News Editor
By Ibrahim Nasiru
“A bridge that only allows for one-way traffic is not a path to progress, but a dead end.”
As Nigeria emerges from the Easter break-a season of supposed resurrection and renewal-the political landscape tells a far more sinister story.
While millions celebrated the hope of new beginnings, an “unseen hand” has been busy in the dark, methodically dismantling the pillars of our multi-party democracy.
There is a palpable, dangerous tension in the land; the 2027 electoral cycle is gathering a restless momentum, but it is being steered toward the graveyard of a one-party state.
This is no longer a mere political “hullabaloo” or a series of administrative errors; it is a calculated institutional sabotage. The recent, orchestrated crisis surrounding the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is the smoking gun.
By suddenly withdrawing recognition from the leadership of Senator David Mark, the administrative and judicial machinery has effectively performed a democratic assassination on the most potent opposition platform in the country.
When the electoral umpire and the temple of justice appear to collaborate in freezing a party’s leadership just as the primary season nears, the message to the Nigerian people is an insult: the gates of choice are being padlocked before the race has even begun.
This “one-way traffic” strategy seeks to create a political wasteland where opposition parties exist as mere hollow shells-legally strangled, financially drained, and technically barred from fielding candidates.
If the ADC-the chosen vehicle for the “Rescue Mission” led by Atiku Abubakar and a coalition of formidable allies is trapped in a perpetual loop of court-ordered paralysis, the 2027 presidency will be a coronation, not a contest.
The path to recovery out of this democratic chokehold requires more than just political regrouping; it demands an immediate and radical confrontation with those who seek to turn Nigeria into a monolith.
First, the judiciary must stop being the “useful tool” of the powerful; in an electoral cycle, justice delayed is a premeditated crime against the electorate.
An accelerated hearing to resolve the ADC leadership is the only way to prove the courts are not part of the “unseen hand.” Second, this shadow must be draaded into the light by the relentless force of citizen vigilance.
From the “Obidient” youth to the veteran activists, the demand must shift from a polite “wanting to vote” to a fierce “demanding a choice.”
As we return to our desks this Tuesday, let us be clear: the true essence of resurrection is the pow to overcome decay. If Nigeria is to avoid the dead end of a one-party state, the bridge of our democracy must remain open to all.
The “Rescue Mission” of 2027 cannot start at the polling booth; it must start now, by ensuring that every voice-no matter how dissenting-has a legal platform to stand upon. A nation without a choice is not a democracy; it is a captive state.
Ibrahim Nasiru
A Public Affairs Analyst writes from Abuja
