A former presidential candidate and activist, Omoyele Sowore, has dismissed the proposal by Professor Pat Utomi to establish a “shadow government,” calling the idea an ineffective symbolic gesture that lacks real-world impact on Nigeria’s pressing challenges.
Speaking on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels TV on Sunday, Sowore argued that the idea of a shadow cabinet was futile in a country where the existing government is itself opaque and largely unaccountable.
“Well, how do you replace a shadow government with another set of shadowy governments?” he asked rhetorically, criticising the concept of mimicking such democratic traditions, which is the practice in parliamentary systems like the United Kingdom.
“I would not begrudge anybody who thinks of solutions that can bring awareness to the people… But I do not think that setting up a government with names of people who call themselves a shadow government makes any difference.”
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Sowore, who has been a long-time advocate for radical democratic change, said Nigeria’s problems could not be solved with symbolic gestures.
He challenged the feasibility and utility of Utomi’s idea, which suggests creating an alternative governing structure to mirror the functions of the current administration led by President Bola Tinubu.
“What is the shadow government going to be doing? So, they’re supposed to provide an alternative to each of the existing government portfolios—the parastatals, the ministries, and departments. How does that work, really?
Apart from the fact that it sounds esoteric, nothing beyond the creation of that shadow government will have any impact on the situation that is affecting Nigeria today,” Sowore said.
The publisher emphasised that the current Nigerian government already operates as a “shadow government,” characterised by opacity, corruption, and a disconnect from the needs of ordinary citizens.
Creating another similar body, even in the name of accountability, he said, merely duplicates dysfunction.
“My attitude towards this is that the government in place is already a shadow government. So to now go and create another superstructure named shadow government—that’s not going to have any impact on what these guys are doing,” the former presidential candidate said.
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Sowore’s remarks come as Nigerians grapple with worsening economic conditions, deteriorating governance, and the lack of credible opposition voices.
Source: Channels TV
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