Government officials, civil society leaders, and private sector experts have called on Nigerians to take active ownership of governance by holding public officials accountable and demanding transparency at all levels.
Speaking during a spirited panel session at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit (NESG) in Abuja, the speakers emphasised that rebuilding citizens’ trust in government is central to Nigeria’s economic and democratic renewal.
The panel, which was moderated by Frank Aigbogun, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of BusinessDay, brought together voices from government, business, and activism, including Hadiza Bala-Usman, special adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination; Tola Adeyemi, CEO of KPMG West Africa; Aisha Yesufu, activist and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls Movement; Yemi Adamolekun, executive director of Enough Is Enough Nigeria (EiE); and Jude Abaga (MI Abaga), rapper and creative entrepreneur.
Bala-Usman opened the conversation with a defence of President Bola Tinubu’s governance strategy, insisting that the current administration is deliberately institutionalising accountability through measurable performance indicators and citizen feedback mechanisms.
‘The core purpose of government is to serve the citizens,’ she declared. ‘Every political appointee must remember that citizens voted them in, and to the extent that they are not performing, citizens will vote them out. That is the essence of democracy.’
She explained that under the President’s directive, all ministries, departments, and agencies are required to conduct quarterly citizens’ engagement sessions and report their progress publicly.
‘These sessions are not ceremonial,’ she noted.
‘They are part of each minister’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Our role is to ensure these engagements happen and that citizens’ feedback directly influences government priorities.’
Bala-Usman, who also leads the Central Results Delivery Unit (CRDU) in the Presidency, announced that the government’s Citizen Delivery Tracker, a digital platform that monitors the performance of ministries has gone live.
‘Our citizen delivery tracker is public,’ she said.
‘You can go online and see what each ministry is doing. We encourage Nigerians to provide feedback, and when they do, we act on it.
‘Recently, we summoned the NCC Executive Vice Chairman over repeated public complaints about poor network service. That is what accountability means.’
She added that the administration’s emphasis is on outcomes, not optics. ‘Governance is no longer about promises; it’s about measurable performance,’ she said. ‘The president’s instruction is clear, every appointee must show results.’
But activist Aisha Yesufu pushed back sharply, saying that while government reforms sound impressive on paper, they rarely reflect the reality Nigerians face daily.
‘When Hadiza was speaking, I asked myself: Which Nigeria is she talking about?’ Yesufu said to loud applause. ‘Because the Nigeria most citizens live in is one where leaders act like emperors, speak down to the people, and behave as if they’re doing us a favour by serving.’
She said that true accountability cannot exist without humility.
‘The arrogance in governance is sickening,’ she said.
‘We have ministers who boast, ‘Even my enemies use the roads I built.’ That is not leadership; that’s self-worship.’
Yesufu criticised the state’s intolerance of dissent, adding that a government that stifles citizens’ voices cannot expect their trust.
‘You cannot build trust in a climate of fear,’ she said.
‘When citizens speak truth to power, they’re arrested, abducted, or silenced. How then do you rebuild trust?’
She challenged Nigerians to reject complacency.
‘Trust is not built by sitting and waiting for miracles from Aso Rock. Citizens must demand accountability and stop normalising bad governance. Democracy is not a spectator sport,’ she said.
Yemi Adamolekun, Executive Director of EiE Nigeria, deepened the conversation by underscoring how Nigeria’s leadership culture often alienates citizens from governance.
‘There is a huge disconnect between government and the governed,’ she said. ‘Government speaks at citizens, not with them. Until citizens are part of the decision-making process, not just consulted as an afterthought trust will remain elusive.’
Adamolekun stressed that trust is reciprocal.
‘Citizens must do their part too,’ she said. ‘If we say government is corrupt but we’re willing to pay bribes or cheat the system, we’re part of the problem.
‘Accountability must be demanded from the top and practiced from below.’
She added that civic participation must go beyond social media activism. ‘It’s not enough to tweet outrage; we must translate our anger into action, by voting, tracking budgets, attending town halls, and insisting on transparency,’ Adamolekun said.
From a corporate perspective, Adeyemi, said that Nigeria’s trust deficit can only be fixed through consistent delivery and open communication.
‘Trust is built over time,’ he said. ‘It’s not earned by slogans or press releases but by consistent demonstration of results and communication of those results with humility.’
He drew parallels between corporate governance and public administration.
‘In the private sector, when a CEO fails, there are consequences, and everyone sees them. That’s how you set the tone at the top,’ Adeyemi said.
He warned that a culture without accountability breeds cynicism.
‘When citizens see that failure has no cost, cynicism sets in, and cynicism is the death of trust,’ he said.
Adeyemi urged public officials to prioritise transparency over propaganda.
‘Citizens don’t want rehearsed talking points. They want sincerity, they want clarity, and they want to see evidence of delivery,’ he said.
Adding a creative voice, Jude Abaga (MI Abaga) offered a searing cultural critique of Nigeria’s moral fabric, saying the nation’s trust crisis is both systemic and spiritual.
‘When Hadiza spoke, I felt her sincerity,’ he began.
‘But we must admit that we are a country where everyone is pretending. It’s like The Emperor’s New Clothes, everyone claps even when they know the truth.’
He said that dishonesty has become a national habit.
‘When policies fail, we adjust. When leaders lie, we shrug. We’ve learned to survive dysfunction instead of demanding better,’ MI Abaga said.
According to him, real trust will only emerge when governance starts to impact ordinary people meaningfully.
‘Go to a university hostel or a public hospital, that’s where you’ll find the truth about government performance,’ he said. ‘If the system starts working for ordinary Nigerians, trust will naturally follow.’
He also called for personal responsibility. ‘We can’t condemn corruption at the top while celebrating shortcuts at the bottom,’ he said.
‘If we cheat, lie, or cut corners, we’re feeding the same monster we claim to fight. Integrity starts with us.’
Despite their sharp disagreements, all panelists agreed that rebuilding trust in governance requires collaboration between leaders and citizens.
Hadiza Bala Usman maintained that the administration’s reform agenda would yield tangible outcomes through measurable performance tracking.
‘Government must open its books to the people,’ she said.
Aisha Yesufu countered that genuine trust would only come when leaders treat citizens with respect.
‘Government must first learn to listen without arrogance,’ she said.
Yemi Adamolekun stressed the need for civic vigilance: ‘Citizens must stop outsourcing democracy. Accountability is a shared responsibility.’
Adeyemi added that trust grows from visible delivery, ‘If results are communicated truthfully and consistently, trust will rebuild itself.’
And MI Abaga closed on a poignant note, ‘Until Nigeria stops pretending, from the corridors of power to the streets, we’ll keep telling stories of change instead of living it.’