DEMOCRACY UNDER SIEGE: EMERGENCY POWERS, TAX PAIN & THE COLLAPSE OF NIGERIA’S INTELLECTUAL CORE

Описание: THE SUPREME COURT, EMERGENCY POWERS, AND THE FRAGILE REPUBLIC

A recent judgment of the Supreme Court that appears to validate the president’s power to declare a state of emergency and suspend a democratically elected government feels less like sober jurisprudence and more like a surrender to constitutional temptation. The court, long regarded as the final guardian of constitutional order, seems to have loosened the very restraints that keep executive power from drifting into excess.

Emergency powers are meant to be rare, narrow, and temporary. They exist as exceptions, not as conveniences. When judicial approval stretches these powers beyond strict necessity, the exception risks becoming routine. At that point, rule by law quietly mutates into rule by discretion.

This judgment is not troubling merely for what it permits, but for what it erodes. It weakens the separation of powers, that delicate balance without which democracy suffocates. When courts fail to say “thus far and no further,” they cease to be bulwarks and become backdrops to power.

MY VERDICT
Emergency authority must be hemmed in by clear facts, transparent processes, strict timelines, and genuine oversight. Without these guardrails, executive power hardens into something monarchical, capable of suspending democratic choice by decree. The long-term cost is civic disillusionment. A people who see their votes nullified by emergency proclamations will eventually stop believing in the promise of democracy itself.

CASE TWO

TINUBU’S TAX REFORMS: REVENUE OR RETRIBUTION?

President Bola Tinubu’s aggressive tax reforms have ignited debate nationwide. His administration appears eager to replicate the tax structures of developed economies, yet ignores the foundational realities that make those systems work.

In countries like the UK or Germany, citizens pay taxes and see tangible returns: functional roads, reliable electricity, public healthcare, and quality education. In Nigeria, citizens endure failing infrastructure, insecurity, poor services, and institutional decay, yet are burdened with multiple levies and relentless revenue drives.

What emerges is not tax justice, but tax punishment. Small businesses, digital entrepreneurs, and the already-strained middle and lower classes are squeezed harder, while waste, corruption, and elite immunity remain largely untouched.

MY VERDICT
A tax system without trust is unsustainable. Revenue collection divorced from governance reform only deepens resentment and inequality. Nigeria does not suffer from low taxation alone; it suffers from poor value delivery. Reform must begin with accountability and service, not spreadsheets and targets.

CASE THREE

EDUCATION WITHOUT SOLUTIONS: THE DEGREE ILLUSION

Nigeria continues to equate schooling with education. Degrees and certifications are celebrated, endowments announced, and scholarships publicised, yet the output remains disturbingly thin.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, recently announced a ₦100 billion annual scholarship scheme. Others have made similar contributions for years. Still, the question remains: where are the patents, the inventions, the scalable solutions?

In countries like the United States, university endowments translate into thousands of patents and practical innovations. In Nigeria, billions are spent on empowerment programs and skills training with little to show beyond photo opportunities. Graduates can read and write, yet struggle to solve basic societal problems.

That Dangote must import foreign expertise for critical roles in Nigerian industries is not just unfortunate, it is a national failure.

MY VERDICT
Nigeria’s education system needs a fundamental overhaul. Solutions must be embedded into curricula. Undergraduates should be mobilised as problem-solvers for national development. We cannot continue outsourcing innovation while producing graduates disconnected from practical impact. What Nigeria needs is not more certificates, but a seismic shift in how knowledge is taught, tested, and deployed.

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