Portraying defections as coercion without proof is intellectually lazy  —  Sowunmi

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and convener of The Alternative, Otunba Segun Sowunmi, has dismissed claims that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is coercing opposition politicians into defecting, describing such arguments as “intellectually lazy and politically convenient.”

Sowunmi made the remarks in an article titled “Democracy Is Not an Entitlement: A Response to the Alarmism Ahead of 2027”, published on X on Tuesday, in reaction to narratives that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat following recent defections to the APC, including that of Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf.

In the article, Sowunmi argued that democracy should not be measured by the comfort or fortunes of political actors but by whether citizens retain the power to choose their leaders.

“By any serious standard, democracy is measured not by how comfortable political actors feel, but by whether citizens retain the power to choose,” he wrote, adding that warnings about a looming “democracy without competition” were based on a misreading of democratic principles and Nigeria’s political reality.

According to him, critics were wrongly equating political disadvantage with democratic erosion and loss of influence with loss of freedom. He stressed that democracy does not guarantee political relevance to parties but protects rights such as freedom of association, speech, contestation and voting.

“Democracy does not impose a duty on a ruling party to preserve its opponents. Parties earn competitiveness; they are not entitled to it,” Sowunmi said.

He maintained that defections and shifting alliances were normal political outcomes, not constitutional violations, and cautioned against portraying such movements as evidence of coercion without proof.

“To portray defections as evidence of coercion without proof is intellectually lazy and politically convenient. Nigerian politicians are not hostages; they are actors. They respond to incentives, ideology, ambition, and survival,” he stated.

Sowunmi further argued that if opposition parties were losing members, the critical question should be why they were no longer inspiring confidence, rather than alleging force or intimidation.

He also referenced Nigeria’s sociopolitical complexities, noting that stability management in a diverse federation should not be confused with authoritarianism. He pointed to the informal “pendulum principle” in the Fourth Republic, where power has broadly rotated between the North and South, describing it as political common sense rather than a constitutional rule.

The PDP chieftain rejected suggestions that democracy would be endangered if a sitting president completed two terms, noting that democratic institutions remained intact during similar periods in the past.

“Democracy protects competition; it does not manufacture it,” Sowunmi said, adding that what some actors described as democratic decay was often the result of strategic failure.

As the 2027 elections approach, he urged political actors to focus on organisation, ideas, coalition-building and engaging voters with credible alternatives rather than resorting to alarmist rhetoric.

“In a functioning democracy, the standard is simple: let the people decide and let the most prepared win,” he added.

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