Provide democracy dividends beyond payment of salaries, PAACA urges politicians

The Executive Director of the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), Ezenwa Nwagwu, criticized the common practice of celebrating road construction and salary payments as the achievements of democracy.

He described this perspective as a “profound misunderstanding” of the true nature of democratic governance.

Nwagwu stated this in a statement marking Nigeria’s 26th anniversary of uninterrupted civil rule, insisting that democracy must not be reduced to mere infrastructure projects and basic governance deliverables.

He argued that the current political culture focuses more on optics and token achievements, rather than the deeper values that make democracy meaningful.

He said, “We often hear people describe things like efficient service delivery or infrastructure development as some of the key gains of democracy. While that may sound right on the surface, democracy goes far beyond that. If it was just about service delivery, the military actually held their own. They built bridges, and they built roads and hospitals. In fact, they built some of the most important and enduring infrastructure our country still relies on today.

“Sadly, discussions around ‘dividends of democracy’ have now been reduced to how many kilometres of roads have been constructed or how many months of salaries and pensions have been paid.

“As important as those roads may be, that is not what democracy is about. Democracy was never meant to be reduced to showy projects. It’s about values—transparency, accountability, participation—and the systems that uphold them.”

According to Nwagwu, democracy is about building strong institutions, protecting freedoms, encouraging citizen participation, and ensuring that power is exercised with checks and balances.

He lamented that many public officials still operate with a military mindset—authoritarian in approach, intolerant of scrutiny, and obsessed with personality cults.

The PAACA Executive Director said while the country has recorded some gains, there’s still much to be done.

He noted that despite two and a half decades of civil rule, institutions like the judiciary and state legislatures still struggle with independence, while political parties remain weak and ideology-free.

He said, “let’s not pretend things are normal. The political class continues to behave in ways that betray the democratic spirit. Power is still personalized, not institutionalized. We do not have strong political parties built on ideology or values. Our legislature, both national and especially state, are often rubber stamps. Our judiciary still struggles to be independent. State Assemblies and Judiciary don’t still enjoy financial autonomy.

“Imagine a Nigeria where state Houses of Assembly perform their legislative duties without fear or favour. Imagine a judiciary who doesn’t wait for the executive to breathe before it can act. Imagine a democracy where freedom of expression is encouraged, not suppressed. These are the values we should be pursuing—not just how many kilometers of roads were paved.”

READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE