January 2026
HIGHLIGHT OF THE PAPER:
▫️The Christmas Day strike by USA against terrorist locations in Nigeria highlights the persistent failure of Nigeria’s security and political architecture to decisively end violent extremism within its borders.
▫️Military force alone cannot secure lasting peace. The sponsors and promoters of terrorism in the country must be arrested and prosecuted.
▫️The attempts at turning Nigeria into a one-party state is an ancient conspiracy started by Lugard in 1903. Its aim is to strengthen neo-colonialism in Nigeria.
▫️All Nigerians should use their votes to reject a one-party state. It is an ill wind that will not blow Nigeria any good.
▫️National Assembly confirmed that the new tax laws earlier gazetted was forged and ordered an immediate re-gazette.
▫️The new tax laws should be suspended and taken back to the drawing board.
▫️The dual conflicting ideologies of Democracy and Sharia, coupled with a constitution that is a mutation of a military decree are the key factors threatening the structural stability of Nigeria.
▫️The structural crisis should be resolved with a conference of ethnic nationalities to re-negotiate Nigeria and produce a constitution of the people by the people with Democracy as the only national ideology for a multicultural, multiethnic, and multireligious society.
PREAMBLE
Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) celebrates with Nigerians for the grace to enter the year 2026. As the socio-political arm of the Nigeria Church, CSMN thanks the Almighty God for his mercy upon Nigeria as a country. The past few years have been challenging for the country, but God has enabled Nigeria to maintain relative peace. CSMN condoles all the families and individuals that were adversely affected by the mindless religious insurgency that engulfed Nigeria in the past sixteen years. CSMN prays that there shall be a permanent resolution to this crisis.
As we enter the New Year, CSMN wishes to highlight some issues for the consideration of all Nigeria citizens. The country is standing on the edge of the precipice and adequate care should be taken to prevent it from tipping over. There must be a careful withdrawal from the edge of the abyss to prevent a wholesale calamity from befalling the country.
In assessing the condition of Nigeria, CSMN wishes to highlight the following areas of concern for the consideration of the Government and the people of Nigeria. These are:
1. The fight against religious insurgency culminating in foreign intervention
2. Undemocratic politicking of the ruling party aimed at stifling opposition
3. Insensitive and questionable introduction of a new tax regime by the Government
4. Addressing the structural crisis of Nigeria
THE FIGHT AGAINST RELIGIOUS INSURGENCY
The Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) views with sober concern the Christmas Day military strike by the United States against ISIS-linked elements and the Lakurawa terrorist network in the Northwest part of Nigeria. While this development highlights the global resolve to confront terrorism, it also exposes the persistent failure of Nigeria’s security and political architecture to decisively end violent extremism within its borders.
CSMN affirms that the terrorist organizations operating in Nigeria constitute a grave threat to human life, national stability, religious freedom and are responsible for genocide against Christians in the country. Legitimate military action in this situation is unavoidable to degrade and contain violent extremist groups.
However, CSMN emphasizes that military force alone cannot secure lasting peace. History has shown that when the root causes of violence are ignored, terrorism merely mutates and resurfaces. Therefore, the sponsors and promoters of terrorism in the country must be arrested and prosecuted. There are certain individuals, such as Sheikh Gumi et. al., who have become notorious for making inflammatory statements in support of terrorism in the land. It is strange that such individuals are roaming the country free. The impression that the government is creating is that of tacit endorsement of terrorism. Such impression must be nullified by prompt action against promoters of terror attacks in Nigeria. The continued freedom of these actors represents a moral and legal failure of the Nigerian state.
CSMN therefore calls for the immediate arrest and public prosecution of all sponsors of terror, irrespective of status or affiliation and an end to selective justice and secret negotiations with perpetrators of mass violence. Justice must be blind, firm, and impartial.
Government must also take adequate steps to protect vulnerable communities, particularly in rural and Christian communities. We call on the Nigerian government to fulfil its constitutional duty to protect lives and property as well as provide urgent humanitarian relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction for affected communities. The millions of Nigerians in IDP camps must be supported to return home.
UNDEMOCRATIC POLITICKING OF THE RULING PARTY
In 2015, APC had 21 states under its flag while PDP had 15. Ten years later, in 2025, as preparations commence for the 2027 elections, there have been noticeable defections from PDP to APC. As of December 2025, there are 28 states with APC governors, 4 states with PDP governors, and 1 state each with Accord, APGA, Labour, and NNPP governors. There are concerns that Nigeria is slowly tilting towards a one-party state. Allegations are rife that financial inducement and intimidation through the EFCC compelled some Governors in the opposition to join the APC.
Attempts at turning Nigeria into a one-party state did not just start. In his letter to the British Houses of Parliament in September 1903, Frederick Lugard expressed preference for a one-party state for Nigeria. Before Independence in 1960, the British Colonial Office wrote that, “One-party government should perhaps be regarded with more sympathy as being the first natural substitute for the former benevolent colonial administration … I think that positive planning for one party government might be more in accordance with the facts …” The British favored a one-party state for Nigeria to promote its plan of neo-colonialism.
It would be dysfunctional at this point for any political party to nurse the ambition of transmuting itself into the sole political party in Nigeria. While China operates a one-party state, it does so with state discipline and focused governance. The same cannot be said for the ruling party in Nigeria. A vibrant opposition is required to keep the corrupt politicians in Nigeria in check.
In addition, if the current administration should succeed in laying the foundation for a one-party state, in its unbridled ambition of getting re-elected in 2027, it would hand over power to the North in 2031. Nigerians should imagine the possibility of a Fulani becoming the president in 2031 on a one-party state structure! Therefore, all Nigerians should use their votes to reject a one-party state. It is an ill wind that will not blow Nigeria any good.
THE NEW TAX REGIME
Before becoming the president, Tinubu summarized his economic policies as follows: “reduce the purchasing power of the people, we can further slowdown the economy, let’s widen the tax net, those who are not paying now, if it is inclusive of Bola Tinubu, let the net get bigger and we take in more taxes and that is what we must do in the country.” This brief statement is the template that President Tinubu has been using to run the country. It started with the statement “fuel subsidy is gone”. It is strange that a government deliberately planned to slow down the economy and reduce the purchasing power of the people while simultaneously increasing tax.
The convoluting economic policy took a drastic turn when Hon. Abdusammad Dasuki announced at the National Assembly that the new tax law gazetted by the Presidency was different from what was approved by the legislators. The National Assembly later confirmed that the new tax laws were forged and ordered an immediate re-gazette of what the legislators approved.
CSMN joins all well-meaning Nigerians to advise that the new tax laws should be suspended, and the entire process should be taken back to the drawing board. The credibility deficit of the APC-led government should be checked.
ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSE: NIGERIA’S STRUCTURAL CRISIS
Unresolved Contradictions and Centralization of Power
The Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) observes that the persistent insecurity, political instability, and declining economy facing Nigeria are primarily the result of unresolved structural and constitutional contradictions. At the core of these challenges is a fundamental confusion that undermines the nation’s unity and progress.
A major issue is the excessive centralization of power. The concentration of authority in the federal center and how the military distributed and structured the arms of government has marginalized ethnic nationalities, depriving them of adequate participation in the governance of their own country. Moreso that Nigeria’s constitution promulgated by military decree is lacking popular consent, further alienating citizens and undermining the legitimacy of governmental institutions.
Dual Legal Systems and National Disunity
The situation is made more complex by the coexistence of two opposing legal frameworks within Nigeria. On the one hand, the nation operates under a secular, democratic constitution grounded in Common Law principles. On the other hand, several states uphold Sharia law, a religious legal system that stands in fundamental opposition to secular governance, equality before the law, and the universal rights of citizenship.
This legal and constitutional duality has fractured the nation’s coherence, encouraged religious partisanship, and entrenched systemic injustice. Nigeria’s attempt to simultaneously maintain a secular democracy while institutionalizing religious law fundamentally weakens its constitutional foundation. These internal contradictions breed exclusion, mistrust, and disorder, illustrating the reality that a house divided against itself cannot stand. This truth is echoed in Scripture: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked rule, the people mourn” (Proverbs 29:2).
CSMN’s Call for Structural Reform
Considering these realities, CSMN calls for a national conference of ethnic nationalities to directly confront and resolve Nigeria’s deep-seated structural flaws. For the country to survive and thrive, its people must openly renegotiate the foundation of their union and collectively agree on a constitution that embodies true equality, justice, and popular consent.
This process must be transparent, inclusive, and free from elite manipulation, ensuring that the new constitutional order genuinely reflects the will of the people. Only then can Nigeria achieve a lasting, just, and unified nation, built on principles that are truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.
CONCLUSION
CSMN envisions a Nigeria where justice disarms extremism, governance serves the people, not narrow interests, and diversity is managed through dialogue, equity, and mutual respect.
CSMN concludes that while military action should continue to suppress violence, only justice, accountability, and a new social contract can secure lasting peace in Nigeria.
God bless Nigeria.
For, and on behalf of, Christian Social Movement of Nigeria, CSMN,
Elder Sunday Oibe
Chairman, Governing Council
1st January 2026