Seun Onigbinde, co-founder of BudgIT, said the failure of democratic governments to improve lives has made alternatives more appealing to young people.
“Democracy that does not deliver development is imperial, it cannot be defended by the people,” Onigbinde said in an interview with BusinessDay at the West African CivicTech Conference on Wednesday.
“If democratic governments are not improving lives, people, especially the youth, will start looking to other systems, including authoritarian ones, for solutions.”
Onigbinde said the current trend of military takeovers in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger is a warning sign that should not be dismissed.
“Don’t think it’s distant,” he cautioned. “If it’s happening in our region, Nigeria is not immune. The signs are there: people are angry, governance is unresponsive, and there’s a growing perception that democracy only benefits elites.”
He argued that a functional democracy must be judged by three key pillars: its ability to deliver sustainable development, its openness to robust debate, and the presence of healthy political competition.
“If all we have are lavish politicians, weak opposition, and a climate where dissent is silenced, then we are breeding conditions for collapse,” he said.
He urged young Africans to remain committed to democratic values but push for systems that reflect accountability, competition, and inclusive development.
‘But let’s not forget, Nigeria has had military regimes. We thought they’d be better, but it got worse. What we need is a democracy that works, not a retreat into authoritarianism,” he said.
Onigbinde also addressed concerns about democratic sustainability in Nigeria, especially in light of increasing defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and rising fears of a drift toward a one-party state.
He decried the culture of politicians defecting to evade accountability, using the ruling party as a shield against prosecution.
“When politicians accused of corruption defect to the ruling party and their cases mysteriously disappear, it sends a message that the system protects the powerful, not the people,” he said.
‘If the president wants project insertions to stop, they stop’
Beyond concerns about democracy’s fragility, Onigbinde turned his focus to Nigeria’s budgeting crisis, accusing the National Assembly of turning the federal budget into a tool for political patronage.
According to BudgIT’s new report, over 11,000 projects worth nearly N7 trillion were inserted into the 2025 budget, many of them without justification or alignment with national development goals.
Read also: BudgIT uncovers N6.93 trillion worth of project insertions by NASS in 2025 budget
“The budget process is being hijacked. We’re spreading funds thin on projects like tricycles, solar streetlights, and boreholes, things that the federal government has no business handling,” he said. “Meanwhile, I can’t drive 200 kilometers in Southwest Nigeria on a decent road.”
“The budget process is now a playground for self-serving political interests,” he said. “If the government is not thinking about appropriating public resources with purpose, we will raise the alarm, but we are not the government, we cannot solve the problem solely.”
He called on President Bola Tinubu to exercise his executive powers to stop the abuse of the budget process. “The president controls the MDAs and the Treasury. If a project doesn’t meet planning standards or align with national priorities, it shouldn’t be funded. No one gets impeached for refusing to waste public funds.”
Onigbinde also suggested that the president engage directly with lawmakers to set clear boundaries for constituency projects.
“Let there be a cap. If it’s N500 billion, make that the ceiling. Don’t touch existing priority projects. And any new insertions must demonstrate national relevance,not serve as political IOUs.”
While BudgIT continues to advocate for reform, Onigbinde emphasised that civil society alone cannot fix the system. He called on Nigerians to become more vocal and assertive in holding public officials accountable.
