A social activist and lawyer, Justice Osai Ahiakwo has expressed worry over the lack of cohesion and peace within political parties, especially the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
This follows the conclusion of internal party primaries to elect their flag bearers for next year’s general election in the country.
As a result of the grievances by those who lost and who also believed that their losses stemmed from the engineering of certain power brokers, many governors and party leaders have held reconciliation meetings to pacify them although a few have decided to defect to other parties.
But the lawyer believes that, even within dominant political camps, genuine peace appears increasingly absent, despite efforts towards reconciliation.
According to him, “Suspicion now thrives where trust once existed, while former allies struggle with conflicting ambitions and growing uncertainty.”
In an interview, he narrowed to Rivers State where he said that the situation there is not isolated but that, It reflects a broader national pattern that has troubled Nigeria’s democratic experience for decades.
Ahiakwo expressed worry that in Nigeria, political structures increasingly revolve around powerful individuals rather than enduring institutions.
He spoke about loyalty to personalities, saying it has gradually replaced loyalty to constitutional principles, and that elections are too often treated as warfare for territorial dominance and economic control.
According to him, former political allies from Lagos to Kano, Edo to Zamfara, for instance, repeatedly become adversaries once questions of succession, influence, and control of state resources emerge.
He noted that political godfathers who once installed leaders later become locked in bitter conflicts with the same individuals they helped elevate to power, paralysing governance, intimidating institutions and igniting legal disputes, and prolonging political warfare.
He said at the national level, coalitions are formed in the name of rescuing democracy which frequently collapsed under the weight of competing ambitions and mutual distrust.
“Nigeria’s political environment is increasingly defined by defections without conviction, alliances without trust, and victories without stability.
“The consequences for democratic development remain severe. Public institutions become weakened when loyalty shifts from the Constitution to political patrons.”
Ahiakwo said going by this situation, security agencies and legislatures risk losing independence, while political appointees prioritize survival within elite camps over accountability to the public.
