Politics

Why People Power Still Matters in Politics, By Emeka Monye

Mobilization doesn’t happen for free. But the mistake is to confuse funding with influence, and influence with consent.Money can get you into the room.

Published

6 months ago

May 24, 2026

OCHEFA

392 Views

Image: Emeka Monye

IT was Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, who gave democracy one of its most enduring definitions: government of the people, by the people, for the people.

The phrase is short, almost plain. But it carries a radical idea at its core — that legitimacy in politics comes not from palaces, military barracks, or the size of a bank account, but from the consent of the governed.

That idea continues to shape political thought across continents.

From Washington to Warsaw, from Nairobi to New Delhi, the notion that power ultimately rests with the people has become the baseline against which political systems are judged. It’s not perfect.

No definition of democracy is. But it gives us a standard to measure how well, or how poorly, a society is governed.

Viewed through the lens of African politics, Lincoln’s formulation feels both aspirational and urgent. On paper, most African constitutions echo the language of popular sovereignty and equality.

In practice, many democracies on the continent still bend under the weight of money-bag politics, elite pacts, and a culture where access to power is often auctioned to the highest bidder. Yet even in that environment, people power refuses to die.

It shows up in unexpected places, at inconvenient times, and reminds the political class that no amount of money can permanently substitute for legitimacy.

Across Africa, the common assumption among new entrants into politics is simple: if you have the money, you can buy the structure, secure the ticket, and win the election.

There’s some truth to that. Campaigns cost money. Structures require funding.

Mobilization doesn’t happen for free. But the mistake is to confuse funding with influence, and influence with consent.Money can get you into the room.

It can rent a campaign office, pay for billboards, and move buses of supporters on election day. What it struggles to do is manufacture belief.

Voters, especially in environments where promises have been broken repeatedly, have developed a sharp radar for transactions masquerading as politics.

They know when a candidate shows up only when the votes are needed, and they remember who was absent when the hospitals had no drugs and the roads washed away.

This is why so many high-profile, well-funded candidates crash in primaries and general elections.

The political class assumes that because they have the bucks, they can determine who gets what, when, and how. But the electorate has learned to separate the performance of power from its substance. And when the gap between the two becomes too wide, people power steps in.

People power is not always dramatic. It doesn’t always look like mass protests or civil disobedience.

Sometimes it’s quieter — the refusal to sell a vote, the decision to stay home on election day, the way communities organize to protect their own interests when the state fails.

At other times it’s loud and visible, as we’ve seen in Nigeria’s #EndSARS movement, Kenya’s 2024 finance bill protests, and countless local uprisings against bad governance.

What these moments share is a rejection of the idea that politics belongs only to the political class.

They are reminders that democracy, however imperfect, is still rooted in the consent of the governed. When that consent is withdrawn, even the most entrenched power structures begin to wobble.

The corrective function of people power matters precisely because formal institutions in many African democracies are weak.

Courts are slow, electoral commissions face trust deficits, and legislatures often rubber-stamp executive decisions.

In that gap, citizens become the check and balance. They don’t replace institutions, but they force institutions to respond.

” The South East of Nigeria, for example, has shown repeatedly that defections and big-money campaigns don’t automatically translate into votes.”

A government that can ignore a court order for months cannot easily ignore a city that refuses to move.

African democracies operate in a context shaped by history and identity. Colonialism left centralized states with weak legitimacy. Post-independence leaders often prioritized control over participation.

The result is a political culture where patronage and ethnicity can override policy. Money thrives in that environment because it lubricates the system of patronage.But even here, people power finds footholds.

Voters may vote along ethnic or religious lines, but they also punish candidates who take that loyalty for granted.

The South East of Nigeria, for example, has shown repeatedly that defections and big-money campaigns don’t automatically translate into votes.

The electorate demands a reason beyond “he’s our son” or “he has money.”

They want to know what you’ve done, what you stand for, and whether you’ll be accountable after the election.

This is where Lincoln’s definition becomes practical. Popular sovereignty means the people are not just a source of legitimacy during elections.

They are the audience that judges performance afterward.

Equality means that a market trader’s vote counts the same as a billionaire’s. Consent means that governance without the people’s buy-in is unstable, no matter how many structures you control.

Three things explain why people power remains relevant despite the odds.

First, information spreads faster than control. Social media has lowered the cost of organizing and documenting abuse of power

. A video of a ballot box snatching in a remote village can now shape national discourse within hours.

The political class no longer has a monopoly on the narrative.

Second, the cost of disengagement is rising.

Young Africans are more educated, more connected, and less willing to accept politics as a closed shop.

