Politics
Prof Jega Slams Politicians Over Dividends Of Democracy
Wretched governance has been fingered as the main reason for the paucity of dividends of democracy for the citizenry since the advent of the current democratic dispensation in Nigeria in 1999.
A former Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega made the assertion in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Monday.
His stand was expressed in a paper he presented at the retreat put together by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).
Prof Jega decried that though Nigeria could boast of many parading themselves as leaders, but good leaders still remained in short supply in the country.
The paucity of good leaders is compounded by the near absence of strong institutions that would help the citizens who invest so much optimism in democracy to reap handsomely therefrom, he noted.
He said, “Nigeria has been on a trajectory of liberal democratic development continuously for 23 years, since 1999 when the military returned to the barracks.
“While every four years we have routinely elected representatives into the legislative and executive arms of government, there is consensus that these elements of liberal democratic development have not yet translated into substantive socioeconomic development that satisfies the needs and aspirations of the overwhelming majority of citizens.
“For the past 23 years, the country has been under democratic rule, but the so-called dividends of democracy have not yet been desirable for the majority of Nigerian Citizens.
“Unfortunately, there has been bad leadership, not that there are no good leaders in the country but they are in short supply while the Democratic institutions are also weak.
“In general, leadership at all tiers of the Nigerian federation has not been good; it has been essentially bad and undemocratic; characterized by bad, rather than good, democratic governance.
“Many national organizations and institutions have been afflicted/affected by this tendency towards bad governance.
“The basic things we require in good governance are good leaders that can be transformational and transitional if we are to achieve good dividends of democracy.”
The political scientist who made his mark at the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) made bared his mind in his paper titled: “Importance of Personal Leadership Competencies in an Organization in Transition”.
He maintained that key qualities of leadership in a democratic context stated that the country required a leader with good representation, responsible and responsiveness, integrity and honesty adding that such a leader must have cognate experience and competence, in addition to understanding democratic governance.
He must be a leader who can inspire and motivate the followership, the professor asserted.
“We also need institutions that can inspire good governance”, the former INEC chairman said.
On his part, Director General, NILDS, Prof Abubakar Sulaiman said that Nigeria cannot afford to fail its citizenry in its over two decades of democratic evolution.
He asserted that the pessimism expressed by Western apologists about the survival of democracy in Nigeria should serve as a motivation to consolidate on the gains recorded, instead of setting the country backwards.
It is not all gloom, though, as Prof Sulaiman, a former Minister of Planning, pointed out that with 23 years of uninterrupted democracy, Nigeria has already proven her critics, most of whom are of the Western world, wrong.
He noted that democracy is not akin to the Western world but customized and domiciled according to people’s environment, pointing out that Nigeria has its own brand of democratic system.
Prof Sulaiman admitted the attendant shortcomings of the Nigeria’s democracy but insisted that they are not sufficient to belittle her democracy.
“Divergent opinions and views are allowed in any clime. And for the so-called apologists of democracy worldwide who believe that Nigeria cannot survive with its democracy, we don’t need to look outside, we don’t need to entertain fear because we can’t afford to fail our people.
“We have started democracy in almost 24 years now. When we first started, people never thought we would get to where we are now. For some people to have this kind of phobia, and pessimism and say Nigeria cannot survive, be it in the area of security, or political system, it is for us as a people to put that one behind us and see that, perhaps as something that could ginger us to move forward. That we have done in the last 24 years.
“We are not perfect as a democracy, we have our shortcomings and inadequacies here and there, but those things are not substantial enough for anybody to condemn the country as a democracy.
“I think we have done so much and I hope with the new government and with our democratic credentials, we stand a chance to do better, going forward.
“I’m not disturbed by the pessimism of the apologists of the Western world. Democracy is not akin to the Western world. It is customized and domiciled in your own environment. So, we have our own brand of democracy. To the best of my knowledge, I think we have been able to do it. We have done so much and we can still do so much”, the NILDS boss said.
Biztellers reports that the retreat was put together to afford the management staff of the institute ample opportunity to key into the agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio.
“We at NILDS must therefore understand the nature of the fundamental changes and be in a good position to provide the necessary support to the National Assembly and other democratic institutions in line with our statutory role,” Prof Sulaiman added.
Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has predicted that President Tinubu will defeat his major challengers by a wide margin in the 2027 presidential election.
Bwala made the prediction on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed the political strength of the Tinubu administration and the state of the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the margin of victory for Tinubu would be so wide that Nigerians would be surprised.
SEE ALSO: Tinubu Celebrates Adviser Daniel Bwala On 50th Birthday
“Let me tell you, and let me say it categorically, and I’ll be happy to come back. The margin of gap that President Bola Tinubu will give each and every one of these candidates will be so much that you won’t believe it,” Bwala said.
Explaining the basis for his prediction, Bwala pointed to the number of governors he said had aligned with the president, arguing that governors control important political structures within their respective states.
“No, I am saying—you asked me to give data now. So this is data. You used to conjecture, I speak to data,” he said.
“Since then, President Bola Tinubu has got how many governors on his side? How many governors have joined him? The governors are the chief executive officers of their respective states. They coordinate the structures of the state. They won their own election to be governors.”
Bwala said the support of the governors would translate into political structures, resources and goodwill for Tinubu ahead of the election.
