Renewed Hope and the Broadening Public Sphere By Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id
In the last two years, Nigeria has witnessed signs of a quiet but significant shift in cultivating citizens’ feedback under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Beyond the headlines of reforms and the controversies of policy, one underappreciated development has been the president’s deliberate attempt to bridge the distance between government and the governed.
Democracy is more than the ritual of casting ballots every four years. It is a living system of conversation, compromise, and accountability between the governed and those who govern. When citizens feel shut out of the decision-making process, democracy becomes mechanical and distrusted. When citizens are invited to speak and leaders listen with a willingness to adjust course, democracy grows roots.
The significance of this is historical in context, in relation to one of political theory’s foremost ideas, unarguably the foundation of modern democracy. The public sphere, in its organic conception as popularized by German philosopher, Jürgen Habermas, offer the platform for citizens’ opinions to shape government action, fostering inclusivity, rational debate, and autonomy. Habermas’ work has since influenced emerging democracies after his seminal 1962 text, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere.
Two recent major engagements of the President Tinubu’Renewed Hope project, the Citizen Forum in Kaduna and the Town Hall in Enugu, illustrate an emerging culture of dialogue that, if nurtured, could strengthen participatory democracy in Nigeria. Flowing from Enugu, the government delegation led by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alh. Mohammed Idris, extended their visit to Ebonyi State, where transformative infrastructure projects and community-focused interventions underscored the federal government’s commitment to inclusion and development in newer ways that break the norm.
Kaduna: Setting the Tone for Citizen Accountability
Kaduna has always carried symbolic weight in Nigeria’s politics. It was fitting, then, that the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation hosted a two-day citizen engagement forum in the city. The theme, “Assessing Electoral Promises: Fostering Government-Citizens’ Engagement for National Unity,” captured the essence of what Nigerians have long demanded: a government that not only makes promises but opens itself to being assessed.
What made Kaduna remarkable was not simply the roll call of attendees, which included governors, ministers, security chiefs, traditional rulers, and civil society leaders, but the posture of the presidency. In an extraordinary move, the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja was postponed so that ministers and senior officials could travel to Kaduna and sit face-to-face with citizens. That act of prioritisation sent a powerful message: listening to the people is not secondary to governance; it is the heart of governance itself.
Of course, the forum was not without tension. The Arewa Consultative Forum raised pointed concerns about alleged marginalisation of the North in federal projects and appointments. The Board of Trustees Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, identified skewness in budget figures, pointing out that of over one trillion naira allocated to roads, the North-East received less than one percent. His speech reflected the sentiments of many northerners who felt their electoral support in 2023 had not translated into visible dividends.
But here is where the engagement mattered most: those grievances were not whispered in frustration or confined to newspaper columns. They were spoken in the presence of government’s highest-ranking officials. Whether or not every complaint was resolved, the act of structured dialogue itself was remarkable. Kaduna showed something different: that a government confident in its agenda has no fear of being questioned by its own people.
Enugu: A Rare Showcasing of Projects and public scrutiny
An Enugu, town hall took place with a different emphasis. Here, government showcased completed and ongoing projects: the Port Harcourt–Aba railway now operational, the $3 billion secured for modernising the Eastern rail corridor from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, significant investments in Eastern ports and highways, and the commissioning of a world-class cancer centre at Nsukka.
Information and National Orientation Minister, Mohammed Idris, and Works Minister, David Umahi, stood before community leaders, youth groups, and civil society representatives, answering probing questions about security in the South-East, job creation, and the government’s commitment to countering violent secessionist agitations.
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Beyond the depth of conviction in their responses, the symbolism was striking. Government was not speaking through television screens or faceless press statements but engaging with Nigerians whose lived realities provided an immediate test of its claims. That willingness to expose itself to public scrutiny gave life to the idea that governance is not a monologue but a conversation.
