After 26 Years, Nigeria's Democracy Still in Slow Progress
As Nigeria commemorates 26 years of uninterrupted democracy in 2025, the moment invites both celebration and sober reflection. According to the 2024 Democracy Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Nigeria scored 4.16 out of 10, ranking 106th out of 149 countries.
This firmly places the country in the "Hybrid Regime" category, a political grey zone where democratic rituals coexist uneasily with autocratic tendencies. While the nation marks this annual celebration of hard-won civilian rule, the broader struggle to entrench genuine democratic values and responsive governance remains front and centre.
A Slow Climb: 2006 to 2025
Nigeria's journey on the Democracy Index has been a gradual, often frustrating, ascent, improving marginally from 3.52 in 2006 to 4.16 in 2024, a modest gain of just 0.64 points in nearly two decades.
Nigeria's democratic high point occurred in 2015 with a score of 4.62, reflecting a historic and peaceful transfer of power from the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). However, since that pivotal moment, democratic progress has largely stalled.
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