By Justice Osai Ahiakwo
Politics has a long memory. Power changes hands, alliances shift and political fortunes rise and fall. Yet the consequences of political conduct often survive the circumstances that produced them.
As Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, one question deserves attention: How safe are the politicians themselves?
This is the context in which I use the expression political retributive justice.
The expression is not used here in its strict judicial or philosophical sense.
It does not mean punishment imposed by a court, nor does it advocate political revenge. Rather, it describes the political consequences that may arise when actors create, encourage or tolerate practices that may eventually be turned against them.
In politics, yesterday’s weapon can become tomorrow’s vulnerability.
A politician who uses state institutions to intimidate an opponent may one day need those same institutions for protection.
A party that celebrates the political destruction of its rivals may eventually experience similar divisions within its own ranks.
A political structure built around personal loyalty may weaken when its source of power disappears.
This is not necessarily punishment. It is the consequence of political conduct.
THE SAFETY OF POLITICAL ACTORS
Democracy requires competition, disagreement and the freedom to choose leaders. But competition becomes dangerous when political opponents are treated as enemies.
A politician should be able to contest an election without intimidation.
An incumbent should be able to face criticism without weaponising state institutions.
A defeated candidate should be able to return to ordinary civic life without fear of persecution.
Section 14(2)(a) of the 1999 Constitution provides that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, from whom government derives its powers and authority. Political power is therefore held in trust.
No politician owns the state, and no electoral victory confers a licence to silence or destroy political opponents.
Every politician should ask: If I lose power tomorrow, will the political environment I am creating today protect me and my rights?
That is a test of democratic maturity.
ACCOUNTABILITY, NOT RETALIATION
Political safety must not be confused with immunity from accountability.
Where there is credible evidence of wrongdoing, the law must take its course. But accountability must be based on law and evidence, not political vengeance.
Nigeria must avoid a cycle in which every change of government produces another round of persecution and retaliation. Such a system makes everyone vulnerable.
The politician in power fears losing power; the opposition fears what victory by its rival may bring; and former officeholders fear what awaits them after leaving office.
Political accountability is legitimate; political persecution is not.
THE 2027 VOTER
The electorate also has a responsibility. Candidates should be judged by their records, competence, integrity and respect for democratic institutions—not merely by rallies, endorsements, defections or political alliances.
The voter should ask: What has this candidate achieved? What does the candidate stand for?
Can the candidate be trusted with public resources and constitutional power?
How does the candidate treat political opponents?
The 2027 voter should vote with memory, but without bitterness; with discernment, but without prejudice.
THE REAL MEANING OF VICTORY
The Constitution must outlive politicians. Institutions must be stronger than individuals.
The judiciary must remain independent, the legislature must perform its constitutional functions, and public institutions must serve the state rather than personal political interests.
Winning an election should not mean eliminating political opponents.
Losing an election should not mean losing one’s dignity or constitutional protection.
The real measure of democratic victory is whether both the winner and the loser can continue to live under the same constitutional order without fear.
Every politician eventually leaves office.
What protects them thereafter is not the political machinery they once controlled, but the strength of the inJames stitutions they helped to preserve.
The question, however, is not merely who will win the 2027 elections.
Will the politicians who compete in 2027 be safe enough to accept defeat, responsible enough to exercise victory, and secure enough to leave power without fear?
That is the real test of Nigeria’s democracy.
Political power changes hands.
Political consequences endure. But democracy is truly mature when neither victory nor defeat places a Rcitizen beyond the protection of the law.
Ahiakwo writes from Calabar
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