They may be cynical, but they are not apathetic. When they engage, they do so on their own terms — issue-based, networked, and impatient with patronage.

Third, people remember. African electorates are often accused of having short memories, but that’s not true. What they lack is the luxury of forgetting.

When a community lives with bad roads, erratic power, and insecure schools for years, those failures become part of the political calculus.

No amount of cash on election eve erases that ledger.People power is not a magic solution.

It can be manipulated, co-opted, and turned into mob justice if it lacks organization and clear demands.

It can also burn out if it remains episodic — flaring up in anger and fading without building lasting structures.That’s why the responsibility cuts both ways.

Citizens have to move beyond protest to participation: joining parties, contesting positions, monitoring budgets, and holding representatives to account between elections.

Politicians, in turn, have to recognize that legitimacy cannot be rented. It has to be earned through delivery, consistency, and respect for the voter as more than a transaction.For political parties, especially those trying to break into regions where they have no historical base, this is the lesson.

Defections and endorsements make headlines, but they don’t move voters unless they are backed by work on the ground. People power means that the ground matters more than the press release.

If democracy is to mean anything in Africa beyond the ritual of elections, it has to return to Lincoln’s core idea: government by consent.

That doesn’t require perfection. It requires responsiveness. It requires a political class that listens when people speak, not just when they chant slogans at rallies.

People power still matters because it is the only check that works when all other checks fail. It is messy, unpredictable, and sometimes inconvenient for those in power.

That’s the point. Democracy was never meant to be convenient for the powerful. It was meant to be accountable to the people.

The money-bag politician who believes he can buy his way into permanent relevance will always face a moment when the money runs out and the crowd stays home.

The activist who believes a single protest can change a system overnight will learn that institutions don’t move that fast.

But the synthesis of the two — organized citizens engaging consistently with a political class that knows it can be removed — is how democracy becomes real.In the end,

Abraham Lincoln’s phrase survives not because it describes every democracy perfectly, but because it describes the direction every democracy must move toward.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people. Not government of the moneyed, by the connected, for the few.

That’s why people power still matters. It’s not a slogan. It’s the reminder that without consent, power is just force wearing a suit. And force, in politics, never lasts.

• Emeka Monye Is A Journalist

Related Topics:2027 general election Featured Power to the people

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Politics

ADC-PCC Urges Tinubu To Restrain APC governors and party officials against campaigns violence

” From Edo to Cross River, Gombe to Lagos, and Kebbi to Kaduna, Nigerians have witnessed attacks on opposition gatherings, destruction of campaign materials and the brutalisation of innocent supporters, allegedly by APC-sponsored thugs.”

Published

1 day ago

November 14, 2026

OCHEFA

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The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to publicly retract his controversial “All Is Fair in Politics” remark, warning that such rhetoric fuels political division, emboldens thugs and poses a grave threat to the nation’s peace and stability.

The ADC-PCC also expressed concern over what it described as the President’s disturbing silence on the conduct of some APC governors and party chieftains who have openly made inflammatory statements and allegedly encouraged political violence.

In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the ADC-PCC urged President Tinubu to rise above partisan interests and demonstrate the statesmanship expected of a national leader, citing former President Goodluck Jonathan’s unequivocal declaration that no presidential ambition was worth the blood of any Nigerian.

The Council described as shocking the President’s failure to condemn the growing wave of political violence, noting that, through his spokesman, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency had instead chosen to caution opposition parties while shielding those allegedly responsible for violence within the ruling APC

“President Tinubu cannot claim to desire peace when his own words provide cover for violence.

“‘All Is Fair in Politics’ is not the language of a Head of State. It is the language of political desperation and an open licence for thuggery, ballot snatching, intimidation and bloodshed

Yet, Mr. President has not considered it necessary to call his governors and party members to order.

“Instead, the Presidency has resorted to diversionary tactics, blaming victims and preaching restraint to the opposition while members of the ruling party are accused of unleashing violence across the country,” the statement said.

The ADC-PCC challenged President Tinubu to explain why his condemnation of political violence appears directed at the opposition rather than members of his own party.

It asked: “Why has Mr. President refused to condemn APC governors who openly threaten opposition supporters?

Why has he remained silent over public incitement by officials of his party?

Why is his anger always directed at the opposition and never at those within his own political fold?

“The Council maintained that the ADC remains committed to peaceful, issue-based political engagement, insisting that its campaign is focused on addressing the country’s pressing challenges, including hunger, insecurity, unemployment, corruption and what it described as the failures of the Tinubu administration.

It accused the APC of resorting to violence because it had little to offer Nigerians in terms of credible solutions to the country’s problems.

