Former Chief of Staff to late President Muhammadu Buhari and founder Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), Professor Ibrahim Gambari had ruled out the possibility of Nigeria turning into a one-party state.

He spoke in Abuja during a media interactive session on the activities of his 11-year-old centre for policy research, dialogue, advocacy, and training in key areas of diplomacy, democracy and development.

Reviewing political development in the country ahead of the 2027 general elections and alleged fears by the opposition parties of the country turning to a one-party state, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs said he is not nursing the fears of the opposition, arguing that all indices are still in favour of the country’s multi party system.

According to him: “I’m not at all worried about this country becoming a one-party state. You know what? You can quote me. It will not happen if history is any guide. You know, we don’t even know our own history.”

Reminiscing on the political evolution of the country, Gambari noted the ruling party was not the first dominant party in Nigeria

“This administration is not the first to try to have a dominant party in Nigeria. Right from the beginning, the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) was a dominant party in the First Republic. They were not the ones who caused the crisis in the main opposition, but they didn’t discourage it. In fact, they took sides. Where has that led us? It didn’t lead us to peace or development; it led to chaos.“The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was next. They became so confident they felt that they would be there forever. What happened to that? In the end, it didn’t work. Third one, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), not long ago, they were boasting that they would rule for 60 years. Where are they today? So any effort to make this country one party will not work.”

Advancing reasons further for the non-viability of the concept, the former United Nations Under-Secretary General argued that most political elites in the country are too ambitious for the ambition to be contained within one political party.

He, however, said that the political class has failed to learn from history and the negative consequences of previous attempts, insisting that the country would “continue to repeat history’s mistakes.”

Proffering solutions on how to avoid past experiences, the season diplomat stressed the need for building and promoting a formidable political party system

“We must pay attention to how political parties are organized in this country because if we have strong political parties, nobody will even try to make a one-party state. It will not be possible. But because we have no organized political parties, our political parties have become just vehicles to gain political power. That’s all. Because our constitution does not allow for independent candidates, you have to belong, so it’s a party of convenience.

“Political parties are flags of convenience. You know, when you look at ships, you can have an American ship flying a Panama flag. So political parties are just carrying flags of convenience to gain power, not organized based on ideology or perspectives that make one distinct from the other.

“In the First Republic, if you crossed from NPC to NCNC or Action Group, it was a big deal. There were clear differences. But today, because there is no real distinction, you can move—as I jokingly say—you can be APC in the morning, PDP in the afternoon, and APC again the next day, no questions asked, because there are no consequences.

“In some other systems, if you move after being elected under one platform, your seat is declared vacant, and you have to contest again because otherwise you are living under false pretenses. We elected you under one pretense, and now you have decided to dump it.”

Stressing for effective citizen participation in governance, Gambari maintained: “History is not on the side of a one-party state in Nigeria or anywhere else. But it will not happen by itself. Multiparty democracy requires commitment and organization, and we all have roles to play.” (The Nation)