State of the Nation

[Jibrin Ibrahim]

THE STATE OF THE NATION



Jibrin Ibrahim, Deepening Democracy Column, Daily Trust, 12 June 2026



Today is June 12. As we celebrate, maybe I should say mourn, the great
events that followed the annulled election of 12th June 1993, let us
not forget that the event was a very long time ago. 33 years is
ancient history for a majority of Nigerians, with a population whose
median age is 18 years. For those of us of a certain age and a
tradition of democratic struggles, June 12 was Nigeria’s rite of
passage to becoming a true and enduring democratic society. The big
issue is that the June 12 narrative is a story of great heroes and
heroines, having key names that include the winner of the June 12,
1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola; his wife, Kudirat;
General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Pa Alfred Rewane, who are often cited.
But maybe the greatest heroes of June 12 were the millions of unsung
ordinary Nigerians who came out, contested military rule and literally
chased them out of power, gaining a historic victory over military
authoritarianism. The ordinary Nigerian today is not celebrating June
12. They are asking the question why, how and when Nigerian democracy
died. The lived reality of the current generation is that the only
agency they have seen in centres of political power are powered by
greedy looters of the public treasury. The time has come to stop our
praise singing about our democracy and its heroes and fully reopen the
struggle for democracy in today’s Nigeria.



The Fourth Republic has been in place since 1999. Over that period,
the country’s democratic process has been emptied of its essence. One
way of understanding what happened to our democracy is to review how
reckless political cabals have created a situation in which Nigeria
faces a grave threat to its foundational constitutional principle of
the separation of powers. Checks and balances between the branches of
government have been imperilled. The separation of powers divides
government responsibilities into three distinct branches—legislative
(makes laws), executive (enforces laws), and judicial (interprets
laws). This constitutional framework ensures a system of "checks and
balances" that prevents tyranny, preserves individual liberties, and
promotes governmental accountability.



The core reasons why separation of powers is essential for modern
democracy include:

Preventing Tyranny: By dividing authority across independent branches
so that no single person or group can aggregate enough power to form a
dictatorship.

Enabling Checks and Balances: Each branch has the constitutional
authority to monitor and limit the others. For instance, the
legislature can pass laws, but the executive can veto them, while the
judiciary can strike down unconstitutional laws.

Protecting Human Rights: An independent judiciary ensures that laws
are applied fairly and that citizens are shielded from arbitrary
government actions or overreach.



Conscious of these principles, ten of us as concerned Nigerian
citizens issued a press release this week expressing our alarm at the
increasing threats to the Nigerian Nation, its democratic order and
the rule of law. Our assessment of the state of the Nation reveals
that Nigeria stands at a dangerous crossroads where rising insecurity,
an alarming level of electoral manipulation by government, and the
weakening of democratic institutions are converging into a national
crisis that threatens the country’s survival.



The legislative branch has been placed under near total control of the
executive branch. The judiciary appears to have lost both its
independence and its integrity. There are no checks on the powers of
the executive who now govern as they please without accountability or
respect for the people’s concerns. Institutions have been
compromised, weakened, and subordinated to the interests of the
executive arm of government. This erosion of institutional
independence has fuelled public distrust to its highest level in our
history creating a crisis of political exclusion and impunity that is
pushing violent extremism, organized crime, and communal conflict to a
tipping point.



To reverse this trajectory, Nigeria must urgently recommit to
democratic accountability, judicial independence, and institutional
reforms that strengthen the rule of law. The electoral processes must
be transparent, credible, and insulated from executive interference.



The crisis in Nigeria cannot be separated from the broader instability
engulfing the Sahel region. The spread of terrorism, arms trafficking,
unconstitutional changes of government, and porous borders across
countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger continue to intensify
insecurity in Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad Basin. The collapse of
regional cooperation and democratic governance in parts of the Sahel
further emboldens armed groups, weakens state authority, and
undermines civilian protection across West Africa.



Regional security cooperation between Nigeria and Sahelian states
should be revitalized by establishing strong bilateral and
multilateral platforms for intelligence sharing, border governance,
and community-based peacebuilding initiatives.



Equally important is investing in youth employment, education, social
protection, and local conflict resolution mechanisms to address the
root causes of radicalization and insecurity.



Recommendations

1. Government should as a matter of urgency recognise that
insecurity in the Sahel fuels the Nigerian crisis and that
rapprochement between AES (Alliance of Sahel States) and ECOWAS is an
important element in Nigeria’s national interest.



2. Government should immediately appoint a high-level Special Envoy
for the Sahel to begin the urgent task of rebuilding trust between
Nigeria, the AES and ECOWAS while revamping regional mechanisms for
peace and security.



3. Civil society organisations should actively sensitize citizens
and strengthen public demand for accountability. Nigerians must be
bold and courageous in protecting civic rights and resisting the
current climate of restricting civic space.



4. We call on the Private Sector as critical stakeholders in the
nation-state agenda to continue to support and demand accountability
in governance and the promotion of the rule of law as the basic
premise of economic progress and nation building. Professional bodies
and associations must rise to the challenge of building a broad
national consensus to oppose tyranny and ensure maintenance of checks
and balances in governance and the protection of the rule of law.



5. We call on our traditional leaders and members of the clergy to
rise to the full weight of their moral and civic authority to promote
peaceful co-existence, solidarity, and inter-faith dialogue to arrest
the current slide to criminality and civil disorder.



6. Given the clear and consistent indications of the lack of
neutrality and competence of INEC, professional bodies such as the
Nigerian Bar Association, Unions, and other civic groups must set up
mechanism of engaging the electoral body to ensure that the 2027
elections are free, fair and credible.



7. The Judiciary must address the perception of its complicity to
stall the democratic processes. It must remain independent and uphold
the rule of law. As a matter of urgency, the Nigerian Bar Association
must call its members to order for professional conduct and strengthen
its monitoring on the judiciary, it must stay alert and patriotic and
ensure political actors play by the rule. The National Judicial
Council must set up a framework for holding judges accountable for
decisions they take in the context of electoral process.



Signatories to the statement are: Dr. Husseini Abdu, Amb. Fatima Balla
OON, Dr. Usman Bugaje, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, CON Dr. Yahaya Hashim,
Professors Jibrin Ibrahim, Attahiru Muhammadu Jega OFR, Mohammed Kuna,
Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, SAN, OON andMal Kabiru Yusuf



Professor Jibrin Ibrahim
Senior Fellow
Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja
Follow me on twitter @jibrinibrahim17