PLAC: Economic Hardship, Middle-Class Apathy Threaten Nigeria’s Democracy

• Nwankwo, Abdu urge Nigerians to turn frustration into electoral participation

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Nigeria’s democracy faces a critical test ahead of the 2027 general elections, with rising living costs, insecurity, unemployment and growing civic apathy threatening to widen the gulf between citizens and those entrusted with governing the country.

Executive Director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Dr. Clement Nwankwo, and the Country Director of CARE Nigeria and chairman of the event, Hussaini Abdu, warned that widespread frustration over poor governance would not translate into meaningful change unless Nigerians moved beyond complaints to organised civic action, active electoral participation and sustained demands for accountability.

Speaking at the eighth annual public lecture of the Just Friends Club of Nigeria (JFCN) in Abuja on Tuesday, the speakers expressed concern that sections of the population, particularly the middle class, were increasingly retreating into private solutions rather than confronting systemic failures.

The lecture, themed “From Concern to Action: Making Our Votes Count in the 2027 General Elections,” examined how economic hardship, insecurity, declining public services and voter apathy could undermine democratic accountability if citizens failed to turn their grievances into collective action.

Nwankwo, who delivered the lecture, drew attention to the weakening of the middle class and its diminishing willingness to organise around shared concerns, warning that individual efforts to escape the consequences of poor governance could weaken the pressure needed to compel public institutions to perform.

Rather than demanding reliable public services, many relatively affluent Nigerians increasingly seek private alternatives.

Households purchase generators or install solar systems to cope with unreliable electricity, send their children to private schools, pay for private healthcare and, in some cases, travel abroad for medical treatment.

While these choices may provide individual relief, Nwankwo’s argument highlighted the danger that such private coping mechanisms could insulate sections of society from the consequences of public-sector failures, reducing the collective pressure on government to improve essential services.

The problem, as illustrated during the discussion, is not necessarily that the middle class has disappeared, but that its collective influence and willingness to mobilise for accountability have weakened.

An example was drawn from an affluent Abuja neighbourhood where residents reportedly complained through a WhatsApp group about levies imposed by local authorities but failed to translate their shared grievances into coordinated action.

Instead, residents were said to have opted for individual settlements rather than jointly challenging the disputed charges through appropriate channels.

The example underscored how public frustration could remain confined to private conversations without developing into organised demands for transparency and accountability.

The discussion also raised concerns about the role of civil society organisations in filling gaps in public service delivery.

Although non-governmental organisations provide essential support to vulnerable communities, the speakers cautioned against allowing such interventions to become permanent substitutes for government responsibilities.

They argued that development initiatives should strengthen citizens’ ability to demand accountable governance rather than inadvertently relieve public institutions of their obligations.

The speakers also linked the weakening of collective action to electoral apathy, particularly among middle-class voters who have the education, resources and social influence to shape public debate but may fail to exercise their voting rights.

They cited concerns about eligible voters in affluent neighbourhoods staying away from polling units, with some reportedly preferring leisure activities, including watching English Premier League football, to participating in elections.

Such disengagement, they warned, risks weakening democratic accountability by allowing political outcomes to be determined disproportionately by those who turn out to vote, while other citizens surrender their opportunity to influence leadership and public policy.

With the 2027 elections approaching, the discussion stressed the need for Nigerians to move beyond expressions of dissatisfaction to practical action, including informed voting, electoral monitoring, protecting ballots and documenting results at polling units.

Abdu, who chaired the event, presided over the discussion on citizens’ responsibility in strengthening democratic governance at a time when economic pressures and dissatisfaction with public institutions have become major concerns.

The chairman’s participation placed the debate within a wider examination of how citizens, civil society organisations and public institutions could help strengthen accountability and ensure that democratic participation produces tangible results.

The JFCN president, Amaechi Aloke, said the lecture’s theme was deliberately chosen to encourage Nigerians to reflect on their responsibility for the country’s political future.

Aloke said citizens had consistently expressed concern about Nigeria’s direction through conversations at home, workplaces and communities, as well as through newspapers, television, social media and public advocacy.

“But there is an important question we must ask ourselves: What do we do with that concern? Concern, by itself, does not change a country. It must become knowledge. Knowledge must become participation. Participation must become responsible citizenship. And responsible citizenship must extend beyond Election Day,” he said.

Quoting political thinker Frantz Fanon, Aloke added: “Each generation must discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it in a relative opacity.”

He said Nwankwo was invited to deliver the lecture because of his longstanding engagement with democracy and governance.

Nwankwo co-founded the Civil Liberties Organisation in 1987 with human rights lawyer Olisa Agbakoba, SAN.

He currently serves as executive director of PLAC and convener of the Civil Society Situation Room, platforms associated with civic engagement, democratic accountability and electoral observation.

Aloke said the JFCN’s annual public lecture series, which began in 2014, had consistently provided a platform for discussing issues central to Nigeria’s development, including economic reform, public debt, infrastructure, national security, electoral politics and the cost of governance.

Previous speakers have included former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Benjamin Dikki, former Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, Reverend Father George Ehusani, human rights lawyer Chidi Odinkalu and former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission Sam Amadi.

At the seventh edition in 2025, retired Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau spoke on security challenges and national cohesion, emphasising the importance of a people-centred security architecture and investment in human development.

Beyond its lecture series, Aloke said the club also supported vulnerable members of society through visits to old people’s homes and orphanages, assistance to children with disabilities, career guidance in public schools and educational sponsorship for eight indigent secondary school students in Abuja.

The initiatives, he said, reflected the belief that responsible citizenship must extend beyond political debate to practical engagement with the needs of society.

As the 2027 elections draw closer, the central challenge confronting Nigeria, the speakers suggested, is whether widespread dissatisfaction will remain confined to private complaints and online exchanges or become a collective force capable of shaping the country’s political future.

Their message was that making votes count requires more than turning up at polling units. It demands an informed and organised citizenry willing to defend the electoral process, demand accountability and remain engaged long after the ballots have been counted.