Politics
The Opposition As An Enemy
In the African political setting, power is so intoxicating and profitable that once a person gets elected into office, he or she sees nothing good in the opposition or dissenting voices. Here, power is seen not as an opportunity to serve the larger society but the office is seen as personal estate of the incumbent. Dissenting voices are silenced, opponents accused of treason, jailed and sometimes killed.
From the 1950s when independence from colonial rule was achieved, the pattern has remained the same. No elected President or Prime Minister affords the luxury of being criticised.
They all want to be adored and worshipped. The exception were Botswana and Mauritius.
This dangerous trend of the 1950s and 1960s is still with us in the 21st century except that more countries now claim to be democratic and are no longer under military dictatorship but is the behaviour of the modern day Presidents and other elected officers different from the past leaders? A cursory look at the past reveals that most of the prominent politicians who fought for independence either ended up in jail, were killed or went into exile because of threats to their lives.
In Burundi, Rwanda, Cameroun, Sudan, Egypt, Chad, Uganda and even here in Nigeria, opposition politicians are often branded as thiefs, harassed, their businesses wrecked and bank accounts frozen.
Just recently, the spokesman of the All Peoples Congress (APC) in Nigeria described some prominent members of the main opposition party; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as enemies of the country. Is the ruling party now a law enforcement agency with the mandate of curbing crime in the society? Are opposition politicians now armed robbers and insurgents that they will be branded as enemies of the country?
Prior to the defection of the likes of Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki, Rabiu Kwankwaso back to the PDP, and others, they were not corrupt, not armed robbers and not enemies of Nigeria and were even described as patriotic Nigerians by the same APC.
Why is the chant now different?
If for about 60 years of independence, this warped way of thinking is still prevalent from even those who claim to be better educated than the politicians of the past, what is our future?
Can we boastfully claim that our politics has improved or better than the past? I think the answer is no, especially in Nigeria. In the Second Republic, under Shehu Shagari, no politician was chased into exile, arrested on flimsy excuse or killed.
The then members of the main opposition parties; the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Nigeria’s Peoples Party (NPP) and the Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP) were not in anyway arrested nor harassed with the secret police or soldiers.
The political parties had the freedom to campaign as their members were not chased into exile or threatened. The maturity exhibited by the founding fathers of Nigeria in their quest for political power should be an example to our modern day gladiators who in their haste to occupy various offices have made politics a dangerous game.
What we need are good ideas on how to move the country forward.
Politics is all about providing a better leadership skill, every contender to an office believes that he or she has a better way of doing things, ditto, the political party. In 2015, the APC claimed to have a better idea of moving Nigeria forward and this resulted in the party’s victory at the polls. At that time, nobody was branded an enemy of the state. So, if this time around, opposition parties feel that the ruling party has failed in their mandate, then, there is no need for the name-calling and threats. This is 2019, let the electorate decide the fate of each party.
The average Nigerian is not interested in name- calling but better governance and the provision of basic amenities like good roads, power, water and job creation. We should not allow the dictatorial touts within us to blind our eyes to everyday problems which are holding us back as a nation.
We should have people who can think beyond today and its short-term benefits as a result of being in power and eating from the proceeds of crude oil. The quest for power from opposition politicians is never a threat and will never be a hindrance to the country’s growth.
In African countries where their democratic culture has really improved, no one hears the archaic chant of our enemies any longer.
In any democratic country where opposition figures are harassed, the negative impact is always reflected on the economy as serious investors will hardly put their funds into such country.
From 2015 till date, the politicians who have been harassed include the presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, his running mate, Peter Obi, former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, Senate President Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Ekweremadu, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan and virtually almost all the aides who served under his administration. The list does not include politicians only but also social critics and journalists. With the elections in less than six weeks away from now, we should pray that this cycle of intolerance for dissent and divergent political views and arrests of opponents is not allowed to be part of our political culture.
