Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) has said that despite two and a half decades of civil rule, the political class continues to behave in ways that betray the democratic spirit.
Its Executive Director Ezenwa Nwagwu in a statement issued Tuesday added that many public officials still operate with a military mindset—authoritarian in approach, intolerant of scrutiny, and obsessed with personality cults, stressing that power is still personalised, not institutionalised.
He lamented that institutions like the judiciary and state legislatures still struggle with independence, while political parties remain weak and ideology-free.
He pointed out that democracy must not be reduced to mere infrastructure projects and basic governance deliverables.
Nwagwu noted: “Let’s not pretend things are normal. The political class continues to behave in ways that betray the democratic spirit. Power is still personalised, not institutionalised.
“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 favor. 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.”
Nwagwu faulted the routine celebration of road construction and salary payments as dividends of democracy, saying it was a “profound misunderstanding” of what democratic governance truly entails.
He stressed that the current political culture focuses more on optics and token achievements, rather than the deeper values that make democracy meaningful.
Nwagwu 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 kilometers 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.”
Nwagwu added that democracy is about building strong institutions, protecting freedoms, encouraging citizen participation, and ensuring that power is exercised with checks and balances.