The convener of The Alternative Movement and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Segun Showunmi, on Monday dismissed the report that the country’s growing democracy is under threat.
Showunmi also said that being an opposition party member does not preclude such people from public scrutiny or being subjected to probe or trial under the extant laws of the land.
He explained that, irrespective of party affiliations, allegations of wrongdoing must be tested in accordance with due process and not dismissed wholesale as persecution if indeed we all cared about moving the country forward.
Showunmi disclosed that the recent gale of defections from opposition parties into the ruling party should not be construed to mean or say that someone is strangulating the opposition parties when these parties have also lost cohesion and are battling with several internal crises.
The PDP leader said that it is therefore wrong for the people to blame President Bola Tinubu for the misfortune of the opposition parties when these parties have refused to put their houses in order.
Showunmi disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Monday.
He explained that, “No one is strangulating political parties in Nigeria. What we are witnessing is the natural consequence of political competition colliding with accountability under the law.
“People should be careful not to conflate personal political setbacks with a collapse of democracy. Political parties are not entitled to immunity from internal crisis, defections, or the consequences of poor strategic judgment.
“If anything, what is being exposed is a failure of opposition cohesion, not the death of democratic space.
“If ambition is no longer aligning with political reality, the honest course is to acknowledge the limits of one’s journey. Politics, like life, is generational.
“The younger cadre will inevitably come of age, and leadership is ultimately judged by what it has sown in those coming behind. You cannot neglect that responsibility and then lament the outcomes when the moment shifts”.
Showunmi said that because someone is a member of the opposition party does not mean that such could not be subjected to the law of the land in the spirit of fairness, justice and accountability
He stated that, “On the matter of investigations or enforcement actions, the principle is straightforward: those who have committed infractions must answer to the law.
“Public figures cannot be insulated from scrutiny simply because of political alignment or timing. Allegations of wrongdoing must be tested in accordance with due process, not dismissed wholesale as persecution.
“Equally, those who have abused the internal rules of their political parties or attempted to game the system must understand that consequences are part of institutional order.
“Law and party discipline are not instruments of oppression; they are the scaffolding of any functioning democracy”.
Showunmi added that “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not invent political contestation, nor is he responsible for the opposition’s inability to present a coherent alternative.
“A competitive system demands resilience, organisation, and credibility, not perpetual claims of victim
“Democracy is not weakened because the opposition is struggling; it is weakened when leaders refuse introspection and instead reach for alarmist rhetoric.
“Nigeria’s system remains open; what is required is better politics, not louder accusations’.
