In Jab At Tinubu, Peter Obi Says NADECO-Era Democracy Fighters Have Become Worse Than Abacha

In an apparent veiled jab at President Bola Tinubu, African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Peter Obi, has said that some of those who once paraded themselves as defenders of democracy and human rights during Nigeria’s pro-democracy struggle have now become “worse than the man they opposed”, late General Sani Abacha, the head of the military junta from the mid to late 1990s.

Obi made the remark in a post shared on his X handle on Thursday, where he delivered a stinging criticism of what he described as the betrayal of democratic ideals by some figures from the NADECO era.

LEADERSHIP recalls that the then Senator Bola Tinubu was a member of NADECO during the Abacha era.

He went further to draw a provocative comparison with the then military ruler, late General Sani Abacha, whose regime remains one of the most controversial in Nigeria’s political history.

“Today, General Sani Abacha, once presumed face of oppression, will be remembered as seemingly more democratic and more respectful of human rights than the so-called champions of activism from the NADECO days,” Obi wrote.

“Yesterday defenders of democracy, today’s destroyers, what a shame,” he wrote.

Obi said it was a painful irony that people who once claimed to have stood against repression and authoritarian rule were now, in his view, presiding over a climate that has become more hostile to democratic values and civil liberties.

“What an irony of history, that the acclaimed defenders of democracy and human rights who claimed to have fought for democracy during the era of General Sani Abacha now find themselves worse than the man they opposed,” he stated.

By referencing NADECO, Obi invoked one of the most defining periods in Nigeria’s democratic history. The National Democratic Coalition was a leading force in the resistance against military rule, particularly after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Many of the individuals linked to that era, including Tinubu, earned national recognition as defenders of civil liberties, justice and constitutional order.

Obi ended his message with a brief but cutting conclusion, “Power indeed reveals character.”