Consequently, the ADC-PCC demanded that President Tinubu immediately and publicly withdraw his “All Is Fair in Politics” remark, condemn and call to order APC governors and party officials accused of inciting violence, and direct security agencies to protect all Nigerians impartially rather than allow them to become instruments of intimidation and oppression against opposition parties.

” Nigeria belongs to all of us. No political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.

“If former President Goodluck Jonathan could make that profound declaration in 2015, President Tinubu has no excuse not to say so and demonstrate the sincerity of his commitment to peace in 2026.

” The ADC will not be intimidated. We will continue to campaign peacefully, and in 2027, Nigerians will have the opportunity to vote for competence, integrity and a new beginning,” the statement added.

Politics

Tinubu Condemns Attack on Opposition Campaigners

Our administration is committed to an orderly and peaceful election, and all political parties and candidates should be protected and free to campaign anywhere in the country without molestation or fear for their safety.

Published

1 day ago

November 14, 2026

OCHEFA

71 Views

I have followed recent reports of violence accompanying political events in different parts of the country.

Every form of violence stands condemned. Violence should never have a place in our political campaigns as we move toward the 2027 general elections.

Our campaigns should be about issues, a contestation of ideas that promote the welfare of our people and the progress of our country.

As the leader of this country, I commit myself to a peaceful, free, and fair election, and I urge political leaders and supporters across party lines to conduct themselves responsibly.

I have said that being in different political parties or pursuing different ambitions does not make us enemies.

As Nigerians, we are members of the same household living in different rooms. Therefore, our politics must elevate human conditions and focus on national progress and development.

I want to reiterate my previous directive to the security agencies: be strict and firm against anyone who seeks to test our resolve and will to preserve public order.

We shall not tolerate any irresponsible conduct by politicians and their supporters.

Security agencies are therefore authorised to confront thuggery and other anti-social and anti-democratic activities with full force.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President and Commander-in-Chief
Federal Republic of Nigeria
November 13, 2026

Politics

APC is ‘merchant of violence’ behind attacks on opposition, ADC-PCC says

Published

2 days ago

November 13, 2026

Charles Flames

94 Views

The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) on Friday dismissed as hypocritical and diversionary a statement by the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APCPCC) condemning attacks on opposition parties at political gatherings.

In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the ADC-PCC accused the ruling party of nurturing, funding and unleashing political violence across Nigeria since coming to power. It challenged the APC to take responsibility and call its members to order amid what it described as an escalating wave of political violence.

“The APC cannot pretend to be a victim of the very violence it has nurtured, funded and unleashed on Nigerians since it came to power,” the statement said. “From Edo to Cross River, from Gombe to Lagos, the pattern is the same: APC thugs disrupt opposition gatherings, attack innocent supporters, destroy campaign materials and then rush to the press to shed crocodile tears.”

The council accused APC governors of institutionalising violence in their states through denial of rally venues, demolition of opposition offices, targeted physical attacks and destruction of opposition vehicles. It also condemned restrictions on posters, billboards and open political activities, including the imposition of prohibitive fees.

It specifically linked the disruption of Thursday’s scheduled town hall meeting of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Lagos to APC tactics of intimidation and sabotage.

“The disruption of Thursday’s scheduled town hall meeting of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Lagos bears the unmistakable fingerprints of the APC. It is the same old script: orchestrate violence, intimidate the opposition, disrupt their activities and then issue public condemnations to cover up,” the ADC-PCC stated.

While opposition parties continued to engage Nigerians on issues including hunger, insecurity, unemployment, corruption and what it called the collapse of governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the council said the APC, with little to offer, had allegedly resorted to violence as its campaign strategy.

It questioned the APC’s sudden concern, recalling alleged attacks on ADC members, including destruction of billboards, disruption of rallies and physical assaults. “Where was the APC’s condemnation when our billboards were destroyed, our rallies disrupted and our members brutalised? Their sudden concern is not about peace; it is about diverting attention from their own atrocities.”

The ADC-PCC called on President Tinubu to heed the counsel of elder statesman Professor Jerry Gana and ensure political activities are conducted in peace, tolerance and democratic freedom. It said the party was compiling a comprehensive record of attacks on its members and would submit reports to relevant international judicial and human rights institutions in due course.

Dismissing the APC’s condemnation as hollow and self-serving, the council urged Nigerians not to be deceived. It reaffirmed the ADC’s commitment to peaceful, issue-based campaigns and declared that neither intimidation nor alleged APC-sponsored violence would deter mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“The ADC remains committed to a peaceful, issue-based campaign. We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced. No amount of APC-sponsored violence will stop Nigerians from voting for competence, integrity and a new beginning in 2027,” the statement concluded.