As Nigeria marked its Democracy Day on June 12, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu addressed a joint session of the National Assembly in a speech that began on a positive note, honouring the country’s democratic journey and promising allegiance to pluralism.
“I will never view a one‑party state as good for Nigeria,” he said. But that solemn commitment took a jarring turn.
By paragraph 24 of his statement, the President’s remarks shifted from statesmanship to subtle derision: “Political parties fearful of members leaving… may be better served by examining their internal processes… I will not help you do so.”
In that statement lay not just a hands-off approach, but a veiled rebuke of legitimate dissent. Mr. President, the opposition is not panicking; they are exercising their right to protest. They are not crumbling, they are converging. And in a democracy, that should not trigger mockery; it should command respect.
Today’s economic indicators may show signs of technical recovery, but the average Nigerian sees no such light.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s GDP grew by 2.98% in Q1 2025 – a number that might satisfy international observers or policy analysts. But for the mechanic in Kafanchan, the trader in Aba, or the teacher in Katsina, that figure is meaningless.
Prices are up, the naira is weak, and disposable income has vanished. Nigerians are not living the recovery; they are surviving the wreckage.
No GDP figure can mask the hardship that grips the land: a 33% youth unemployment rate, food inflation above 35%, and a growing sense of abandonment in both urban and rural communities. That’s not panic – it’s pain. And opposition leaders like Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Peter Obi are not capitalising on that pain for politics; they are giving voice to it.
Their emerging alliance is not an act of desperation – it is an effort to stitch together a fractured nation. They speak for Nigerians who have lost trust in numbers that don’t translate to food, fuel, or freedom. If that is “panic,” then perhaps panic is the most honest language left to a people unheard.
History teaches us that it is dangerous to dismiss popular frustration. Africa knows this lesson well.
In faraway Burkina Faso, after nearly three decades in power, President Blaise Compaoré was ousted when protesters rejected his attempt to cling to office. Also, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down after waves of youth-led protests against his bid for a fifth term. In Zimbabwe, the long grip of Robert Mugabe ended when even his party could no longer ignore a restless population. I can go on and on. These were not military coups or acts of treason. They were the people reclaiming their voice when institutions failed to listen.
Nigeria must not wait for such rupture. We must learn, not linger. To ignore the opposition’s message is to ignore the millions who have been priced out of the economy, pushed out of governance, and locked out of opportunity.
Mr. President, to label opposition concerns as internal party dysfunction is to reduce a national outcry to petty politics. The House you addressed is not just a legislative chamber; it is meant to echo the struggles of the people. When those struggles are dismissed, the chamber becomes hollow, and democracy begins to rot from the inside.
The coalition represents more than a political movement; it is a civil response to economic anxiety, institutional fatigue, and a yearning for leadership that listens. To mock that response is not only unwise, it is reckless.
Democracy is not sustained by majorities alone, but by meaningful debate, dissent, and deliberation. When we downplay criticism, we invite crisis. When we conflate criticism with sabotage, we deepen the gulf between government and the governed.
Nigeria today stands at a defining fork in the road. We can choose to maintain a chorus of applause within a hollow chamber, or we can open the doors and hear the voices rising outside. That is the test of mature leadership: not how well it silences opposition, but how well it responds to them.
Mr. President, the opposition is not your enemy. They are the early warning system of democracy. Do not mock them. Hear them. Join them in rebuilding a nation that millions are fast losing hope in.
Because real panic does not come from speeches. It comes when the people stop speaking altogether.
God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Gyas Maxwell Joel
National Organizing Secretary, TCM
