Nigeria has marked 65 years of independence, but for Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, Executive Director of the Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED), the moment is no cause for celebration.
Delivering a hard-hitting State of the Nation Address in Abuja on Thursday, Zikirullahi warned that the country is “haemorrhaging politically, economically, and socially” and accused the current administration of abandoning governance for propaganda and premature electioneering.
“We do not gather to celebrate,” Zikirullahi declared. “We gather to confront a painful truth: Nigeria is haemorrhaging. This silence from our leaders is not peace—it is betrayal. The time for passive hope has passed; the time for courageous, collective action is now.”
In a speech laced with sharp criticism, he said President Bola Tinubu’s government had allowed politics to overshadow governance less than two years into office. “Ministers and governors have turned to campaigners, ignoring the crises ravaging the land.
INEC, constitutionally mandated to enforce electoral laws, has chosen silence. That silence is complicity,” he said.
The CHRICED boss pointed to recent events as evidence of democratic backsliding. He cited the ordeal of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, barred from legislative duties despite valid court orders, as well as clampdowns on opposition party secretariats and unconstitutional restrictions placed on Peter Obi.
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“These are not acts of governance,” he said. “They are intimidation tactics that threaten Nigeria’s fragile multiparty democracy.”
Zikirullahi also spotlighted the plight of Abuja’s indigenous peoples, describing them as “politically stateless and economically dispossessed.” According to him, the seizure of their lands and demolition of their homes without compensation amounts not just to exclusion but “erasure.”
Turning to the judiciary, he said Nigerians were losing faith in an institution once considered the last hope of the common man. “Justice in Nigeria is no longer blind—it is barricaded behind walls of influence, delay, and silence,” he charged.
He cited widespread reports of corruption, politicized rulings, and the Auditor-General’s revelation of ₦197 billion lost to fraudulent contracts as proof that the judiciary has become an enabler of impunity.
On the economy, Zikirullahi painted a grim picture, pointing to inflation at 20.4 percent, a weakening naira at ₦1,501.45 to the dollar, and a Monetary Policy Rate at 27.5 percent. “These are not just numbers,” he stressed.
“They are lived realities of hunger, despair, and broken dreams. Over 130 million Nigerians remain trapped in multidimensional poverty, while youth unemployment exceeds 40 percent.”
He did not spare the elite. From the allegations of financial misconduct against FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and his spouse, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Wike, to revelations of phantom projects and ballooning public debt, Zikirullahi accused leaders of looting the nation while citizens suffer.
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“While the poor are asked to sacrifice, the elite fly private jets and parade billion-naira convoys. This disparity is not just unjust—it is wicked and unsustainable,” he thundered.
The CHRICED director condemned insecurity, crumbling education and health sectors, and the harassment of journalists and civil society actors.
He referenced the killing of ARISE News broadcaster Somtochukwu Christelle Maduagwu as “yet another sign that law enforcement and public safety have collapsed.”
Calling for urgent reforms, he demanded an end to premature campaigning, full implementation of electoral reforms, protection of civic space, and transparent investigation of corruption allegations “without fear or favour.”
The CHRICED boss also renewed the call for Abuja to be recognized as Nigeria’s 37th state to restore dignity and political representation to its indigenous peoples.
Zikirullahi closed with a stark warning: “Nigeria stands at a precipice. The choices we make today will determine whether we descend into chaos or rise to reclaim our democracy and dignity.
According to him, democracy is not a luxury, it is a lifeline. When it dies, tyranny thrives. The future of our nation depends not on the courage of a few, but on the conscience of us all.”