Barack Obama said it in Ghana on July 11, 2009: “Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.” That is our problem.
In Nigeria, institutions are weak, individuals are strong. The President is strong, NASS is weak. The Governor is strong, the State House of Assembly is a rubber stamp. The Chairman is strong, the councillor begs for fuel money. That is why when one strong man leaves office, everything collapses.
Check:
- National Assembly is supposed to check the executive, but budget padding and no oversight. BudgIT found N6.93 trillion inserted as 11,122 projects in the 2025 budget, projects not from Ministries. How many MDAs are queried publicly and sanctioned? Almost zero.
- Supreme Court and courts are trying, but funding, delay, and executive disobedience to court orders kill morale. When government does not obey court orders, who will obey?
- EFCC, ICPC, Police, CBN, INEC, who appoints them? The same President. Who funds them? The same executive. How can they be independent?
- Local Government is dead. Governors hold their allocation through the Joint State-LG Account. Chairmen cannot even grade a road. On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that LG allocations must go directly to 774 LGAs, declaring governors’ retention illegal. Yet as of 2026, over N10.48 trillion was allocated but states still retain control, judgment without implementation.
A country cannot grow when everything depends on whether the Oga is good or bad. Good Oga comes, small progress. Bad Oga comes, back to zero.
A Better Nigeria is when the system works even when the Oga is not there.
What Better Nigeria Governance Means:
- Real independence: INEC, EFCC, Judiciary, Auditor-General get direct funding from the Consolidated Revenue, no need to beg the President. Their heads have security of tenure, no arbitrary removal.
- Strong NASS & State Assemblies: Live broadcast of all committee hearings, public register of voting record of each Senator/Rep. Constituency project tracker, every naira must be online.
- Local Government Autonomy in practice: LG allocation direct as ordered by Supreme Court, LG elections conducted by INEC not SIEC, LG Chairman must publish monthly income and expenditure on the wall of the market for all to see.
- Rule of Law culture: No more “order from above.” Court orders must be obeyed within 7 days or the officer responsible goes to prison. That is law.
When institutions are strong, your rights do not depend on who you know.
Your Task Today: Know your institutions, who is your Senator? Your Rep? Your LG Chairman? Check one budget, national or state. ask one question online. Attend one public hearing, even virtually.
