Nigeria, May 6 -- A single word has quietly colonised Nigeria's pre-election vocabulary - consensus. It is deployed with confidence, knowing it will not be challenged. Yet what is being paraded as consensus in many states today is nothing of the sort. It is imposition - laundered, repackaged, and dressed in democratic clothing.

With the 2027 elections only months away, at least 22 governors have already endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as their "consensus" presidential candidate. At the state level, these same governors are replicating the model downward - anointing successors, selecting senators, choosing members of the House of Representatives, and determining state assembly tickets. Children of politicians, relatives of the wealth...