Nigeria at 66: Beyond the Ballot Box

Nigeria is 66. Long enough to have accumulated triumphs, disappointments and hard lessons — and long enough to know that democracy must mean more than opening polling units every four years.

October 1 will bring the familiar sights: flags, speeches and appeals for unity. Beyond the ceremony, however, is a harder question: How well is Nigerian democracy actually working for Nigerians?

Since 1999, Nigeria has enjoyed 27 uninterrupted years of civilian rule, the longest stretch in its history. Presidents and governors have completed their terms, and political disputes have largely moved from barracks to courts and tribunals. That matters, but longevity is not enough.

Democracy works when a voter can cast a ballot and expect it to count; when a public official can be questioned about public money; when a court can decide a sensitive case without interference; and when institutions follow the law regardless of who occupies Aso Rock.

Nigeria has spent a quarter of a century keeping democracy alive. The task now is to make it visible in everyday government.

And that starts with the vote.

A citizen who queues, gets accredited and casts a ballot has done his part. The system must do its own: polling units must open on time, votes must be counted transparently, and declared results must correspond with votes cast.

The Electoral Act 2026 and INEC’s new regulations on accreditation, voting and electronic transmission provide the legal framework. But rules on paper do not automatically produce credible elections. A good law badly enforced remains a bad experience for the voter.

Technology cannot fix an election where citizens cannot see how results move from polling units to collation centres. And electoral rules lose force when ballot snatching, intimidation and vote buying attract no consequence.

Political parties cannot escape the same test. A party cannot complain about manipulation in a general election while its own primaries are decided behind closed doors. It cannot preach transparency to INEC while bending its own rules to favour aspirants.

Democracy should begin inside the parties asking Nigerians to trust them with power.

The ongoing constitutional review is another opportunity Nigeria cannot waste. The transmission of the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 to the 36 State Houses of Assembly is an important phase. But its value will not be measured by hearings held or bills transmitted, but by what changes mean for representation, accountability and the balance of power.

The same test applies to INEC, the legislature, security agencies and the judiciary. An electoral commission must be able to enforce its rules. A legislature must scrutinise the executive, not merely endorse it. Security agencies must protect voters, not serve partisan interests.

The judiciary carries a heavy responsibility. When election results are challenged, citizens look to the courts. The quality of judgments, speed of proceedings and confidence in appointments directly affect public faith in democracy. Citizens need credible reasons to believe wealth or political connection does not determine justice.

The media faces a similar test. Journalists must scrutinise official claims, check where public money went, and verify whether promises became policy. That freedom comes with responsibility. In an age of viral falsehoods, accuracy and verification are not niceties; they are democratic duties.

Then there is money.

Long before election day, an aspirant needs money for nomination, offices, rallies, media and agents. When those costs rise beyond what a teacher, lawyer, farmer or entrepreneur can raise, the pool of contestants shrinks. Those without wealth depend on financiers, and financiers often expect appointments, contracts or influence in return. That is how the cost of politics becomes a governance problem.

Representation is another concrete test. It is easy to praise women and youths at rallies. The evidence lies elsewhere: who gets party tickets, who sits in decision-making bodies, who gets real authority? Representation should be measurable, not merely rhetorical.

And democracy is not experienced only at polling units.

For a parent, it is the public school a child attends. For a trader, it is reliable electricity. For a graduate, it is whether work is available without connections. For a patient, it is whether a hospital has staff and drugs.

A family struggling to pay for food, transport and healthcare will not measure democracy by the number of uninterrupted civilian years.

As attention turns to the 2027 elections, the principle matters even more. Elections should be fought over policies and records, not on the assumption that winning excuses intimidation or manipulation.

Nigeria has proved it can keep democracy alive. At 66, survival is no longer enough. The harder task is making democracy work where citizens can actually see and feel it.