Monday, March 24, 2025, was Emeka Ihedioha’s day in the sun. Granted, some will say he had already achieved a lot in six decades. Having been a three-term member of the House of Representatives, where he served as Chief Whip, Deputy Speaker and even Speaker, albeit temporarily, and Governor of Imo State, nothing can be truer.

Yet, his 60th birthday marked with a colloquium at the Abuja Continental Hotel, was epochal. It was not only a day of recognition, it was also a day of validation and triumph for a man who suffered, perhaps, the most grievous injustice in this present political dispensation.

On January 14, 2020, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad, the man who doesn’t know what technicality means in law, truncated Ihedioha’s governorship and awarded victory to Senator Hope Uzodimma on a platter.

That unconscionable judgement, which the late Justice Centus Nweze unequivocally said on March 4, 2020, “will continue to haunt our (Nigeria’s) electoral jurisprudence for a long time to come,” was delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, yes, the incumbent CJN. Any wonder our judiciary has become the butt of jokes locally and internationally.

But, I digress!

Back to Ihedioha’s birthday and why it remains his moment in the sun. Attendance at the colloquium with the theme, “Is democracy failing in Africa,” delivered by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, was topnotch. Except for former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida’s recent book launch in Abuja, it will not be an exaggeration to say that no other event has attracted such an array of dignitaries in recent times.

It was also a measure of Ihedioha’s national appeal and political clout that the guests came from all the nooks and crannies of the country. For a man who has been out of public office for more than five years with no patronage to dispense or the resources to buy loyalty, that was an incredible feat.

But even more significant were the remarks by guests, starting from the former governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, who chaired the planning committee. Describing Ihedioha as a very determined person, with egalitarian worldview, Imoke said, “Emeka is one man who is intentional, extremely intentional. He sets his eyes on a goal and his commitment to achieving it knows no bounds. He is the right man to have beside you at any given time. In any political war, it is better to have Emeka on your side than on the other side.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who chaired the colloquium, concurred. Now, anyone who knows Obasanjo will agree that he is as stingy with money as he is with praises. But with Ihedioha, he makes an exception. “There is no perfect human being but the little I also know about you, you are almost a perfect human being. Again, the little I know about you, you take things as they come and you are unperturbed by even the seeming and apparent injustice when they come to you,” Obasanjo said.

For those who may think that he was playing to the gallery, Obasanjo had expressed the same sentiment privately. In his birthday message on March 20, the former president wrote: “I have watched you over the last 25 years as you conducted yourself socially, politically and economically and I have always said to myself that there is something in you that would make you to continue to be a great man of service to humanity and to God, your creator… my prayer and hope is that you will continue to live as you have done thus far without diversion, distraction or deviation.”

But Imoke and Obasanjo were not alone in praising Ihedioha’s political sagacity and exceptional leadership qualities. Former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Senate President David Mark, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal and all others who had the privilege of mounting the rostrum harped on those remarkable qualities and the need for Imo people to ensure that he goes back to Douglas House, Imo seat of power, to continue with the urgent and existential task of rebuilding the much abused Eastern Heartland.

Osita Chidoka, former Minister of Aviation and master of ceremony at the colloquium, put it most succintly. “For every Igbo man, the question is where do you stand on the removal of Emeka Ihedioha as the governor of Imo State? If you stand on the left, you are forever a man of history; if you don’t stand on the right side of history, you will forever be remembered for shame and disgrace to Igboland,” he said.

But characteristically, Ihedioha chose to stand above the fray, insisting that what needs to be protected is democracy itself. Expressing gratitude to all, Ihedioha said: “When we were commencing this process, some people felt we were going to discuss Emeka and the issues in Imo State. I am happy that you can see that is a matter in the past. That is not the subject. And the subject is not to talk about my future, either. The subject is simply to gather Nigerians and talk about the well-being of our people and the democracy which we believe in… So, I urge all men and women of goodwill, all of us gathered here, very distinguished Nigerians, it is important that we do everything we can, without fear or favour, and speaking truth to power, to sustain and protect this democracy.”

So, is democracy failing in Africa? Are we doing enough to sustain and protect democracy in Nigeria?  

Bishop Kukah believes democracy is not failing but with a caveat: development must be democratised. Democratisation of development, he said, will ultimately lead to the development of democracy.

Obasanjo disagrees. It is not only that democracy is failing in Africa, Nigeria inclusive, it is dying, he insists. And democracy is dying because the leaders have failed to prioritise the needs of the people.

“Democracy is meant to be a system of government that delivers to all the people, not just a section of the people, not just a few,” he said. “Today, we have a democracy which is government of small number of people, by small number of people over large number of people who are deprived of what they need to have in life. That is not democracy that will endure. So, if you are talking of democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed and why has it failed? Because in context and content, it is not African. It does not have any aspect of our culture, our way of life, what we stand for, what we believe, Ubuntu – I am because we are.”

Now, the African concept of Ubuntu emphasizes interconnectedness and shared humanity. ‘I am because we are’ or ‘humanity towards others.’ It is a philosophy that values community, compassion, and mutual respect.

Obasanjo said that is quite different from what obtains today in Nigeria, particularly under Tinubu’s presidency, which is, “I am because I can grab.”

Then, he asked the million-dollar question: “What sort of democracy brings you and you grab everything illegally, and you say go to court when you know that even in the court you cannot get justice? So, it is not that democracy is failing, democracy is dying.”

Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State, and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, amplified Obasanjo’s position, insisting that democracy has collapsed under Tinubu’s watch.

With unimpeachable anecdotal evidences, Obi surmised: “Democracy is not working in Nigeria. Everything has been knocked down. Democracy is collapsing.”

Expectedly, the government is firing back. Picking on the soft target – Peter Obi – Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, called him out.

“Only a discontented and disgruntled Peter, who benefits from the very free speech democracy provides, could perceive such a democratic downfall through his lens. If democracy had indeed collapsed, as Peter claims, and we were living under a regime antithetical to democratic principles, he would not have been able to make his comments on Monday at Emeka Ihedioha’s colloquium,” Onanuga said.

Who says? That argument is rather puerile. In any case, the fact that free speech is now considered a privilege under Tinubu, rather than a right speaks volumes. It says a great deal and tells the real story of where we are and why we are where we are.

The truth remains that Tinubu is systematically dismantling all the guardrails of democracy. By the time he is done with the demolition job, unless he is resisted and time is of the essence, the General Sani Abacha dictatorship will be child’s play.