Tinubu to Address Nation on Democracy Day Amid Mixed Reactions
President Bola Tinubu is set to speak to Nigerians at 7 a.m. on Thursday as part of this year’s Democracy Day events. His address will be followed by a visit to the National Assembly, where he’ll join a joint session scheduled for noon.
According to Abdulhakeem Adeoye, who spoke on behalf of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Democracy Day, there won’t be a military or civic parade this year. However, a public lecture will be held later in the day at 4 p.m. at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.
This year’s lecture, titled “Consolidating on the Gains of Nigeria’s Democracy: Necessity of Enduring Reforms,” comes as the country marks 26 years since the return to civilian rule in 1999.
Originally observed on May 29, Democracy Day was shifted to June 12 in 2018 to honour the memory of the 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as one of the freest in Nigeria’s history—won by the late MKO Abiola but later annulled.
This will be President Tinubu’s third Democracy Day in office since taking over in 2023 after a hotly contested election. But while the anniversary marks more than two decades of civilian governance, not everyone is celebrating.
Opposition figure and publisher Dele Momodu voiced strong criticism during a live appearance on Channels TV’s The Morning Brief, warning that Nigeria’s democracy may be under threat.
“We’ve gone from democracy to something dangerously close to civilian dictatorship,” Momodu said. “There’s hunger in the land, and those in power seem completely detached from the everyday struggles of Nigerians.”
He continued, “The confidence, or rather the arrogance, we see from those in government—across all levels—is staggering. If we still have any conscience left, now’s the time to reflect.”
As Democracy Day approaches, the mood in the country is a mix of pride, reflection, and concern—a reminder that true democracy takes more than just time; it takes commitment, accountability, and the willingness to listen.
