In a blistering interview, former Governor of Jigawa State and founding member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sule Lamido, accused President Bola Tinubu of attempting to rewrite Nigeria’s democratic history following his infamous Democracy Day speech.
Speaking to journalists, Lamido warned about a looming dictatorship, while accusing Tinubu of behaving like an emperor surrounded by sycophants, and dangerously centralising power.
Lamido dismissed recent claims by Tinubu that he and Senator Ameh Ebute were central actors in the June 12 struggle, describing the assertion as “an effort to distort the facts and reward betrayal”.
According to him, Ebute was installed as Senate President by the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida after Senator Iyorchia Ayu was removed for resisting Babangida’santi-democratic agenda.
“Rewarding Ebute as a June 12 hero is a travesty,” Lamido declared, saying, “He was doing Babangida’s bidding. Ayu was the one who stood up for democracy, and he was punished for it.”
Lamido challenged Tinubu’s version of history, stating that at the time Abachadissolved both political parties and the National Assembly, there was no legislature left for Tinubu to have mobilised.
“There was no National Assembly. It had been dissolved. So, who was he convening with?” Lamido asked.
He further criticised the growing personalisation of national institutions and honourson Tinubu’s watch.
Lamido said, “How can one man’s name be stamped on everything in Nigeria? We are becoming a Republic of Tinubu. When you play God, and you have sycophants around you, you end up dancing naked.”
Referring to Rivers State’s current political situation, Lamido slammed Tinubu’sattempt to appoint state officials as unconstitutional.
“Even under a state of emergency, the constitution does not give him that power. It is the National Assembly that should take charge, not the president. What Tinubu is doing is an assault on democracy,” he stated.
Lamido backed Senator Seriake Dickson’s recent criticism of Tinubu’s anti-democratic tendencies, praising the Bayelsa lawmaker for “speaking truth to power” during the recent Democracy Day events.
He said, “Dickson is 100 per cent right. You can’t be talking about democracy and at the same time talking about militocracy. Imposing somebody who is not elected to run in a country with a democratic system is not possible. You know it’s all part of his grand desire to distort and manipulate and hoist a false propaganda on Nigeria.”
He also upbraided Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, saying the former Rivers State governor’s continued praise of Tinubu is nothing but theatrical sycophancy.
Lamido stated, “Wike came out defending the naming of a major centre after Tinubu. But let’s be honest, Wike is just the office he holds. Look through history, governors make a lot of noise while in office because all the attention and resources are on them.
‘’I did it too. We all did—El-Rufai, Fayose, Ortom. But once you’re out of office, you’re forgotten. Where are we now? Quiet. Invisible. It’s not Wike talking, it’s the office talking. Remove the office, and he becomes just another former governor, behind all of us in the queue.”
On the national honours, Lamido lamented the loss of integrity in the award process, which he said was now being used as a political tool.
“What is the qualification of those being awarded? Betrayal? Compromise? It used to be a process rooted in merit, but not anymore,” he stated.
Lamido laid out the institutions that upheld democratic governance – judiciary, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), executive, legislature, and political parties – insisting that all are now under Tinubu’s manipulation.
He said, “Tinubu is too clever by half. He may fool some, but he cannot fool all of us. He is centralising power, like Pharaoh. But history shows, it is only such emperors who end up destroying themselves.”
Chuks Okocha
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