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.”
While tracing the roots of modern instability, Dare offered a retrospective on Nigeria’s political evolution.
He argued that the First Republic’s failure was rooted in prioritizing “identity over nationhood,” while the Second Republic buckled under “material politics” and the fiscal distortions following the 1970s oil boom.
Unlike previous eras, Dare asserted that the current Fourth Republic represents a sustained effort to build institutional resilience rather than relying on individual whims.
Several speakers navigated the dichotomy of Nigeria’s progress, highlighting several institutional victories achieved over the last quarter-century.
However, the dialogue did not shy away from the “public trust deficit as Dare admitted that less than 35% of Nigerians consistently trust the federal government, with trust in political parties plummeting below 25%.
He further identified insecurity—from banditry to insurgency—as a “macroeconomic issue” that continues to stifle trade, agriculture, and investment.
Furthermore, as the dialogue moved into panel sessions, the consensus remained clear: democracy is Nigeria’s “lodestar,” but it requires constant maintenance.
Dare emphasized that the current administration is not operating in a “neutral economy” but is actively reassessing an agenda shaped by decades of structural fragility.
It was observed that as the event wrapped up in the heat of Abuja’s January sun, there was a collective hope that 2026 would be remembered as the year Nigerians finally moved from political rhetoric to a concrete plan for national rebuilding.
The event also had in attendance, the Olu of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, Sarki Jiwa, Alh. Idris Musa, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee of 7th and 8th House of Representatives, Hon. Nnenna Ukeje, a select students and several stakeholders.
However, highpoints of the event were panel discussion and 2025 Daily Trust Unsung Hero’s Award (with one million Naira prize ) presentation to Mallam Musa Ibrahim Sagagi. (Citizenship Daily)
