Senior lawyer and former Attorney General of Bayelsa State, Chief Anthony George-Ikoli, SAN, has described Nigeria at 66 as a “classic dystopian nightmare,” alleging that the country’s democratic institutions have increasingly lost touch with the sovereignty of the people.
George-Ikoli, who made the assertion in a reflection on Nigeria’s 66 years of independence, said the country had moved from a period when citizens freely chose their leaders to one in which, in his view, political leaders increasingly determine their own succession while courts are left to settle electoral disputes.
He argued that this development had weakened the constitutional principle that sovereignty belongs to the people.
According to him, elections and their outcomes are increasingly determined not at polling units but through litigation before election tribunals and the courts, with legal technicalities sometimes overshadowing the actual votes cast.
He said: “When the Courts determine who governs more than the voter does, the rule of law no longer protects democracy; it effectively subverts it by unwitting replacement.”
George-Ikoli, the first Senior Advocate produced by Bayelsa State also expressed concern over the state of Nigeria’s economy, describing the situation as “growth without development” and arguing that macroeconomic indicators had not translated into improved living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.
While acknowledging economic indicators such as GDP rebasing, debt-to-GDP ratios and stock market capitalisation, he said the apparent growth had not been sufficiently reflected in the circumstances of the average Nigerian household.
He cited widespread multidimensional poverty as evidence of what he described as a disconnect between economic statistics and citizens’ lived experiences.
The senior lawyer argued that policies such as the removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the naira and tax reforms had imposed significant burdens on citizens without adequate social protection and corresponding increases in productivity.
He contended that an economy that rewards “rent, not production” and “connection, not competence” risks becoming predatory.
On security, George-Ikoli said the country’s enormous expenditure on defence and security had not translated into adequate protection for citizens.
He pointed to banditry in the North-West, insurgency in the North-East, separatist agitation in the South-East, oil militancy and piracy in the South-South, as well as widespread kidnapping, which he described as a “thriving cottage industry.”
He linked the security crisis to what he described as a weakening of respect for the rule of law, citing alleged disobedience to court orders, the use of police powers in civil matters and prolonged pre-trial detention.
According to him, the erosion of confidence in the justice system has implications for both economic development and national security.
“No investor trusts a country where contracts are unenforceable, and no citizen respects a State that does not obey its own courts,” he said. He maintained that restoring public confidence in the judiciary was essential to rebuilding the economy and strengthening national security.
He, however, said his assessment of the country’s challenges should not end with criticism, arguing that solutions must be pursued. He called for credible and transparent elections that would restore sovereignty to voters and reduce the extent to which electoral outcomes are determined through litigation.
He also advocated a return to production-driven economic policies anchored on predictable, rule-based governance, while urging the government to make obedience to the law a fundamental duty.
“Let’s return sovereignty to the voter through credible, transparent elections, return the economy to production through rule-based governance, and return security to justice by making obedience to law the first duty of government itself,” George-Ikoli said.
He said these measures were necessary to address what he described as the “harrowing realities” confronting Nigeria at 66.
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