The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday said Nigeria’s infrastructural deficit is fundamentally a leadership problem, arguing that democracy only earns legitimacy when it delivers visible improvements in citizens’ lives.

Wike stated this while delivering a Distinguished Personality Lecture titled “The Impact of Political Leadership on Infrastructural Development in Nigeria: Between Dividends of Democracy and Good Governance” at the Faculty of Social Sciences Auditorium, main campus of the University of Abuja.

He said democracy should not be reduced to periodic elections but must translate into functional infrastructure, efficient services, accountability, and improved quality of life for citizens. According to him, roads, schools, healthcare facilities, security, power supply, and urban planning are the clearest measures of whether democratic governance is working.

“Where democracy delivers infrastructure, it earns trust. Where it fails, it breeds cynicism,” Wike said, describing infrastructure as “political education in concrete and steel.”

The minister noted that Nigeria’s persistent development challenges are not due to lack of ideas or resources but stem from poor leadership and weak commitment to good governance. He stressed that political leadership is the bridge between democratic ideals and developmental outcomes, adding that development does not occur by chance but through deliberate vision, discipline, and courage.

Wike cited the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as an example of purposeful leadership, pointing to reforms such as the removal of fuel subsidy, security interventions, and efforts to address structural imbalances through regional development initiatives. He said while some reforms have come with short-term pains, they were necessary to secure long-term national stability and growth.

He also highlighted the ongoing transformation of the Federal Capital Territory, describing Abuja as a “laboratory of democratic governance” where infrastructure renewal, urban order, and service delivery are being pursued as rights owed to citizens rather than political favours.

According to Wike, investments in road networks, urban renewal, enforcement of planning regulations, and extension of development to satellite towns demonstrate what focused and accountable leadership can achieve within a democratic framework.

The FCT minister further emphasised that good governance must rest on moral discipline, transparency, accountability, and respect for the rule of law, warning that infrastructure without ethical stewardship is unsustainable.

He called on universities to play a central role in democratic consolidation by promoting political education, critical thinking, and ethical leadership. He described universities as custodians of national conscience and urged them to empower citizens to demand accountability, resist manipulation, and defend democratic values.

Wike concluded by urging Nigerians to embrace collective responsibility, saying national transformation requires synergy between purposeful leadership and engaged citizenship.

“Democracy must deliver dignity. Infrastructure must serve the people. Leadership must be exercised as stewardship,” he said, expressing optimism that Nigeria can achieve inclusive development through ethical governance and sustained civic participation.