Professor Udenta O. Udenta has revealed that President Bola Tinubu may likely secure re-election in the forthcoming election cycle.
In a recent interview, the founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) expressed apprehensions regarding the diminishing civic space and the failure of opposition parties to hold the government effectively accountable.
He posited that, in the absence of substantial social mobilization and a resilient opposition, President Tinubu's path to securing a second term would be largely unobstructed.
Professor Udenta underscored the importance of fostering a dynamic political environment in anticipation of the 2027 elections, advocating for the unhindered functioning of organized labor, the preservation of independent media, and the maintenance of active civic spaces.
He concluded by stating that without these essential reforms, President Tinubu would encounter minimal resistance in his pursuit of reelection.
“But physically with 2027 and beyond, as I said, every government that comes as part of its mandate, especially this particular government to dismantle those guardrails that will protect the people and democratic order. One, the opposition parties are run by crisis, sometimes generated from outside. Labour is pushed to the limit of despair. The media is harassed from pillar to post. Civic spaces are shrinking.
“What we need to do is to start recomposing these spaces and domains. The site of resistance and protest must be reconstituted. Civic spaces must be there. See what happened with the kids who were tried unjustly and illegally. Their story is even gone. They got out of jail, they rode into a vehicle, they entered the villa, they got a pat on the back, got biscuit and Fanta. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) is not held accountable, the Attorney General is not held accountable, and the police officers are not held accountable.
“I didn’t see people populate the Unity Fountain the way they did with the #Bring-Back-Our-Girls. We need to see a consort of opposition parties, civic space agitators, empowered civic space leaders, and labor and national unions populating that Unity Fountain every day with placards, saying we are agitating for two or three things. Labor should be left free to do its job. The media must be left off the hook and civic spaces should not shrink."