Under the Tinubu administration, Nigeria’s democracy is being systematically dismantled through blatant injustice and judicial manipulation, transforming the nation into a shadow of its constitutional ideals. The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State in March 2025, which suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara amid escalating political tensions, exemplifies this erosion. What followed was a lawsuit by 11 PDP governors in April 2025, challenging the federal government’s overreach and seeking to nullify the emergency rule at the Supreme Court. Yet, over 120 days later—as of August 2025—the case languishes unheard, its file seemingly forgotten in the apex court’s corridors, while the government petitions for dismissal and justifies the action by claiming “no government” exists in Rivers. This deliberate delay underscores how the judiciary, once a pillar of checks and balances, has been co-opted to serve executive whims, allowing decrees to reign supreme in a fiefdom where democratic norms are trampled.
Nigerians deserve the truth: this is no longer a democracy but an overlord’s domain, where citizens are burdened with heavy taxation amid economic hardship, while courts and magistrates are meticulously maintained as facades of legitimacy. As Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka poignantly warned in response to the Rivers crisis, “When the judiciary bends to the will of power, the soul of the nation withers, leaving only the husk of freedom.” Tell the people plainly—you rule not by consent but by fiat, eroding justice to consolidate control. I don’t know what this system is anymore, but it is certainly not the democracy Nigeria fought to reclaim.
