WHEN VOICES ARE DISCOUNTED BUT WALLETS ARE VALUED: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE NIGERIAN RULING–RULED DYNAMIC

 

In contemporary Nigeria, a troubling paradox defines the relationship between the state and its citizens: public opinion is routinely sidelined, yet public money is relentlessly pursued. This reality exposes a deeper structural flaw within the nation’s governance and socio-economic framework, one where citizens are treated less as stakeholders in nation-building and more as financial instruments sustaining an unresponsive system.

At its core, this dynamic reflects a transactional model of governance. The populace is aggressively engaged through taxation, levies, tariffs, and informal charges, while their collective voice remains largely absent from meaningful policy formulation and implementation. The result is a one-sided engagement architecture: value is extracted, but value is not co-created. Over time, this imbalance corrodes trust, weakens institutional legitimacy, and fosters widespread civic apathy.

A defining feature of this environment is the monetization of influence. In practice, access, exemptions, justice outcomes, and regulatory flexibility often correlate more strongly with financial capacity than with merit, competence, or democratic mandate. Capital becomes the primary language of power, while public sentiment fades into irrelevance. This entrenches elite capture, widens inequality, and reinforces a perception that governance is negotiable for those who can afford it.

Democratic structures exist, but their substance is increasingly questioned. Elections are conducted, public consultations are announced, and civic forums are convened yet governance outcomes frequently diverge from campaign promises and citizen priorities. This has given rise to a form of performative democracy, where inclusion is procedural rather than impactful. Participation is encouraged, but influence is minimal. Unsurprisingly, citizens disengage when experience repeatedly teaches them that their input does not translate into action.

Compounding this challenge is the economic reality faced by a significant portion of the population. For many Nigerians, daily survival takes precedence over civic assertion. Economic precarity dulls the appetite for sustained advocacy and makes resistance costly. In such conditions, short-term relief often outweighs long-term civic rights, creating an environment where vulnerability, whether intentional or incidental, becomes a tool of governance control.

Over time, this has normalized an extractive state posture: revenue collection is treated as an absolute right, while service delivery and accountability are framed as discretionary. The social contract where citizens contribute resources in exchange for protection, services, and representation gradually collapses. In its place emerges a lopsided obligation system that tolerates inefficiency, excuses corruption, and emboldens institutional arrogance.

The strategic consequences for national development are profound. A system that discounts citizen voice while harvesting citizen funds stifles innovation, erodes social cohesion, and undermines long-term growth. Sustainable development depends on trust capital, effective feedback loops, and participatory ownership. When these are absent, progress stalls, not due to a lack of resources or talent, but because priorities are misaligned and engagement mechanisms are broken.

Reframing this reality requires a fundamental shift in how citizenship is perceived and operationalized. Nigerians must be repositioned from passive financiers to active co-architects of national progress. This demands institutionalized feedback mechanisms with real enforcement power, transparency that visibly links revenue collection to outcomes, and leadership accountability metrics grounded in measurable public impact. Economic empowerment must also be treated as a civic stabilizer; strengthening participation rather than suppressing it.

A ruling class that listens only to wallets while silencing voices mortgages its future. Money can fund a state, but only people heard, valued, and engaged can build a nation.

 Nigeria’s path forward depends not merely on extracting value from its citizens, but on engaging them intentionally, respectfully, and meaningfully, as partners in shaping the destiny of the nation.