By: Mandy Park
Caretaker committee chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Nenadi Usman has cautioned that Nigeria may slide into a one-party state if opposition parties fail to unite and prioritize national interests over personal ambitions.
Speaking at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) award in Abuja, Usman slammed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for undermining the country’s democratic foundations through deliberate efforts to weaken rival parties.
In a speech delivered by Ken Eluma Asogwa, her senior special adviser on media, the politician alleged that the APC has resorted to using state institutions to harass, intimidate and manipulate the opposition.
Said Usman “Since the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the ruling party, there has been a deliberate and relentless campaign to undermine the opposition.
“Tactics range from infiltration and co-optation to the use of state institutions for harassment, intimidation, and even judicial manipulation.
“The ruling party has become adept not just at consolidating power but at weakening every form of challenge to it. This is not democracy. This is domination masked as governance.”
Usman, however, admitted that external sabotage alone was not responsible for the opposition’s challenges, noting that internal divisions, greed, and personal ambition had also weakened their ranks.
“But let me also be brutally honest: while external interference from the APC has played a role, it is not the only culprit. The opposition has too often been complicit in its own weakening,” she said.
Usman noted further “We must acknowledge that personal ambition, greed, and internal divisions have made us vulnerable. No amount of external sabotage can succeed if there is no internal decay.
“That is why I say the most potent antidote is not merely vigilance, but patriotism — genuine, uncompromising patriotism.
“When our leaders put Nigeria first — above ambition, above ego, above the lure of quick power — no ruling party can break us.”