Former President Goodluck Jonathan issued a stark warning on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, against Nigeria drifting into a one-party state, describing such a move as “dangerous” and potentially destabilizing for the country’s fragile democracy. Speaking in Abuja at a memorial lecture honoring the late Ijaw leader Edwin Clark, who died in February 2025 at 97, Jonathan cautioned that any attempt to establish a one-party system through political manipulation to serve personal ambitions would be “detrimental to the country,” as reported by Daily Post and Pulse Nigeria. He emphasized that Nigeria’s diverse ethnic, religious, and political landscape requires an inclusive framework, contrasting it with Tanzania’s planned one-party system under Julius Nyerere, which stabilized the nation post-independence by managing tribal and religious divides.
Jonathan’s remarks come amid growing concerns over a wave of defections from opposition parties, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), perceived as weakening Nigeria’s multiparty democracy. High-profile defections, including Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and former PDP vice-presidential candidate Ifeanyi Okowa in April 2025, have fueled fears of an APC-orchestrated one-party dominance, with some PDP governors like Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and Ademola Adeleke of Osun reportedly backing President Bola Tinubu‘s 2027 re-election bid, per Tribune Online. Jonathan warned, “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,” highlighting the risks of coercive tactics over deliberate planning.
The former president, who conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, earning praise for averting electoral violence, acknowledged that one-party systems can function, citing Nyerere’s model, but stressed Nigeria’s complexity demands careful design to avoid exacerbating tribal and religious fault lines. Posts on X, such as @MobilePunch’s May 8 report, echoed Jonathan’s call to preserve multiparty democracy, while @asafaabdulwasi2 countered that politicians are aligning with Tinubu’s “dependable leadership” rather than a deliberate one-party plot. Critics, including Peter Obi at the same event, lamented Nigeria’s failure to capitalize on Clark’s unity advocacy, pointing to rising poverty and insecurity, per Naija News.
The defections, coupled with internal crises in the PDP and Labour Party, have raised alarms about democratic erosion, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar warning on X in April 2025 of a “one-party dictatorship” under Tinubu. However, APC’s Felix Morka dismissed such claims, arguing opposition parties must strengthen themselves, per TheCable. Jonathan’s intervention, rooted in his 2015 legacy of democratic statesmanship, underscores the need for vigilance, as Nigeria’s 34.2% inflation and economic woes intensify political maneuvering, potentially tilting the 2027 electoral landscape toward APC dominance if unchecked.
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