Former Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate Prince Adewole Adebayo has challenged President Bola Tinubu to either decisively utilise the instruments of state power to end insecurity or resign from office.
Adebayo made the call while speaking at the 2025 National Electoral Reform Summit, where he delivered a thought-provoking address on Nigeria’s democratic future and governance failures.
He declared, “To that problem: President Tinubu can use the bullets to kill the terrorists or use the pen to resign.”
According to him, Nigeria’s insecurity crisis is not due to incapacity but a deliberate misuse of power for personal enrichment.
“What they are doing now, they are using the security as an excuse to loot all the money,” he said. “The Nigerian armed forces, the way I know them, can protect the whole of West Africa if you let them do it. But they cannot protect their own barracks if you say they should not do it.”
Adebayo said successive presidents, including Tinubu, belong to a “long line of precedence who have gone against the people and used insecurity to siphon money.”
He argued that sovereignty is not a shield for leaders who fail to protect their citizens:
“Sovereignty is true, but under international law, sovereignty that conflicts with international humanitarian law will be ignored. The fact that you have sovereignty over your people doesn’t mean you can treat them as you like, or neglect them as you like.”
Adebayo urged Nigerians to be grateful to the international community for its concern, even referencing U.S President Donald Trump’s recent comments on Nigeria’s insecurity.
“I thank Mr. Trump for showing interest in Nigeria at all. Speaking squarely, he can ignore us. We are not that relevant to them,” he said. “But we must not turn Trump’s interest into a Christian-Muslim debate. Anyone who wants to help must help every Nigerian.”
He continued: “Trump will not come if, Mr. President, what I mentioned, you could say, in the next 30 days, nobody will die. It will take America up to 60 days to put its command everywhere together. In that short period, you can restore order in the country if you want to.”
Adebayo warned that democracy must deliver meaning to the people or risk collapse.
“Democracy must have meaning in the life of the people. It must be played in such a way that the politics is clean, fair, and predictable — that if you are popular with the people, you will win the election. And if you win, you must govern according to the wishes of the people. If you don’t, you will lose the next election,” he said.
He maintained that reforms were essential not only in elections but across all aspects of governance: “Coming here today to talk about electoral reform matters, because not only do we need electoral reforms, we need reforms in every aspect of our national life.”
Adebayo also listed five major problems facing Nigeria’s democracy — political opportunism, ignorance of governance, youth frustration, sentimental politics, and citizens’ hypocrisy — insisting that unless the political class and institutions reform themselves, no true democracy can thrive.
He concluded by urging Nigerians to continue demanding accountability from leaders and never lose faith in reform:
“Reform or deform — there is no way to stay static in nature. If you refuse to reform voluntarily, you will be deformed by the circumstances around you,” he said.
