Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has urged Nigerians to embrace true federalism, credible elections, and elite consensus as the foundation for the country’s survival and growth in the decades ahead.
Speaking at an interactive session in Owerri with clergy, professionals, and citizens as part of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary reflections, El-Rufai warned that the nation’s structural weaknesses cannot be ignored if Nigeria is to realise the dreams of its founding fathers.
El-Rufai noted that while Nigeria has achieved some democratic stability since 1999, the country remains fragile in many ways.
“The evidence compels us to say it plainly. Nigeria is the world’s most populous Black nation, projected to exceed 400 million by 2050, yet remains structurally fragile,” the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said.
He stressed that poverty, youth unemployment, rising inflation, and mounting public debt have become existential threats to national stability.
According to him, “At 65, Nigeria must choose. We can continue to lurch forward, or we can reset deliberately, boldly, and with collective purpose. Nigeria can be great, but it must be deliberately made great, not wished into greatness.”
Declining Voter Participation A Major Concern
El-Rufai lamented the steady decline in citizens’ participation in elections. He recalled that in 2003, voter turnout stood at over 60 per cent, but by the 2023 general elections, it had dropped to barely 27 per cent.
“This decline reflects growing public estrangement from the electoral process. It shows people are losing faith that their votes matter. This is dangerous for any democracy,” he said.
The former governor argued that democracy cannot thrive on constitutional texts alone, but requires an unwritten elite consensus about power, citizenship, and political competition.
“In every functioning democracy, stability lies not just in constitutions, but in unwritten agreements among elites about the limits of power, the sanctity of citizenship, and the rules of political competition,” he said.
El-Rufai called for reforms that will rebuild public trust in elections.
He pressed for the adoption of electronic voting and real-time result transmission ahead of the 2027 general elections, citing Kaduna’s successful use of the technology in the 2018 and 2021 local government polls.
“Imagine a system where each voter is verified electronically, votes digitally, and sees results transmitted instantly and transparently. Public confidence begins to rebuild itself, one fair vote at a time,” he said.
Governance Must Solve Problems
El-Rufai also warned against reducing governance to a zero-sum battle for power, stressing that Nigeria needs leaders who will solve problems rather than perpetuate them.
He outlined six critical questions Nigeria must answer:
- How do we restructure the economy for productivity?
- How do we align education with the labour market?
- How do we expand and maintain infrastructure?
- How do we fund healthcare and education sustainably?
- How do we discourage rent-seeking?
- How do we reward honest, productive work?
He insisted that without addressing these core issues, the country would continue to drift.
On federalism, El-Rufai argued strongly for a return to Nigeria’s founding principles of decentralisation, where states take responsibility for critical areas such as policing, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and taxation.
“True federalism encourages competition, innovation, and accountability. It replaces uniform mediocrity with decentralised excellence,” he said.
The former Governor commended recent constitutional amendments that moved electricity and railways to the concurrent list, describing them as “steps in the right direction,” but stressed that much more needed to be done.
El-Rufai concluded his remarks by extending Independence Day greetings to Nigerians, while urging citizens and leaders to summon the courage for a national reset.
“At 65, Nigeria must choose: do we keep stumbling forward or do we reset deliberately? With vision, clarity, and courage, the next 65 years can be transformative,” he said.
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