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BY MONEYCENTRAL
After a military coup ousted the elected government of Sierra Leone in 1997, civil society and regional organizations like ECOWAS mobilized popular uprisings and coordinated forces.
The elected government was restored about nine months later, demonstrating effective citizen and regional intervention against a coup.
In Africa, the Sahel region has witnessed a wave of coups d’état in seven countries that extend from Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean to Sudan on the Red Sea.
Five military coups succeeded in five countries, in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger, and Gabon, while three other nations—Tunisia, Chad, and Sudan—had constitutional coups.
During approximately the same period, coup attempts were thwarted in Gambia, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, and the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.
In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, largest oil producer and economic giant, citizens woke up this past week to rumors of a coup plot by disgruntled army officers.
If such a plot now denied by the military hierarchy, were actually true and succeeded, one wonders if ordinary Nigerians would have come out on the streets to protest against the coup leaders like was done in Sierra Leone, or would have been indifferent.
To be sure this paper condemns any attempt to truncate Democracy in Nigeria and take the country back to the dark days of military bloodletting in the form of coup plots, citizens without rights, an emasculated and hounded media as well as a non-growing static economy led by corrupt generals.
However, there is a sense that the ruling APC party in Nigeria has committed many ‘Own Goals’ at the Federal and State levels that has undercut confidence and alienated many citizens amid the surge in regional coups.
This sense of injustice is often used by misguided army officers to justify their illegal coup plots in other parts of Africa.
The ruling APC party in Nigeria must guard against this by improving governance and reversing its numerous own goals some of which are listed below:
The Rivers State of Emergency Fiasco
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State in March 2025 following a protracted political crisis in the state.
Tinubu suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara; his deputy Ngozi Odu; and all the members of the House of Assembly for six months.
The president nominated Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) as a military administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state for the first six months.
It was always curious to us at MoneyCentral why the Tinubu administration would seek to give a military man (even if retired) a taste of governance through the back door, couched in the garb of ‘State of Emergency.’
The Retired Admiral was neither elected by the people of Rivers nor campaigned for the post. He also went about business awarding contracts and making appointments which are now being scrutinized by the real Governor Fubara after his return to office.
Beyond the bad optics of bringing military men back to governance of an oil rich state like Rivers or any state for that matter, any coup plotter could use this as one of his excuses to strike.
It is hoped that civilian Governors are never suspended again in the future because of politics, and rulers must be representatives elected by the people.
Stop Demolishing People’s Homes and Businesses
In the past two years a trend has emerged in Lagos and other parts of the country where homes and businesses of Nigerians are demolished with military like fiat, without a sense of empathy with Nigerians.
To make matters worse there are often rumors of particular ethnic groups or tribes being targeted by these demolitions.
The latest to happen was at the trade fair complex in Lagos, a Federal zone where property worth billions of naira were pulled down.
One would have expected better coordination between the APC at the Federal level and APC government in Lagos to ensure that they are not working at cross purposes, since the trade fair complex was being administered by the Federal Government.
More importantly however is the need to have a buy-in of the people and not seem like a government that is callous and out of touch. These are the same masses that would be needed to fight off any military incursion into politics.
It is also the case that many Nigerians are struggling with a major cost of living crises that began with this administration in 2023, as price of rent, building materials, cars, foodstuff and school fees have all skyrocketed.
The government can help build up the masses instead of tearing them down. Properties without adequate building plans can be sealed off and owners invited to regularise their titles instead of demolitions.
Dangerous Slide Into One-Party Rule
In the Hollywood blockbuster movie, the matrix the machines held all the cards and could destroy the few humans fighting them if they wished, but decided to give them an illusion of hope, through the creation of ‘The One.’
The Nigerian ruling party would do well to continue to encourage some form of robust opposition to give a sense of hope to young people and others who have lost faith in how the country has been mismanaged over the years.
The current trend where entire Governors, Senators and representatives elected under opposition parties defect en-masse to the ruling party should be discouraged.