“These people say, ‘We are putting our goodwill, our resources, our structure, and our support to the President.’ You multiply that by the number of people that have come to him, then you stretch it further by the people who are impacted positively by his… what do you call it? By his policy,” he added.
The presidential aide also cited what he described as progress under Tinubu since 2023.
“Then you look at how his… Before he became President, the Naira… you couldn’t trade with the Naira around the world. You can do it now!” he said.
“So these are facts, verifiable data to suggest that President Bola from 2023 to now has made a marked progress.”
Bwala Claims Atiku, Obi Have Lost Key Supporters
Bwala also turned his attention to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, who are among the prominent opposition figures expected to feature prominently in the 2027 presidential contest.
He claimed Atiku had lost a significant number of key political figures who previously worked with him.
“But in terms of the other candidates who said he will not win: Atiku Abubakar lost close to 35% of key people that you know around him,” Bwala said.
“All the governors that worked for him that time are not going to be with him, I need you to know that in case you don’t know.”
Bwala also claimed Obi had lost most of the critical figures who supported his 2023 presidential campaign.
“Peter Obi lost 75% of the critical people that carried his campaign—they’ve all disappeared,” he said.
“And some of them went to Atiku, some of them went wherever they could go to. In terms of the other candidate, they just came to mark presence there.”
‘They Lost the Election Already’
Bwala further accused some opposition politicians of displaying what he described as a “defeatist attitude” ahead of the 2027 election.
“But I’m talking of these people that you think they are making a case—what they have is what we call defeatist attitude,” he said.
“How can you in one breath say you’re winning election, and in another breath you’re already threatening Nigeria will be… there will be no Nigeria, there will be all those things?”
He added: “Even the talking points of their campaign will suggest to you that they’ve lost the victory. They lost the election already.”
Bwala Defends Tinubu’s Policies
The presidential aide also defended the administration’s policies, arguing that they were improving the lives of Nigerians, particularly those in the informal sector.
“See, how can our policy… Our policy is raising a lot of people from the doldrums,” Bwala said.
“Look at the people in the informal sector of the economy, the women… You need to see—some of these your news media have been covering it.”
He also questioned the level of engagement some opposition politicians had with ordinary Nigerians before becoming prominent political figures.
“In terms of these people you’ve mentioned, tell me the last time they were actively involved in caring about the internal… When was the last time Amechi, before today, before he was made Vice President, that he had any engagement with the masses?” he asked.
“So you can come overnight, immediately, and just start talking?”
Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has said he would bring the price of petrol down to about ₦300 per litre if elected president in the 2027 general election.
Duke disclosed this on Wednesday while explaining his proposed approach to crude oil production and domestic fuel supply.
ALSO READ: 2027: INEC Must Prove Nigerians Wrong on Election Credibility — Donald Duke
When asked about the realistic price of petrol under his presidency, the former Cross River State governor said his target would be to reduce the pump price to about ₦300 per litre.
“To bring it to about 300 Naira. I’ve told you… it sounds so outlandish, but I’ve given you the arithmetic,” Duke said.
He explained that his proposal would be based on allocating a portion of Nigeria’s crude oil production for domestic consumption and selling the remaining volume.
According to him, if the country’s daily consumption requires 600,000 barrels, that volume would be allocated for domestic use, while the remaining one million barrels would be sold.
“Because I allocate 600,000 barrels if that’s what you consume daily. Allocate that to yourself. The other one million, you can sell,” he said.
His proposal comes as the cost of petrol remains a major issue in Nigeria, with fuel prices having significant implications for transportation, businesses and household expenses.
Duke is seeking the presidency on the platform of the PRP in the 2027 general election.
Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, Donald Duke, has challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prove to Nigerians that it can deliver a free and fair election.
Duke made the call on Wednesday while speaking about the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process and public confidence in INEC.
The former Cross River State governor said the onus was on the electoral commission to convince Nigerians that the 2027 election would be free and fair, noting that previous developments had left many citizens sceptical about INEC.
SEE ALSO: 2027: Donald Duke Reveals Why He Wants to Be Nigeria’s President
“INEC has to prove… the onus is on them actually to convince Nigerians that there will be a free and fair election,” Duke said.
He recalled the postponement of the 2019 general election, which was announced just hours before voting was scheduled to begin.
According to him, the development contributed to Nigerians’ growing distrust of the electoral commission.
Duke said INEC had assured the public of its preparedness for the election before the postponement, which was announced around 4am on election day.
He criticised the explanations given for the postponement, saying the commission should have taken responsibility for the situation.
The PRP candidate, who contested the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said he was on the ballot at the time but did not participate because his party was involved in court proceedings.
Duke further said the fact that the same electoral institution remains responsible for conducting elections means INEC must now work to restore public confidence.
“That same INEC, the institution still exists, so the onus is on them,” he said.
He added: “The onus is really on INEC. They’ve got to prove the skeptics wrong. But so far, their records in the past, there’s a lot to… expectations are poor.”
Duke also recalled concerns surrounding the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) during the 2023 general election.
“The last election in ’23, the BVAS suddenly stopped working. Now, he says it’s going to work. Let’s see,” he said.
The PRP candidate’s comments come as political parties and candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 general election, with INEC expected to conduct the presidential and National Assembly elections in January 2027.
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