By Alabi Williams / 9 Jun 2025
President Donald Trump of the United States could snub a handshake in the public and still make noise about it. In less than 200 days of his second coming, he has humiliated at least three presidents of other countries without showing remorse. Others barely managed him. The character of President Trump has largely redefined the notion of democracy among lovers of the form of government across the world. Some are changing their mind, because they can no longer spot the difference with the type in China and Russia, just by looking at the character of Trump. Nothing else has changed.
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The presidential system provides that the three arms of government shall exist side by side but separately.The reason is to ensure that no arm becomes too dominant as to lord it over the others. But the character of one man can alter that.
Despite the clarity of the constitution on the separate existence of the arms, there has always been a tendency for politicians to muddle up things to fit their private inclinations and agenda. There is always a contention to keep the arms as distinct as possible, so that democracy doesn’t transform into a monarchy through the backdoor.
As time-tested as the American democracy is acknowledged, if it were possible for Trump to unite the three arms in the White House, he would gleefully do that. But thanks to the resilience of the judiciary and other state institutions, there is still democracy in America.
In the case of Nigeria, different shades of presidency since 1999 have impacted democracy in different ways. With weaker institutions, it is easier for the character of a president to redraw the signposts of democracy here.In normal times, the Nigerian presidency is rated to be too powerful.
The Nigerian president has under his control key public institutions, including the security agencies (police, EFCC and DSS), INEC and to an extent the judiciary. The president nominates the chairman of INEC, national and resident electoral commissioners for the Senate to approve. Most times, approvals are granted before nominations get to lawmakers. Nominees just show up to pledge to commitment when it’s time to share budgets.
In the judiciary, despite the role of the National Judicial Council (NJC), president and governors find ways to chisel away the judiciary’s independence. Muhammadu Buhari was reluctant to send the name of Walter Onnoghen to the Senate for confirmation as Chief Justice of Nigeria. Onnoghen remained in acting capacity from November 10, 2016 until March 1, 2017, when Professor Yemi Osinbajo intervened. He sent a letter to the Senate on February 7, 2027. Buhari still found reason to sack Onnoghen in 2019. Some governors delay appointment of judges after NJC’s recommendation just to suit their whims.
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The president appoints all his ministers and advisers. He makes board, diplomatic and committee appointments. The president’s capacity to create commissions and make appointments is as elastic as his imagination to play God. The president has the resources and reach to infiltrate and influence associations outside government, be they professional, traditional or religious, for purposes of alignment with programmes of government or to help propagate them.
For example, while he was still a private citizen and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), was able to raise his own version of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN, leadership to counter the anti-Muslim-Muslim ticket narrative he instigated when he picked a fellow Muslim from the North as vice presidential candidate. If PBAT insists on Muslim-Muslim ticket for 2027, he has more capacity now to push it through. That pushes the borders of democracy and the notion that it is a fairer deal.
Today’s National Assembly, led by Godswill Akpabio qualifies more as the legislative wing of Aso Villa, irrespective of party affiliation. It hadbeen so for six years, since the time Ahmad Lawan was selected as president of the Senate. Lawan said the legislature would endorse whatever president Buhari requested. He did exactly that and Buhari operated largely without parliamentary control.
Buhari had no patience for the legislature. Ibrahim Magu, whom, he appointedas acting chairman of the EFCC between 2015 and 2020 was sustained in that capacity, without confirmation by the Senate. The man who was Controller of Customs under Buhari, retired Col. Hamid Ali was utterly disrespectful of the Senate. There were others, who were encouraged by the president’s contempt for legislative arm.
When terrorist killed more than 40 rice farmers in Northern Borno in November 2020, the lawmakers summoned the president to come and explain what went wrong. The summon was ignored. Buhari did not set out to cultivate a relationship with lawmakers; histouted personality cult made him get away with many infractions, including his wasteful overseas trips and ruinous monetary policies.
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo did not have much regard for lawmakers as well. His idea of lawmakers is that of a bunch who allocated too much resources to themselves for doing so little. His military background also did not prepare him to take orders from the legislature. The presidency in his days was high-handed, same way democracy was operated in a command-and-control manner.
