being undermined from within through the use of state institutions, rather than through overt authoritarian takeover.
“The National Assembly is just a rubber stamp; everybody knows it. The Supreme Court is the new hope of Nigerians now because the judiciary itself, as an institution, has come under close scrutiny. Other apparatuses of governance like the INEC, increasingly that name ‘independent’—that prefix ‘independent’—has become a misnomer. It is now most like an agency of the state. So the crumbling of democracy, including multi-party democracy, is not done with some fanfare, with some robots in Aegis. You use the institutions of the state.l,” he noted.
Speaking on the case involving Nasir El-Rufai, Prof Udenta argued that prolonged investigations and delays in prosecution risk turning lawful processes into political tools, stressing that justice must remain time-bound and consistent with the presumption of innocence.
“If he did indeed occupy a high position as a minister or chairman of a corporation for one more year. Because he is presumed innocent. You can do an investigation even when he is at large, or in bed. You can take his passport, limit his movement, and everything there and keep investigating. He hasn’t got an army to say ‘I will overwhelm you from carrying out an investigation.’ You can keep the man in perpetual detention because ‘I am doing an investigation.’ After keeping him for five years, that is injustice,” he stated.
Building on his argument, Prof Udenta said Nigeria’s current political climate is becoming increasingly combative due to the overwhelming dominance of ruling institutions over opposition parties.
“The President is on his case. These guys said he was in this studio several times, and some people think they’re mysterious, but I said he started very early. Because now you have almost 21 more governors, you have almost all the National Assembly, you have almost all critical state institutions, and yet you can’t let the parties be.”
He contrasted today’s politics with past administrations, saying former presidents Yar’Adua and Jonathan supported multi-party democracy, unlike current alleged institutional constraints on opposition parties.
“Late President Yar’Adua facilitated, via direct intervention, the survival of multi-party democracy. Possibly Obi, possibly Oshiomhole, possibly Mimiko, I could even check on things later, benefited from that decision. Jonathan was a president when his own J-Card registered APC. He was comfortable with him in the political landscape for the next two years. You could find the ACN, ANPP, and CPC, and we’ve won an election since then. So we didn’t start using institutions of the state like INEC to block parties here and there,” he said.
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