Be Active in Nigerian Politics, Forum Urges Professionals

Professionals across Nigeria’s major sectors have been urged to actively participate in politics and governance processes to help strengthen democracy, improve public policies and drive national development.

The call was made on Tuesday in Abuja during a forum themed, “Nigerian Professionals and Sustainable Democracy: Issues and Perspectives,” organised by the Association of Public Policy Analysis.

Speakers at the event stressed that professionals could no longer afford to remain passive observers while political actors continued to shape policies affecting all sectors of the economy and national life.

In his keynote address, the National President of the Association of Public Policy Analysis, Chief Princewill Okorie, said professionals and their associations had failed to fully utilise their influence in shaping democratic governance since Nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999.

According to him, professional bodies should serve as pressure groups capable of influencing governance and public policy through expertise and collective engagement.

“Professional associations can be described as interest groups or organisations of people who come together because they share the same professional goals or concerns and try to influence decisions, especially in government or society,” he said.

Okorie lamented that many professionals only complained about poor governance after elections instead of participating actively in the political process.

“The failure of the major professionals to collectively participate actively in the democratic process in recent years led to professionals in Nigeria complaining about bad governance and how it is affecting their professions,” he stated.

He also criticised electoral malpractice allegedly involving some academics serving as election officials.

“The rigging of elections, the manipulation of the electoral process, doesn’t really reflect that the academia are supporting democracy,” he said.

Okorie further accused some professional groups of prioritising personal interests over national development.

“Some are put together as things that are arranged to collect money and harass government for settlement. They are not really put together for the interest of the Nigerian people,” he added.

National Chairman Emeritus of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ralphs Okey Nwosu, also called on professionals to become more involved in governance and policy formulation.
According to him, Nigeria’s development challenges would persist if professionals failed to contribute their expertise to governance.

“When engineers are sitting with politicians, especially when elections come in, when accountants are around, when builders are conferencing together with politicians, then you know society is ready for change,” he said.

Nwosu said political parties and professional groups must work together ahead of the 2027 general elections to develop practical governance solutions.
“We need content and we need everybody on the table,” he stated.

Representing the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engineer Ali Rabiu, a member of the society said engineers should be integrated into governance and infrastructure planning to address Nigeria’s developmental challenges.

“These challenges are not merely technical, but fundamentally governance-related, arising from inadequate integration of engineering expertise in decision-making processes,” he said.

The NSE representative maintained that engineers remained central to infrastructure development, industrialisation and economic growth.

Speaking on behalf of Professor Pat Utomi, Prof. Chief Ephraim Kezie Nwoha said professionals must stop avoiding politics and begin to actively shape governance outcomes.

“Democracy is not sustained by elections alone. It is sustained by the quality of people who show up to shape it,” he said.
Nwoha argued that professionals had a responsibility to participate in elections, political parties and governance reforms.
“The place of professionals — doctors, engineers, lawyers, bankers — is no longer optional. It is central to building a sustainable democracy in Nigeria,” he stated.

He further criticised the influence of money politics and political godfathers in Nigeria’s electoral system.
“Party primaries are often controlled by godfathers who prioritise loyalty over competence,” he said.

According to him, professionals must move “from the back room to the front line” by contesting elections and reforming political parties from within.

ADC chieftain, Captain-Briggs Teke, blamed Nigeria’s governance problems on the collapse of ideology-driven politics and the reluctance of principled professionals to engage politically.
“Parties are supposed to be driven by ideology. But today, parties are more driven by interests,” he said.

Teke noted that many competent professionals stayed away from politics, leaving governance largely in the hands of individuals without clear developmental visions.

“A lot of professionals who would have made reasonable impact, being guided by principles, did not engage in politics. So we are where we are,” he added.

Chairman of the event, Engineer Charles Okoro, said professionals had an obligation to influence policymaking and governance in Nigeria.

“We as professionals have owed this country an obligation to play our own role in the politics to sustain this democracy,” he said.

Okoro lamented that despite Nigeria’s vast human capital, foreigners still dominated major engineering and infrastructure projects in the country.
“Major construction in this country is handled by foreigners. We are yet to have a formidable Nigerian company that can compete,” he stated.

He urged professionals across different sectors to unite and collectively push for reforms capable of strengthening democratic governance and national development.

“We need to organise ourselves so that our voices can be heard and our influence can be felt,” he said.
The forum ended with renewed calls for professionals, academics and technocrats to actively participate in politics, governance reforms and civic engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections.