Political analyst and legal scholar, Chijioke Onyeneke, has raised concerns over what he describes as the increasing replacement of democratic elections with political selections.
Onyeneke stated this while briefing newsmen in Abuja.
He warned that the trend poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic future.
According to Onyeneke, the greatest danger facing Nigeria’s democracy today is no longer military intervention or voter apathy, but the gradual erosion of the people’s right to freely choose their leaders.
He noted that many political parties have drifted away from their democratic responsibilities and are increasingly controlled by powerful individuals and vested interests who determine outcomes behind closed doors.
The analyst lamented that party primaries, which should provide a level playing field for aspirants, have in many cases become exercises where winners are decided long before votes are cast.
He argued that competence, credibility, and service have been pushed aside in favour of loyalty, financial influence, and political patronage, leaving many qualified candidates unfairly excluded from the process.
“Selection disguised as election is nothing short of political fraud adding that manipulated primaries deny citizens the opportunity to make genuine choices at the ballot box” he stated,
Onyeneke warned that the continued imposition of candidates weakens public confidence in democratic institutions and fuels voter disillusionment across the country.
He further stressed that when leadership recruitment is based on favoritism rather than merit, corruption thrives, governance suffers, and national development is hindered.
According to him, the culture of political selection has created a class of public office holders who feel more accountable to their political benefactors than to the people they were elected to serve.
Such leaders, he said, often focus on protecting political interests instead of addressing the economic and social challenges confronting ordinary Nigerians.
The legal scholar maintained that democracy goes beyond merely conducting elections, insisting that electoral processes must be free, fair, transparent, and credible to retain public trust.
He described every manipulated primary election as an attack on democracy, every imposed candidate as an insult to party members, and every stolen mandate as a robbery against the people.
Onyeneke called on political parties, electoral stakeholders, and citizens to defend democratic principles by rejecting political engineering and promoting transparency, accountability, and genuine participation.
He concluded that Nigeria’s future depends on ensuring that the voice of the people remains stronger than the influence of political godfathers, warning that whenever elections become selections, democracy suffers and the people ultimately pay the price.
By Georgina Humphrey