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Things are somewhat different under President Tinubu’s Kabiyesi type presidency. The relationship with the legislature is robust and friendly. Godswill Akpabio has ensured that the 10th National Assembly has no mojo. He said lawmakers were not elected to fight the President. They were elected to romance one another.
The Senate wastes no time to approve loan requests for Mr. President. In return, lawmakers insert meaningless constituency projects into the budget. They are reported to have inserted 11, 122 projects to cost N6.93 trillion in the 2025 budget. The budget has been signed into law, even though it is not operational yet, according to a report. June was agreed as period to commence capital disbursements. Lawmakers are happy.
President Tinubu is too politically organised to operate side by side an adversarial legislature. His loyalists are strategically positioned in both Houses to ensure there is no rascality. PBATwas in the Senate over three decades ago. His wife, Oluremi was also in the Senate. Their combined skills have met the needs of lawmakers and there is peace in that arm of government. Conquered.
The President approved 300 per cent pay increase for judicial officers in August 2024, when he signed the Judicial Office Holders Salaries and Allowances Bill into law, which the NASS earlier approved without any fuss. With that, the judiciary arm of government is also at peace with the President. The FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, had earlier commenced the construction of 40 housing units in Katampe District of FCT for judges. This looks like the best of times for the three arms of government. Appeased.
There is now financial autonomy for local governments, which is targeted to effectively take away supervision of the third tier from the governors. The process is gradual but by 2027, control over councils by states should be a thing of the past. In 2024, the Supreme Court affirmed financial autonomy for the 774 local governments, recognising them as the third tier of government and empowering them to receive allocations directly from the Federal Government. Part of that ruling ordered that councils that do not have elected officials must be denied allocation.
Some people are still asking, what is the status of a state without local governments? The original idea was that there are only two federating units, the federal and states. Even the Constitution pairs local governments as sub units of states. That existed before the Tinubu Presidency. Hopefully soon, the Constitution will be amended to clear all doubts.
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Governors are beginning to learn common sense under Kabiyesi Tinubu. They’re running helter-skelter to catch up withthe Renewed Hope Agenda train. Allocations to councils in Osun State have been withheld not solely based on the Supreme Court ruling, but more to do with control at the councils. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC are up in arms over the last two council elections in the state.
Obviously, the Federal Government has taken sides through the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, who advised Osun government not to embark on the last local government election. The advice fell on deaf ears and the PDP won the elections conclusively. For that affront, the state’s councils’ allocation has stopped coming.
Last week, Governor Ademola Adeleke, along with his brother, Deji Adeleke and nephew, music superstar Davido, paid Salah homage to President Tinubu in Lagos. The governor has an election coming up on August 8, 2026. This is the time to get personal with the President, who cannot be happy that his state of origin is in the hands of the opposition.
Adeleke doesn’t seem to have sufficient cards to survive without a united PDP. The man appears to be in a dilemma. One is hoping he doesn’t surrender to the choice of enlightened self-interest, like Akwa Ibom Governor, Umo Eno did.
Governor Umo Eno had been stranded at some airport, waiting to board a federal aircraft to properly align his state with Abuja. The aircraft had taken forever to get off the ground because it was a dubious flight. Last week, he finally did, pleading an enlightened self-interest.
Suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara may have also seen the light. He too paid Salah homage to Mr. President in Lagos, last week. His language has changed, now sounding more like his oga, Wike. You do not encounter King Tinubu at close quarters and remain the same.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos didn’t get the President’s handshake last week, at a state function. It was a humiliating experience to have a governor snubbed publicly. It also ridiculed the people of Lagos State. Where are the friends and advisers of Mr. President?
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Politicians across parties are capitulating fast under Tinubu’s imperial Presidency. In four years, PBAT could make the Federation more unitary than the military left it, going by his style. Even governors, thought to be the strongest link in the democratic value-chain are capitulating.
Pray this democracy survives!
Note: This article was first published by The Guardian Newspaper.
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