On Natasha, Fubara and the Nigerian Culture of Anyhowness

In recent months, Nigerians have watched two troubling developments unfold in our democracy. Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended from the Senate in a manner so heavy-handed that even a Federal High Court described it as “excessive.” And in Rivers State, President Bola Tinubu declared emergency rule, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the entire House of Assembly, replacing elected leadership with a federally appointed administrator.

Both incidents reveal a dangerous drift where law bends to the whims of power.

The suspension of Natasha effectively denied the people of Kogi Central their representation. The silencing of an elected senator undermines the very principle that parliament belongs to the people, not to presiding officers or party majorities.

In Rivers, the six-month removal of an elected governor under emergency powers stretched the constitution to breaking point. The Nigerian Bar Association and opposition voices were right to argue that nothing in the constitution authorises the President to set aside the will of millions of voters. If such precedent stands, no elected official is safe from arbitrary suspension.

What links these examples is a sad case of impunity, and the creeping belief among the powerful that legal checks are inconveniences rather than obligations.

To be clear, rule of law is not an abstract ideal; it is the very operating system of democracy. It assures the weak that they can hold the mighty accountable, and it reminds leaders that their power is loaned, and not absolute.

But when courts are ignored, legislative rules weaponised, and constitutions re-interpreted to justify suspending governors, democracy itself is put at risk. Citizens lose trust in institutions, and opposition parties will conclude that playing fair is pointless. Civil society becomes cynical. And when the law is treated as optional, violence becomes the only language left.

We must remind ourselves that collapse rarely happens overnight. Democracies usually erode step by step, as impunity is normalised and the abnormal becomes routine. The suspension of a senator here, the sidelining of a governor there; these are the warning lights on the dashboard. If we ignore them, we should not be surprised when the engine of democracy finally stalls.

Reversing this slide requires action on multiple fronts. Courts must not only issue rulings but insist on their enforcement. Legislators should discipline themselves within constitutional boundaries, rather than using “internal rules” as political weapons. Civil society and the media must shine light on abuses without fear or favour. And citizens must reject the fatalism that nothing can change.

Above all, leaders must remember that power is not personal property. It is conferred by the people and bounded by the constitution. To govern well is to govern under restraint.

Nigeria can either normalise impunity, accept that the law applies only to the weak, and watch our democracy slide into farce. Or we can insist loudly, persistently, and together, that no one is above the law.

Our democracy will not collapse in a single dramatic moment. It will collapse when we stop noticing, when we shrug at each violation, when we decide that power matters more than principle. That is why we must get back on track, now before the damage becomes irreversible.

Written By:
Akintunde Babatunde
Executive Director, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)

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