In what appears to be Nigeria’s most dramatic “return on investment” complaint yet, a man on Thursday stormed the All Progressives Congress (APC) national secretariat in Abuja with a message as blunt as it was unsettling: reward me or kill me. The protest, captured in a now-viral video, shows the visibly distressed man holding a placard and demanding recognition for what he described as his personal sacrifices during the party’s 2023 campaign. According to him, loyalty was not just emotional, it was financial, physical, and, ultimately, total. In a country where political support often comes with expectations, some spoken, many implied the man’s outcry reads like a tragic audit of misplaced trust. His claim that he sold his house to fund campaign efforts has not been independently verified, but the symbolism is hard to ignore: a citizen liquidating stability in exchange for promised political dividends. Observers at the scene watched as the protester oscillated between anger and ...
Abioye Tosin Lawrence | November 7th, 2025
Africa’s push for greater global representation, including a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, is gaining momentum. Nigerian officials, along with regional leaders, have repeatedly called for reforms that would give Africa a stronger voice on the global stage.
But amid these demands, a fundamental question remains: have we built governance systems strong enough to justify that seat?
As it stands, the world is not anxious about Africa’s absence in the UN’s permanent council chambers. Instead, it is watching, measuring whether our political institutions, transparency standards, and electoral practices are rising to the level of the global responsibilities we seek.
Across the continent, citizens continue to push back against entrenched political elites. From youth movements in Lagos and Abuja, to protests in Douala and Yaoundé, to the sustained challenge mounted by Bobi Wine against Uganda’s long-standing leadership — the message from young Africans is clear: the future cannot continue to be negotiated by the past.
Coups in Niger and Gabon, controversial elections in several states, and persistent questions of judicial neutrality and human rights raise doubts about institutional readiness. Meanwhile, nations like the United Kingdom, often referenced in democratic comparison, have cycled through three prime ministers in three years, not through force, but through institutional accountability and party-driven internal correction.
This contrast is instructive. In functioning democracies, political power shifts not by street pressure or military intervention, but through systems strong enough to self-correct without breaking.
If Africa demands a seat at the UN’s highest table, the world will expect the governance habits that match that ambition:
elections credible enough to inspire trust, not protests;
independent institutions that outlive political personalities;
leadership grounded in accountability, not patronage;
civic engagement that builds institutions, not only movements.
Africa has the world’s youngest population, a rising intellectual class, and growing geopolitical importance. Our claim to global representation is legitimate, but legitimacy must be reinforced by performance, stability, and institutional maturity.
A permanent seat at the UN is not just a diplomatic prize.
It is a global vote of confidence.
The world is not denying Africa. It is waiting for Africa, particularly its largest
democracies to prove that the seat we seek is one we are fully prepared to occupy.
The demand is loud. The expectation is higher. The opportunity is ours.
Abioye Tosin Lawrence is the publisher of Oriontimes Online Newspaper
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