Human Rights advocate and Political Commentator Dele Farotimi has issued a stark warning to Nigerians, urging immediate civic engagement and condemning what he described as the complete erosion of democratic values in the country.
“If Nigerians are waiting for 2027 to effect change, we have already lost 2027,” Farotimi declared, stressing that meaningful reform cannot be postponed. “The change must begin now.”
In a wide-ranging statement, Farotimi likened Nigerian citizens to shareholders in a company stripped of their rights. “If we are meant to be shareholders in a company, then certainly, we should have a say in that company,” he wrote. “Even as a minority shareholder, the rights of a person are deserving of protection, but no Nigerian right is protected.”
When asked whether he would participate in the 2027 elections if no electoral reforms are in place, Farotimi was blunt: “Why should I wait for the year to be active? If Nigerians have mobilised and fully expressed their demands through protests, demonstrations, or boycotts, and those in power still say no, who is to stop us from expressing our desires?”
Farotimi accused Nigeria’s political elite of blatant disregard for the law and for democratic institutions. “The politicians do not care. The laws do not matter to them. Nigerians ain’t paying attention. You don’t have a democracy,” he said.
He further decried the state of constitutional governance in Nigeria, pointing to the political crisis in Rivers State as a glaring example. “Your Constitution is useless; that’s the reality,” Farotimi said. “Look at Rivers State. The man who was sworn in as the President of Nigeria, who swore to uphold the Constitution, is trampling all over it.”
He alleged that President Bola Tinubu had effectively removed the democratically elected governor of Rivers State and imposed what he described as a “military dictatorship,” accusing key institutions of complicity through silence.
Farotimi has often criticised the Judiciary for its complicity in the disregard and desecration of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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