Former President Goodluck Jonathan has cautioned against the growing threat of Nigeria evolving into a one-party state, warning that such a political development could prove dangerous for the country’s democratic future.
Jonathan made the remarks on Wednesday in Abuja during a memorial lecture in honour of the late elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Edwin Clark, who died in February at the age of 97.
Speaking at the event, the former president criticized any attempts to engineer a one-party system through political maneuvering, saying it would be detrimental to national unity. “If we must, as a nation, adopt a one-party system, then it must be designed and planned by experts. But if we arrive at it through the back door by political manipulations, then we are heading for crisis,” he warned.
His comments come amid growing concerns over a wave of defections from opposition parties—especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), fueling fears that Nigeria’s democracy may be slipping toward one-party dominance.
In recent months, some PDP governors, including Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and Ademola Adeleke of Osun, have reportedly backed President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid, further intensifying debates around the weakening of opposition forces.
While acknowledging that some countries have maintained relative stability under a one-party structure, Jonathan stressed that Nigeria’s diverse ethnic and religious makeup requires a more inclusive political model. Citing Tanzania’s post-independence experience under Julius Nyerere, Jonathan noted: “Yes, a one-party state may not be evil after all… but it was properly planned; it was not by accident.”
The former president’s statement adds a prominent voice to a growing national discourse on the state of Nigeria’s multiparty democracy and the integrity of its political institutions.