We are supposed to have moved beyond this level of despotic tendencies. The voices of reason should no longer keep silent as the forces of coercion hold the nation to ransom, that the social critics and organised labour play their part in Nigeria, we want a situation where every individual is a stakeholder in the quest for a better Nigeria. Political parties should stop seeing their opponents as enemies or criminals as they cannot be sure that once they are in power at the federal or state level, they will be there forever. Power is always transient.
2019 is here, let the PVCs speak for us and not threats and intimidation.
Let us nurture our democratic culture so that it can be compared to that of Ghana, Mauritius, Botswana, Benin Republic or even Liberia. These countries have so far overtaken Nigeria in terms of holding free and fair elections. We cannot claim to be the giant of Africa when on a daily basis, hate speech and arrests of political opponents are still rife.
Tonye Ikiroma-owiye
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has directed his legal team to resume all court proceedings against Mrs. Tracy Ohiri over her repeated allegations of indebtedness and other claims against him.
Mrs Ohiri had publicly accused Senator Umahi of owing her N280 million for campaign materials from his tenure as party chairman in Ebonyi State.
The allegations went viral on social media, where she also accused the Minister of sexual harassment.
Security agencies arrested Mrs Ohiri, and she was subsequently prosecuted. Her lawyer, Barrister Marshall Abubakar, intervened, leading to the deletion of all posts and a public apology, which also gained widespread attention online.
However, days after the apology, Mrs Ohiri resumed her claims against Senator Umahi.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, Senator Umahi said he had informed Barrister Abubakar during the intervention that if Mrs Ohiri could provide verifiable evidence, logs, and communications from the period in question, some of his associates were willing to contribute a sum of One Billion Naira (N1billion) to her, evidence which, he said, she had yet to provide.
“The Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, has been monitoring the ongoing public discourse surrounding the claims and counterclaims by Mrs. Tracy Ohiri.
“Ordinarily, this would have been ignored, but in the interest of truth and public clarity, it is necessary to address the issues directly”, the statement read.
The statement clarified that Barrister Abubakar acted in good faith and without any financial interest, motivated solely by a desire to assist Mrs Ohiri.
At no point did the lawyer discuss or negotiate any payment with the minister, although some well-meaning associates independently offered support”, the statement added.
Senator Umahi reiterated the conditions for resolving the matter: either the claims must be tested in court, or Mrs Ohiri must provide credible evidence, including all relevant communications, to substantiate her allegations.
The minister emphasised that Barr Abubakar conducted himself with integrity throughout the process.
“Following the failure to meet these conditions, particularly the inability to provide verifiable evidence, the Minister has directed his legal team to proceed with all court processes to ensure the truth is fully established,” the statement said.
Senator Umahi said despite years of public provocations and attacks, he chose to remain silent, focusing on national and state services.
He thanked Nigerians who had taken time to assess the facts and noted that “not everyone who presents themselves as a victim truly is one, and in some cases, narratives are deliberately inverted.”
The Minister affirmed that he will not be distracted by Mrs Ohiri’s allegations and remained committed to his mandate at the Ministry of Works.
“The focus remains on results, service, and ensuring that Nigerians continue to benefit from projects that improve connectivity, economic growth, and national development. This administration will continue to pursue its transformation agenda with dedication, transparency, and an unwavering sense of responsibility,” he concluded.
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned proceedings in a suit filed by three aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions.
Justice Stephen Jumbo made the pronouncement during a recent sitting in Port Harcourt.
The suit, which borders on the legitimacy of the party’s leadership structure in the state, was instituted against the factional State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Aaron Chukwuemeka, alongside the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and other respondents.
Also joined in the matter are the PDP as a corporate entity, the Rivers State Government, as well as Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas, including their respective Vice Chairmen and Councillors.
The claimants, Enyi Uchechukwu, Wisdom Kalio and Uche Amadi, approached the court via an originating summons seeking judicial interpretation on the validity of actions taken by the Chief Chukwuemeka-led state executive committee of the party.