We have seen this happen most recently in Delta State, Enugu State and Bayelsa State.
The people should not be conditioned to believe that a military dictatorship would be better than what they perceive as civilian dictatorship or one party rule.
Skewed Tribal Appointments
One of the major fault lines in Nigeria is the ever present religious and tribal divide.
Nigeria is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world. It is home to about 371 distinct ethnic groups, spread across its 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Correspondingly, over 500 languages are spoken in Nigeria, reflecting this rich cultural variety.
The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo. Other prominent ethnic communities include the Fulani, Urhobo, Tiv, Kanuri, Ijaw, Edo, and Ibibio, among many others. These groups often have their own languages or dialects, many of which have long histories going back thousands of years.
This rich diversity can be a source of strength or division depending on how politicians decide to govern.
The current administration of President Bola Tinubu has been accused of running a Yoruba supremacy agenda in choosing key members of his cabinet by those for whom such things matter.
For us at MoneyCentral we believe in having the best man for the job doing it, regardless of where he or she comes from.
However, there should also be an understanding that for the common man or woman on the street, such things as ethnic balance in appointments, brings a sense of attachment to the government at the centre.
Numerous groups and politicians have sounded the warning.
The Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, cautioned President Bola Tinubu over what it described as his bias and preference for the Yoruba in federal appointments.
It warned that the development could threaten inter-ethnic relationships and peaceful co-existence in Nigeria.
Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) under late president Muhammadu Buhari, openly criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, declaring that he could not have served under the current government.
Lawal said he was at ease with Tinubu’s style of governance but accused the President’s administration of nepotism, pointing to the appointments made under his leadership.
“I cannot go to a meeting in which 99 per cent of the participants are Yoruba. The tendency is that they finish the meeting in their language, and I am just sitting there.
“When we were doing the campaign, after he went to Ogun and said ’emi lokan,’ there was a Bola Tinubu platform in which I was participating.
“They started insulting us, saying that northerners are illiterate. So I wrote on that platform that these are the people whose votes we would need.”
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, along with the People’s Democratic Party, Coalition of United Political Parties, and the New Nigeria People’s Party, have also berated President Bola Tinubu’s administration for failing to promote inclusive governance, amid ongoing backlash over uneven political appointments since the beginning of his tenure.
Atiku warned that promoting state-sponsored bigotry and nepotism in a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria could have serious consequences.
He stated, “It is getting worse under Tinubu. Bigotry must not be a policy of states, bigotry should not be tolerated; bigotry and nepotism must never be adopted as a state policy, as is being done by Tinubu’s administration.”
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of fostering nepotism by extending the tenures of key public officials predominantly from the Yoruba ethnic group.
HURIWA’s criticism follows the recent extension of Mrs. Kemi Nanna Nandap’s tenure as Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), which President Tinubu has approved until December 31, 2026.
The group labeled the move an “abuse of power”, questioning whether no other qualified officers within the service could assume the role.
Wike and Allegations of Corruption
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) a close confidant of the President has been enmeshed in corruption allegations against him regarding plots of lands allocated to his family members and houses allegedly acquired in Florida, United States.
Wike as a former Governor obviously has the means to make the purchases if true, however the optics of the situation is what could be problematic.
This is especially true since the Tinubu administration and EFCC have not made any clear announcement on the matter.
Another African President, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa – who was under pressure due to corruption allegations against a major ally of his, Police Minister Senzo Mchunua, chose to act swiftly.
Ramaphosa faced a tough choice after his police minister was accused of helping drug dealers and blocking murder investigations.
The South African President responded by suspending the police minister Senzo Mchunu, and announced a six-month judicial commission of inquiry to look into the matter.
The Nigerian President should be disposed to act more forcefully against those accused of corruption in his cabinet.
Umahi’s N15 trillion Coastal Road of Confusion
Nigeria recently secured a $747 million syndicated loan for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway that will link the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos to a key coastal city, Calabar.
The funding, led by Deutsche Bank AG, will finance construction of the first phase of the Lagos-Calabar highway, a 700-kilometer (435-mile) project initiated by President Bola Tinubu, the finance ministry said.
