Professor Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has dismissed concerns that Nigeria is sliding toward a one-party state, citing the country’s political history and the nature of its elite class.
Speaking at a media session in Abuja marking the 11th anniversary of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), the former Minister of Foreign Affairs argued that previous attempts by dominant parties to monopolize power have consistently failed.
Gambari noted that several parties in Nigeria’s past believed they would hold power indefinitely, only to see their dominance collapse.
“This administration is not the first to try to have a dominant party in Nigeria,” Gambari said. He referenced the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) in the First Republic, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which once boasted it would rule for 60 years.
The veteran diplomat identified the personal ambitions of Nigeria’s political elite as a natural barrier to a one-party system. He argued that the political class is “too ambitious” for their goals to be contained within a single party structure.
However, Gambari expressed concern over the current state of political organizations, describing them as flags of convenience rather than ideological institutions. “Because our constitution does not allow for independent candidates, you have to belong, so it’s a party of convenience, you can be APC in the morning, PDP in the afternoon, and APC again the next day, because there are no consequences.”
To safeguard Nigeria’s democracy, Gambari called for stronger party organization, accountability for defection, and citizen participation. “History is not on the side of a one-party state in Nigeria, but it will not happen by itself. Multiparty democracy requires commitment and organization, and we all have roles to play,” Gambari concluded.
Share this
