News
Why is Nigerian Democracy Still Old-Fashioned When Garri Seller Already Takes Payment by Phone
By Joel Popoola
Nigeria is still a very young democracy, but our democratic representatives and institutions continue to feel extremely old – and nowhere can we see this more clearly than in the recent explosion in the use of electronic payments.
An unprecedented number of Nigerians are making the change to paying for every day goods and services using electronic devices – using their mobile phones in particular.
According to figures from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System nearly 59 trillion Naira of payments were made electronically in the first quarter of 2021.
This is a rise of 88% on the first quarter of 2020!
It is almost a decade since the Central Bank of Nigeria launched a cashless policy aiming to modernise the way our nation pays for goods and services, with the aim of creating a more inclusive and efficient system, which is cheaper to use, more transparent and less open to corruption.
As late as last year observers where stating that “the glass for electronic payments in Nigeria is no longer empty, but it is still not yet full” – but that glass is now filling rapidly.
There is no reason to think that the woman selling garri down your street will be taking payments by mobile phone within the next couple of years – if she isn’t already.
As financial technology expert Sola Fanawopo has noticed however, this move to electronic payments has been led by citizens – not by government.
He has said: “At the citizens level, digitisation has increased, but at the level of the government, it is still very low, and without government, we are wasting our time”.
In terms of technology, the people of Nigerian have entered the age of the car. But our government acting like horses and carts are here to stay.
There is no doubt that Covid-19 had a huge impact on influencing the shift towards a cashless Nigeria and helping Nigerians get used to the idea of digital payments. During the Covid-19 lockdown many of us have had no choice but to switch to digital banking when bank branches were closed. And people found it faster and simpler.
The COVID-19 pandemic also saw impressive efforts from government to make palliative payments electronically – and saw the government take impressive and important steps to enhance the transparency and governance Covid-related spending, including the publication of procurement plans and notices for all emergency response activities including the names of companies awarded contracts and the owners of those companies.
Not only can we not go back to out-dated systems, our politicians need to be as transparent and as accountable as these governmental bodies.
That is the goal at the digital democracy campaign I head. Our campaign is determined to improve accountability and transparency in Nigerian politics. And this is why we created the free Rate Your Leader app.
Rate Your Leader puts registered voters in direct person-to-person contact with their local decision makers, making them justify every decision they make and every penny they spend and making them truly accountable to the people they serve.
And if their voters don’t like the answers they get, they can rate their politicians badly for everyone to see.
Decades of underwhelming, underperforming government has led Nigeria to where we are today. Many Nigerians do not trust their leaders. To too many they are self-interested and self-serving. This is not true in my experience, but like it or not, many Nigerians think this way.
Digital communication can improve that situation.
In 2021, we live our lives online. We shop, socialise, learn, work and even date there. Our politics and our political institutions need to take advantage of the opportunities of the digital age to become more accessible, transparent and responsive – and to make themselves relevant to the people they serve.
But too much of our public payment, welfare and public transport infrastructure remains entirely cash-based. Cash is of course practically untraceable – making corruption a lot easier in any system that relies upon it.
Minimising the use of cash in public life could be an important step towards restoring Nigerian’s trust in the democratic process.
And maximising the use of digital communication to build bridges between electors and elected is an equally important route towards achieving the same goal.
Joel Popoola is a Nigerian technology entrepreneur, digital democracy campaigner and is the creator of the Rate Your Leader app.
By Eric Elezuo
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has announced the kickoff of the 2026 West African Second-term School Certificate Examination, saying it would be computer-based, and decrying the decline of male participation as against their female counterparts.
The Council made the disclosure on Monday, while addressing the media at its National Office in Yaba, Lagos, on steps so far taken to ensure a hitchfree 2026 Examination.
In his address, the Head of National Office, Mr. Jacob Josiah Dangut, remarked that the 2026 computer-based WASSEC, started on April 21, 2026 with practical test papers, stressing that the nitty gritty parts of the exercise will kick off on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, therefore the reason for the sensitization of the Nigerian public on the exams.
He noted that nearly two million candidates registered to sit for the examinations.
In his words, “A total of 1,959,636 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled for the examination.
“Of this number, 958,564 candidates (48.92%) are male, while 1,001,072 candidates (51.08%) are female. This reflects an increase in female participation and a decline in male participation compared to last year.”
Dangut called on policy formulations to take the matter serious so as to reinvent the urge for education among the malefolks.
Meanwhile, Dangut informed the public that candidates are being tested in 37 subjects across 97 papers, supervised by about 29,000 senior secondary teachers nominated by state ministries of education.
Dangut said the rise in computer-based entries followed the successful debut of the format in 2025, with more schools and offshore institutions adopting it for its efficiency and alignment with global standards.
The 2026 exercise will run through to June 19th.
The simmering political battle in Rivers State appears to have taken a fresh turn, following the screening of aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly primaries, with several loyalists of Governor Siminalayi Fubara failing to make the party’s final list.
In a development already stirring political intrigue across the state, former Obio/Akpor council chairman Chijioke Ihunwo and serving lawmakers Sokari Goodboy and Victor Oko-Jumbo — all widely regarded as strong allies of Governor Fubara — were among those not cleared by the party’s screening committee for various reasons.
Political observers are interpreting their failure to scale through as more than just a routine internal party exercise. They say it is the latest signal of the deepening political fault lines in Rivers, where Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Minister Nyesom Wike, remain locked in a prolonged struggle for political supremacy.
On the other side of the divide, the list of cleared aspirants appears to favour established political figures and returning lawmakers, largely seen as loyal to the Wike camp.
Among those cleared are:
Maol Dumle
Major Jack
Enemi Alabo George
Tonye Smart Adoki
Tekenari Granville
Their emergence is being viewed as a reinforcement of the influence of the former governor within the APC structure in Rivers State.
The screening exercise, announced by Rivers APC publicity secretary Chibike Ikenga, comes at a politically sensitive time, with alignments already forming ahead of future elections and control of the Rivers State House of Assembly remaining a critical battleground.
For many political watchers, the outcome raises fresh questions: Is the APC in Rivers consolidating into a single power bloc? And does this effectively shut the door on Fubara’s loyalists seeking alternative political platforms?
Fubara, elected under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, joined the APC last year, following a political dispute with Wike.
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) has been factionalized ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The rival factions emerged after its chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma, was reportedly removed on Thursday.
While Uzodimma insists that he remains PGF chairman, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun and his Kwara State counterpart, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, are reportedly leading a separate faction.
Another bloc within the forum has reportedly queued behind the duo of Abiodun and AbdulRazaq.
The development, which comes amid growing political realignments within the ruling party, marks a significant crack in the ranks of APC governors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to reports by Arise TV, details surrounding the disagreement remain unclear, but sources within the party said tensions have been building over internal leadership control and strategic positioning ahead of the next election season.
As of the time of filing this report, none of the factions had made an official clarification regarding the alleged division.
