A political advocacy group, the Five Star Movement Nigeria, has commended Nigeria’s 27 years of uninterrupted democratic rule while urging the government to ensure that democracy translates into tangible prosperity for citizens.
Speaking at a briefing in Abuja to mark the 2026 Democracy Day, co-convener of the movement, Jude Feranmi Adejuwon, said that although the end of military rule remains a milestone worth celebrating, the benefits of democracy—often described as democratic dividends—remain largely inaccessible to many Nigerians, despite the country’s abundant resources.
He argued that Nigeria’s economic and social potential has consistently benefited other nations more than its own citizens, and successive governments had failed to translate national greatness into improved living conditions, despite decades of promises.
Adejuwon criticised macroeconomic policies of the current administration, including the removal of fuel subsidy, saying such reforms have disproportionately impacted ordinary citizens while benefiting a small privileged class. He lamented what he described as a widening gap between “a great people” and “a state that has refused to match that greatness,” adding that Nigerians have endured repeated cycles of unmet promises since independence.
“For 65 years, the Nigerian state has made the same promises to every generation and broken them on every occasion,” he said. “They have called us the giant of Africa, and the giant has only grown larger, but so has unemployment, poverty, and the queues at every embassy where our talents now build other countries instead of ours.”
He added that Nigerians have become accustomed to “broken promises,” which have shaped public expectations and weakened trust in governance.
Adejuwon also called for a reimagining of Nigeria’s governance structure, stressing that the country’s challenge lies not in the absence of talent or resources, but in weak institutional frameworks. He referenced the coordinated attacks on three schools in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15, which reportedly left one school staff member dead, a mathematics teacher beheaded, security operatives killed by improvised explosive devices during a rescue operation, and several pupils abducted.
Using the incident as an example, he argued that Nigeria’s centralised security structure is overstretched and ineffective. “This is what happens when a country tries to police a continent from a single command in Abuja,” he said.
Adejuwon called for the establishment of a multi-tiered policing system, including state police with full operational autonomy, ward-level community policing structures, intelligence-driven federal security focused on forest corridors, and improved welfare packages for security personnel.
On human capital development, he proposed allocating at least 20 per cent of the annual budget to education and 15 per cent to healthcare, alongside the establishment of solar-powered primary healthcare centres in every ward.
He also advocated constitutional reforms, including the removal of immunity protections for corruption-related offences, independent funding for anti-corruption agencies from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and the creation of a public “Promise Tracker” to monitor the performance of public officials against budgeted commitments.
On devolution of powers, Adejuwon called for a revised revenue-sharing formula that allows federating units to retain a greater share of revenues generated within their jurisdictions, constitutional recognition of state policing, and direct disbursement of federal allocations to local governments.
“These five pillars are not slogans,” he said. “They are mandates we have developed, structured, and committed to publicly. We expect to be held accountable to them.”
