Mike Ozekhome is worried. The senior lawyer and well-known defender of civil rights believes Nigeria is heading somewhere dangerous, and fast. At a recent legal forum in Abuja, he didn’t hold back. He said Nigeria is no longer walking the democratic path. It’s veering off into authoritarian territory.
Ozekhome pointed to what he described as troubling signs. He talked about the government ignoring court rulings. He called out the suppression of the press. He criticized the growing role of security forces in intimidating critics and activists. All of it, he said, fits a pattern we’ve seen before.
“This is how dictatorship begins,” Ozekhome warned. “It starts small. The people get used to it. And then one day, you wake up and realize your democracy has quietly died.”
His warning comes as many Nigerians feel shut out of the political process. With elections in 2027 on the horizon, some fear that what remains of the democratic system is being manipulated before their eyes. Ozekhome’s message was clear. If Nigerians want to keep their democracy, they need to fight for it now. Not later.
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