Don’t Blame Tinubu for Opposition Woes, Says PDP Chieftain

James Sowole in Abeokuta

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Convener of a political movement, The Alternative, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has said that President Bola Tinubu should not be blamed for problems bedeviling the opposition parties, adding that nobody is strangulating political parties in Nigeria.

Showunmi, in a statement entitled: ‘Democracy Is Not Your Scapegoat: Accountability Is Not Authoritarianism’, which was made available to journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said that the people should be careful not to conflate personal political setbacks with the collapse of democracy.

He said President Tinubu did not invent political contestation, nor is he responsible for the opposition’s inability to present a coherent alternative, adding that: “A competitive system demands resilience, organisation, and credibility, not perpetual claims of victimhood.”

According to Showunmi, “Democracy is not weakened because the opposition is struggling; it is weakened when leaders refuse introspection and instead reach for alarmist rhetoric.

“Nigeria’s system remains open; what is required is better politics, not louder accusations.

“What we are witnessing is the natural consequence of political competition colliding with accountability under the law. People should be careful not to conflate personal political setbacks with a collapse of democracy.

“Political parties are not entitled to immunity from internal crisis, defections, or the consequences of poor strategic judgment.

“If anything, what is being exposed is a failure of opposition cohesion, not the death of democratic space.

“If ambition is no longer aligning with political reality, the honest course is to acknowledge the limits of one’s journey. Politics, like life, is generational. The younger cadre will inevitably come of age, and leadership is ultimately judged by what it has sown in those coming behind. You cannot neglect that responsibility and then lament the outcomes when the moment shifts.”

Commenting on matters of investigations or enforcement actions concerning some individuals, the PDP chieftain said those who have committed infractions must answer to the law.

He said: “Public figures cannot be insulated from scrutiny simply because of political alignment or timing.

“Allegations of wrongdoing must be tested in accordance with due process, not dismissed wholesale as persecution. “Equally, those who have abused the internal rules of their political parties or attempted to game the system must understand that consequences are part of institutional order.

“Law and party discipline are not instruments of oppression; they are the scaffolding of any functioning democracy.”