By Stanley Onyekwere
In a significant gathering of Nigeria’s political elite in Abuja on Thursday, the 23rd Daily Trust Dialogue served as a high-stakes arena for a candid autopsy of the nation’s democratic health, even as stakeholders outlined critical fixes deemed essential for the survival of the Nigeria’s democracy.
The dialogue: themed “Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: What Is Working and What Is Not,” featured a rare alignment of perspectives between the opposition and the presidency on the fragile state of the union.
In his remarks, the former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who chaired the dialogue, set a somber yet patriotic tone, and cautioned leaders against turning national dialogues into “campaign” platforms.
Saraki urged attendees to prioritize “bipartisan candor,” arguing that the gravity of Nigeria’s current situation demands the removal of political labels.
He said: “Individuals who criticize the wrong things should not be seen as enemies of the institution or government”.
While acknowledging the milestone of 26 years of uninterrupted civil rule—the longest in the nation’s history, he challenged the audience to look beyond mere longevity.
“Some will argue that democratic continuity without quality is not success,” he noted, shifting the focus from the survival of the Fourth Republic to its actual impact on the lives of everyday citizens.
Saraki outlined four critical fixes he believes are essential for the survival of the Nigeria democracy to include: ensuring the swift and impartial dispensation of justice, a renewal of societal values and ethics, rigorous fight against corruption with real consequences for bad behavior, and strengthening the electoral process to reflect the true will of the people.
“History will not judge us by how long the Fourth Republic survived, but by how well it serves the Nigerian people,” Saraki concluded
Responding to the call for introspection, Mr. Sunday Akin Dare, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, framed the nation’s journey not as a straight line, but as a complex “learning curve.”