The $10 billion (N15 trillion) project was criticized by opposition leaders when it was first awarded in 2023 to Hitech, a company that belongs to a Gilbert Chagoury, a close confidante of the president.
Last year, the Federal Government announced the commencement of construction work on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which spans nine states and includes two spurs leading to the northern states.
Works Minister, David Umahi said the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers of dual carriageway, is to be constructed in concrete pavement.
The project has however been dogged by needless controversy since its launch with the Minister Umahi, unable or unwilling until recently to reveal the cost per kilometer of road for the project.
Recently Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, weighed in on the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was approved by President Bola Tinubu.
Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.
The governor was reacting to a heated exchange that unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni.
Justifying the journalist’s question to the minister, Makinde said, “They asked a minister how much the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometre. Then what is the average cost?
“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.
“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun river and then one at Ogbomoso end.”
Beyond the humongous N15 trillion cost of the road there are genuine questions around whether the money would be better spent on fixing existing roads within cities and already existing highways that are mostly dilapidated.
These are legitimate questions that should not be dismissed by a wave of the hands as mischievous, but given the serious answers it deserves.
There have also been allegations of corruption in the sudden change of alignment of the road that violates the 2006 gazette as well as inappropriate demolitions.
Better and More Targeted Poverty Alleviation
The Nigerian government should better target its poverty alleviation programmes to ensure maximum impact and be strategic in its approach to spending money.
Instead of the coastal road to nowhere being built for N15 trillion, perhaps the APC government of President Tinubu should look at how India has lifted over 250 million people out of poverty under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in just 10 years.
Modi’s government has made significant efforts to fight poverty in India, particularly through infrastructure development such as road construction, alongside social welfare initiatives.
A key program in this effort is the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), aimed at connecting rural habitations with all-weather roads.
Over the past 10-years, approximately 400,000 kilometers of rural roads have been constructed in India, improving rural connectivity and access to markets, schools, and healthcare, which directly helps reduce poverty by boosting economic opportunities for rural populations.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s national poverty rate has significantly increased, with estimates ranging from 46% to over 60% depending on the source and year.
According to the World Bank, the poverty headcount ratio was 56.2% in 2023, affecting around 104 million people. The National Bureau of Statistics reports that 63% of Nigerians were multidimensionality poor in 2022, with rural areas showing a much higher rate than urban ones.
Poverty has risen steeply in Nigeria even as it undertakes reforms designed to deliver economic growth, according to a new report from the World Bank.
The number of Nigerians living in poverty is projected to reach 139 million in 2025 from 81 million in 2019, with most of the rise occurring prior to 2023, the bank said in its bi-annual development update on the country.
These are not numbers the Nigerian APC ruling party for the last decade (2015 – 2025), should be proud of.
Real INEC Reforms
The National Council of State recently unanimously approved the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However what followed the announcement was controversy over whether Mr. Amupitan was Yoruba or from the North, or both.
These are besides the point in our opinion. INEC has lost credibility with a majority of Nigerians and needs major reforms if it is to be a vanguard of the legitimacy of any government that is sworn into power, by the elections it conducts.
Without that legitimacy a coup against such a leader installed by rigged or irregular elections, is easier to get away with and there would be very little push back by the people.
In democracies with weak institutions, non-adherence to the rule of law and zero-sum politics are exploited as moments of institutional capture by political elites, especially incumbents, in their quest to consolidate control over the political process.
Yiaga Africa highlighted in its 2025 State of Electoral Integrity Report, that the 2027 elections could be the most compromised and expensive elections in recent history.
This projection stems from the trend of highly politicised appointments to INEC. Since 2015, all appointments to INEC have been marred by controversies due to the appointment of partisan individuals to the commission.
INEC has identified 142 post-election reform recommendations, eight of which require amendments to the 1999 Constitution or the Electoral Act 2022.
The masses await concrete movement on these reforms to once again help engender confidence in the Nigerian electoral process.
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