Central to the dispute is whether the said executive committee, whose emergence the claimants contend has been nullified by a subsisting court judgment, retains the legal authority to act on behalf of the party in critical electoral matters.
The plaintiffs specifically urged the court to determine whether the factional leadership could validly submit a list of candidates to RSIEC for the purpose of participating in local government elections.
They further questioned the legitimacy of the PDP’s participation in the August 30, 2025 local government elections, contending that any list purportedly submitted by the factional leadership was invalid and of no legal consequence.
In addition to the declaratory reliefs sought, the claimants also prayed the court to grant consequential orders addressing the outcome and conduct of the said elections across the affected local government areas.
At the resumed hearing, counsel representing the PDP and the affected local government councils informed the court that they had only recently been served with the originating processes and accompanying documents.
The defence team, comprising several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), disclosed that service of the court processes was effected on March 13, 2026, leaving them with limited time to adequately prepare their responses.
Consequently, the defence counsel applied for an adjournment to enable them study the processes and address the legal issues raised, particularly as they relate to jurisdictional questions and points of law.
Counsel to the claimants, Glory Chizim-Chinda, did not oppose the application, following which the presiding judge granted the request and adjourned the matter to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions, with a possible ruling expected ahead of the substantive suit.
By: King Onunwor
A former state lawmaker in the old the Rivers State, Professor Alex Eseimokumo, has described Nigerian opposition political parties as mere preposition political parties.
He also advised the country’s electorate against selling their votes during next year’s general elections.
The former legislator, who is also the president of the Institute for Peace, Conflict Resolution and Entrepreneurial Research, said this in an exclusive interview with The Tide on the sidelines of an event organized by the institute in Port Harcourt.
He said opposition political parties in Nigeria have been reduced to preposition political parties as most of them are not only dinning with the government but advising government on what to do to win election.
“The problem in Nigeria is we are not practicing politics the way it is supposed to be.The opposition are more in preposition.
“You see, opposition is supposed to find out things that are wrong in government but in our present day politics, you see opposition even dinning with the other group. So, there is basically nothing like opposition in Nigeria “, he said.
He lamented a situation where some individuals within the opposition are allegedly working hard to prevent their parties from fielding presidential candidates in the forthcoming election, adding that such individuals were only there to protect their personal interest.
Prof. Eseimokumo said as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he could not wish his party to fail in the election, even though nothing is impossible in Nigeria.
He noted that though the government in power has been trying it’s best, there was more to be done.
In his words, “I’m an APC member, so I don’t have the right to criticize my party but a word of advice: we still need to do more, more people oriented leadership where everybody will feel carried along.
“For now, I’m campaigning for APC to be re elected and if I stand here to say APC is not doing well, I’m not being fair to myself. But I think, with God all things are possible, there can be changes”.
On his assessment of the performances of governors of the Niger Delta states, Prof Eseimokumo said the governors were doing well within the limit of their resources.
” I don’t know what is given to them as allocation, but if what we are seeing in terms of window dressing is not window shopping, then they are doing well”, he said.
Meanwhile, Prof. Eseimokumo has advised Nigerian electorates against selling their votes during the forthcoming elections.
He said credible election could only be achieved when the electorates refuse financial inducement during the elections.
According to him, though Nigerian voters had been difficult to persuade, the time had come for them to stop selling their votes.
Prof. Eseimokumo said the forthcoming elections will serve as a litmus test for the Nigerian electorate to demonstrate their desire for changes in the country, stressing that free and fair elections will continue to be a mirage in the country until the was a change in the attitude of the electorate.
“If you want your vote to count, don’t take money from anybody; if you want your votes to count, don’t collect money for your vote. The moment you collect money for your vote, you have sold your conscience”, he warned.
He said his institute will continue to work for peace, not just in the Niger Delta region but across Nigeria.
By: John Bibor
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