Tinubu Is Not the Law, The People Are

The article “Tinubu Is The Law” by Festus Adebayo is not just a sobering analysis, it is a national red alert, a flare shot into the night sky to awaken a slumbering populace. What it reveals is not a metaphorical descent into authoritarianism; it is the lived reality of Nigerians today.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, once a political tactician, has now fully transformed into a ruler who sees himself as above reproach and beyond the Constitution. His brazen disregard for democratic principles,  underscored by the unlawful suspension of the elected governor and legislative arm in Rivers State,  marks a chilling shift from flawed democracy to creeping autocracy. That this move received the rubber stamp of the National Assembly within hours, under the haze of alleged bribes and political sycophancy, shows that Nigeria’s democratic institutions have not just been compromised, they have been captured.

But this is no longer just about Tinubu. The more terrifying consequence of his unchecked power is the signal it sends across Nigeria’s 36 states. If the president can manipulate the Constitution with impunity, then what stops governors from doing same in their domains? What is to stop them from looting public treasuries, crushing opposition, manipulating local laws, and establishing dynastic rule through family, friends, and cronies?

We are entering a dark chapter,  one where the law is no longer sacred, but subject to the whims of those in power. Contracts worth billions are being handed on a silver platter to companies owned or controlled by Tinubu’s inner circle,  notably his son and Lebanese-Nigerian ally, Gilbert Chagoury. These are no longer allegations, these are facts hiding in plain sight. Public funds are being recycled among the ruling elite, while Nigerians are asked to tighten belts they no longer have the strength to fasten.

The nepotism, cronyism, and favouritism under this regime are not just unethical,  they are outright dangerous. They erode trust in the state. They give license to every corrupt official to do the same. They teach a new generation that to rise in Nigeria, you must grovel, kneel, or share bloodlines,  not merit, competence, or service. What kind of country normalizes this and expects progress?

When a corps member, a young woman,  can be threatened and coerced into apologizing for merely criticizing the president, it means the walls are listening again. It means fear is back in fashion, and democracy is gasping for breath. It starts with intimidating a voice. Then it grows into silencing a community. Soon, we become a nation of whisperers, too terrified to speak, too broken to resist.

This is the tyranny of soft coups,  not with guns, but with executive proclamations; not with tanks, but with loyalist lawyers and compromised legislators. The Nigeria of today eerily mirrors the Malawi of Banda’s era, where personal rule masqueraded as national leadership, and dissent became a punishable offense.

Tinubu’s audacity stems not only from his long survival in the trenches of Nigeria’s political underworld, but from his knowledge that Nigerians rarely fight back,  not in one voice, not in sustained outrage. But history shows that when a people are pushed to the brink,  when they are mocked, looted, oppressed, and then silenced,  they erupt. The longer the silence, the more volcanic the reaction.

We must no longer whisper in fear or grumble in private. The time has come to speak boldly, write truthfully, organize fiercely, and resist lawfully. Let the world know: Nigeria is not anyone’s private estate. Not Bola Tinubu’s. Not Seyi’s. Not Chagoury’s. It belongs to over 200 million Nigerians whose dreams, dignity, and future are now under siege.

The path we are on leads to a cliff. And if we fall, it may take a generation to climb back.

Let this not be the legacy we leave behind.

Let this message reach every corner of the country:

We see what’s happening. We will not be silent. We will not surrender our democracy.

Hon. Chimazuru Nnadi-Oforgu
Duruebube Uzii na Abosi

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