A broad coalition of scholars, governance experts, and public figures has called for a fundamental shift in Nigeria's democratic culture. They warned that accountability failures are sustained not only by leadership deficits but also by a deeper crisis of citizenship, ethical followership, and institutional purpose.
Conference Overview
The warning came during the 2nd International Conference on Followership Studies, a virtual gathering hosted by retired Nigerian Army officer and governance reform advocate General Ishola Williams on Friday, 29 May 2026, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm GMT. The conference was organized by PANAFSTRAG in collaboration with Empowered Newswire and anchored by veteran journalist and former presidential aide Laolu Akande.
Opening the conference, Laolu Akande dedicated the session to the memory of Mallam Aminu Kano, describing him as a defining symbol of citizen-centered political engagement and principled followership in Nigeria's democratic evolution. He stressed the urgency of bringing followership into mainstream governance discourse, arguing that democratic outcomes are shaped as much by citizens as by leaders.
Keynote Addresses and Discussions
The event, themed “The Demand Side of Accountability,” convened a wide range of contributors, including Dr. Prince Charles Dickson of the Tattaaunawa Roundtable Initiative, Prof. Nimi Wariboko of Boston University, Prof. Aminu Gusau, former EFCC Coordinating Director of Organisational Support, Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki of the House of Representatives, and Dr. Bode Olugore, Convener of the Government to Citizen Interface, alongside other civic and policy voices. Discussions centered on voter behavior, civic responsibility, institutional integrity, leadership ethics, youth participation, and the structural conditions shaping Nigeria's democratic trajectory ahead of the 2027 elections.
Delivering a keynote address, Dr. Prince Charles Dickson described followership as an underexamined source of political power. He argued that governance outcomes are heavily influenced by the quality and consciousness of citizens. He warned that silence, indifference, and passive consent often sustain governance failure as much as direct political wrongdoing, calling for a shift from social media outrage to sustained civic engagement.
He was supported by Dr. Aminu Gusau, who argued that governance quality is directly shaped by the nature of followership within society. He distinguished between skilled followership, defined by critical thinking and active civic engagement, and passive followership, which normalizes poor governance and weak accountability. He referenced comparative political experiences, including the United States under Franklin D. Roosevelt, North Korea, and several African states, to illustrate how citizen behavior influences governance outcomes.
Hon. Abdussamad Dasuki contributed a perspective on youth engagement and political responsibility, stressing the importance of preparing younger generations for active civic participation. He also reiterated his commitment to youth inclusion in governance discourse.
Dr. Sam Amadi argued that Nigeria's governance crisis cannot be understood as a leadership problem alone, insisting that it is simultaneously a citizenship and institutional problem. He proposed political restructuring, strengthening human rights culture, and economic transformation aimed at producing a more accountable and independent economic class.
Dr. Bode Olugore emphasized practical civic engagement through the Government to Citizen interface model. He argued that citizens must transition from passive subjects to active contributors in policy formation. He maintained that credible followership is capable of producing more responsible leadership outcomes over time.
Youth Participation and Civic Trust
The conference featured sustained discussion on youth participation in politics ahead of the 2027 elections. Participants warned that disengagement and voter apathy remain major risks to democratic consolidation. Discussions highlighted concerns around voter registration, elitism in political participation, rural exclusion, and weakening civic trust. Contributors stressed that accountability must be rooted in everyday civic practice rather than episodic electoral participation.
Destiny Alele presented a session on political ethics and followership responsibility. She argued that politics influences all aspects of society and that citizens must actively reject corruption, including vote buying, while remaining informed and engaged in political processes.
General Williams' Intervention
Delivering one of the most consequential interventions of the conference, General Williams said Nigeria's governance failures are rooted in what he described as a systemic collapse of purpose across institutions. He said public service has increasingly become disconnected from accountability and national interest. He argued that many citizens and public servants operate primarily on survival and self-interest, resulting in weak institutional performance and distorted incentives.
“They work just to make a living. They have no sense of purpose, mostly, no sense of purpose at all,” he said. He extended this critique to the civil service and public agencies, stating that institutional roles have become routine positions devoid of mission-driven service delivery. “People work in the civil service; it is the same thing. People work in agencies in Nigeria; they are just there, with no sense of purpose,” he said.
According to him, this erosion of purpose produces a governance environment where personal extraction overrides performance, weakening accountability systems. “So it is not what you deliver that matters; it is what you can get, regardless of what you deliver,” he stated.
General Williams linked this dysfunction to systemic corruption, arguing that Nigeria's political parties have evolved into alliances of financially powerful individuals rather than ideological organizations rooted in public service. “Corruption starts when you have a country where there are no real political parties, but merely alliances of individuals with money who come together and call themselves political parties,” he said. He added that many of these structures are sustained by illicit wealth, reinforcing a kleptocratic political order. “The money they use to run those political parties is stolen wealth, illegal wealth, because many of them are kleptocrats,” he said.
He further argued that corruption is sustained through cooperation between political office holders and civil servants, stressing that administrative systems play a critical enabling role. “A minister cannot steal without the cooperation of civil servants who process documents, approvals, and accounts,” he said. He also criticized the lack of accountability for senior bureaucrats, noting that corruption cases involving top civil servants rarely lead to prosecution or conviction. “It is rare to hear of permanent secretaries or heads of service being prosecuted successfully for corruption. Their cases often die quietly,” he said.
General Williams traced Nigeria's institutional weakening to the evolution of political parties away from mass-based citizen participation. He recalled that earlier parties were sustained by membership dues and public involvement rather than elite financing. “In the early days, political parties were formed around the people, and the people had power,” he noted. He argued that the current disconnect between citizens and political structures has undermined political stability and weakened governance outcomes.
He further stated that instability in governance directly translates into public safety failures. He insisted that Nigeria's core challenge is not conventional security but a broader public safety crisis. “Nigeria is not facing a security problem in the traditional sense, because nobody is attacking Nigeria as a nation. Nigeria has a public safety problem,” he said. He referenced travel advisories restricting movement in parts of the country as evidence of deteriorating safety conditions. He questioned how armed groups continue to operate in forest regions despite the technological capabilities available to the state. “How can a group of bandits remain in forests in a country that possesses drone technology, and we are told they cannot be located?” he asked.
He raised concerns about structural weaknesses in Nigeria's security architecture, arguing that over-reliance on the military for internal policing functions has weakened specialized policing systems. He noted that reforms such as state policing remain politically sensitive, with institutional resistance slowing implementation across multiple levels of government.
Prof. Wariboko on Followership
Prof. Nimi Wariboko, in a lecture on followership, defined it as the collective capacity of citizens to guide, sustain, correct, and replace leadership in pursuit of a shared political future. He identified misconceptions about followership, including the belief that leadership alone determines outcomes. He outlined core virtues of effective followership as love of country, empathy, equality, and justice. He also emphasized the need to embed followership studies in academic curricula, alongside practical training in civic education, communication skills, and social activism. He argued that ethical citizenship is shaped as much by family structures as by formal institutions.
Conclusion
The conference concluded with a consensus that sustainable democratic reform requires a dual focus on leadership and followership, with sustained citizen engagement positioned as central to accountability and governance renewal.
