Olisa Agbakoba, a respected Nigerian lawyer and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), believes that Nigeria still has a long way to go before it can be called a true democracy.

Speaking on Politics Today, a show on Channels Television, Agbakoba said that although Nigeria has enjoyed 26 years of uninterrupted civilian rule, this alone doesn’t mean the country has achieved full democracy.

He noted that many politicians try to join the party in power instead of building strong opposition parties. According to him, this trend prevents Nigeria from becoming a real multi-party democracy, where each party plays its proper role.

Agbakoba said Nigeria should be proud of the progress made since military rule ended. But he also stressed that democracy in the country still has many weaknesses that must be fixed.

He mentioned that even President Bola Tinubu, during his recent speech at the National Assembly, admitted that Nigeria still needs to improve its political system. One major issue, according to Agbakoba, is that most political parties seem the same and do not offer different ideas or policies.

Because of this, he explained, there’s no real difference between parties like the APC, PDP, or APGA. Without a strong ruling party and strong opposition, democracy will remain weak.

Agbakoba also commented on President Tinubu’s Democracy Day speech, where the president honoured people who fought against military rule during the June 12 struggle. These included activists, journalists, and scholars.

As one of the key activists during that time, Agbakoba thanked the president for the recognition. However, he said the list of awardees is not complete, and more names should be included.

Finally, Agbakoba urged the president to give local governments full political freedom. He said while the Supreme Court judgment in July 2024 gave them financial independence, more must be done to allow local councils to govern themselves without interference.