Traditional rulers in Enugu captured the mood succinctly: “We have no alternative in Aso Rock. President Tinubu is the man.” Their endorsement reflected not just political loyalty but rising confidence that government interventions were beginning to touch lives, even amid economic reforms.
Ebonyi: Infrastructure as a Bridge to Opportunity
The momentum of engagement found concrete expression in Ebonyi State. Here, citizens were not only engaged but shown transformative projects that are already reshaping the state’s infrastructure and economy.
The Trans-Saharan Superhighway (Calabar–Ebonyi Section)
A 118-kilometre stretch costing ₦445 billion, the superhighway is being constructed with rigid concrete pavement. Linking Ebonyi to Calabar, Benue, Nasarawa, and Abuja, it creates a major commerce corridor across regions. Traders, farmers, and manufacturers see it as an artery that will boost the movement of goods and reduce costs, while enhancing security through better connectivity.
N’dibe Beach Bridge
This 700-metre, 12-span bridge was designed to end decades of flooding that cut off entire communities in Ebonyi. Once completed, it will restore access, reconnect livelihoods, and open trade routes. For locals, the bridge is not just concrete and steel but a lifeline to opportunity.
Enugu–Abakaliki Road
As a key federal artery, this project is improving inter-state connectivity, reducing travel time, and opening up the economy of Ebonyi’s capital city.
Local Infrastructure Expansion
– 26.3 km Stadium–Yagashi Road
– 12.8 km Mwipoko–Bodog Road with a three-span bridge
– 30 new urban roads within Abakaliki metropolis
Civil Servant Reward Estate
Perhaps most symbolic was the handing over of houses in Abakaliki to outstanding teachers, civil servants, and even a young basketball star. Dubbed a “model of responsive governance,” this initiative sent a strong signal that service, dedication, and talent are recognized and rewarded.
Feedback: Harvests of applause, gratitude, and Renewed Trust
Across Enugu and Ebonyi, the citizen response was loud and clear. Communities applauded ongoing projects, traditional rulers offered blessings, and ordinary residents expressed gratitude for infrastructure that was already restoring livelihoods. The atmosphere at various engagements was marked by applause and ovation as residents acknowledged the tangible benefits, better roads, restored access to communities, and new economic opportunities.
The Works Minister emphasized that the roads and bridges were “bridges to opportunity, security, and prosperity.” That sentiment resonated deeply. Traditional rulers echoed it, reaffirming their faith in the administration: “We have no alternative in Aso Rock. President Tinubu is the man.” For a region often characterised by skepticism toward federal authority, the open appreciation reflected a rare moment of renewed trust.
Why Accountability Matters
It is fair to acknowledge that some may dismiss these forums as political theatre. Yet, to do so is to miss their deeper importance. Engagement forces accountability because leaders must defend their decisions with facts, not slogans. It generates feedback from ordinary citizens, farmers, students, traders, workers, whose experiences often reveal flaws that policy papers in Abuja overlook. It helps rebuild trust in a society where cynicism about government is widespread.
Moreover, infrastructure projects like those in Ebonyi give flesh and blood to policy. The statistic of ₦445 billion for the superhighway is abstract until a farmer explains that he can now move yams to the market in half the time. The announcement of a beach bridge is just rhetoric until a mother recounts how flooding once trapped her children at home for weeks. Accountability combined with delivery is what deepens democracy.
Nigeria’s democracy matures when leaders walk into rooms where they may be criticized, questioned, even heckled, and still choose to listen. That courage, rare in Nigerian politics, is what the Kaduna, Enugu, and Ebonyi forums have begun to demonstrate. President Tinubu has taken a step many before him avoided: making governance a two-way street. Engagement is the antidote to alienation. If sustained, this culture could outlast his administration, embedding a tradition of participatory governance into Nigeria’s democratic life.
In a country fractured by suspicion, hardship, and distrust, dialogue is not a luxury. It is survival. And perhaps, just perhaps, these citizen forums are planting the seeds of a Nigeria where government is not above the people but among them.
