BY ADEKOLA BOLUWAJI NIFEMI
Since its formation in 2013, Nigeria’s All Progressives Congress (APC) has branded itself as the party of change, progress, and reform. Initially hailed as a welcome alternative to the then-dominant People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the APC surged into power on the back of popular discontent, promising to combat corruption, restore security, and revive the economy. Yet, more than a decade later, the party’s legacy appears to be marked not by transformation, but by dysfunction, internal strife, and unmet expectations.
A Legacy of Broken Promises
The APC came to power in 2015 under President Muhammadu Buhari with a sweeping mandate. The party’s manifesto was ambitious, anchored on three key pillars: anti-corruption, economic reform, and national security. However, the realities on the ground tell a different story.
Corruption: Cosmetic Wins, Systemic Failures
While the APC-led government made high-profile arrests and pursued selective prosecutions, the broader anti-corruption war has been widely criticized as being politicized and ineffective. Several key figures within the APC, once accused of financial crimes, were shielded from scrutiny or rehabilitated politically once they defected to the ruling party. The lack of institutional reforms, transparency, and judicial independence meant that the so-called anti-corruption drive often looked more like a weapon for political vendettas than a sincere effort at reform.
Economy: A Troubled Landscape
Under the APC, Nigeria has endured multiple recessions, ballooning debt, high inflation, and surging unemployment. While global factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic played a role, the government’s economic mismanagement and over-reliance on oil revenues have deepened Nigeria’s fiscal crisis. Despite slogans like “Ease of Doing Business” and initiatives like “N-Power,” the structural problems remain entrenched. The average Nigerian continues to grapple with rising poverty, a depreciating naira, and a lack of meaningful job creation.
Security: A Deepening Crisis
Perhaps the APC’s most glaring failure is in the realm of national security. The insurgency in the North-East has not only persisted but has expanded in complexity and geography, with banditry, kidnappings, and separatist violence escalating across the country. Promises to end Boko Haram within months of taking office proved to be dangerously naive. Instead of a coherent national security strategy, what has emerged is a fragmented, reactive, and often inadequate response to one of the country’s most pressing crises.
A House Divided: The APC’s Internal Disarray
Beyond policy failures, the APC is plagued by internal conflicts, factionalism, and a lack of ideological coherence. From the 2018 national convention to the recent leadership squabbles and the emergence of parallel state congresses, the party has struggled to maintain internal democracy. What began as a merger of four major opposition blocs has devolved into a chaotic coalition of political opportunists with divergent goals.
The result is a party more concerned with consolidating power than governing effectively. The APC’s primary elections have often been marred by irregularities, imposition of candidates, and court battles — undermining its own claims to be a party of democratic renewal.
Power Before People: The 2023 Election and Beyond
The 2023 general elections were seen as a test of APC’s ability to rebrand and renew its commitment to good governance. However, the conduct of the elections, including concerns about electoral transparency, voter suppression, and the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), cast further doubts on the party’s democratic credentials. President Bola Tinubu’s administration now carries the burden of these unresolved issues, and early signs suggest more continuity than change.
Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” mantra has so far done little to allay fears of economic instability, persistent insecurity, and elite-driven governance. The honeymoon period is over; what remains is a public increasingly skeptical of recycled leadership and rhetorical promises.
Conclusion: The APC’s Diminished Credibility
The APC once offered Nigerians a vision of reform and national rebirth. A decade later, that vision has largely collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions and leadership failures. While the PDP’s flaws helped bring the APC to power, the ruling party has failed to offer a credible alternative.
Rather than functioning as a vehicle for transformation, the APC has become emblematic of Nigeria’s broader political malaise — where ambition trumps accountability, and power trumps principle. If the party is to remain relevant beyond power retention, it must confront its internal contradictions, embrace genuine reform, and recommit to the ideals it once championed. Until then, its claim to progressive governance rings increasingly hollow.