Former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of showing growing intolerance toward civic freedom and public dissent. In a strongly worded post on X titled “A Memo To Nigerians: A Call to Collective Voice on the Shrinking Civic Space and Erosion of Citizens’ Rights in Nigeria,” she warned that Nigeria’s democracy is being undermined by actions that restrict citizens’ rights.

Ezekwesili said the current government has become “intolerant of dissent and allergic to accountability,” citing recent incidents of police harassment, clampdowns on protesters, and arrests of activists as proof that civic space is shrinking under Tinubu’s leadership. She specifically called for the immediate release of Omoyele Sowore and his colleagues, who were detained during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest in Abuja.

The former minister also urged Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to issue a public apology to Yemi Adamolekun, Executive Director of EiE Nigeria, and another activist, Ms Nafziger, who were reportedly harassed during a peaceful #EndSARS memorial event. She described such acts as “deeply troubling” and said they reflect an increasing disregard for democratic rights.

Ezekwesili argued that a strong government should welcome criticism, not silence it. “True strength of a government does not lie in its ability to suppress criticism but in its capacity to protect the rights of those who speak truth to power,” she stated. She warned that the country’s democracy risks collapse if citizens continue to be silenced and intimidated.

Calling for unity, she urged Nigerians to stand up in defence of their freedom of expression and assembly. “Our democracy cannot survive on the silencing of conscience. Every act of repression against one citizen diminishes the liberty of all,” she declared.