The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has launched a five-year strategic plan aimed at reversing democratic decline and addressing insecurity in West Africa. The plan was unveiled in Abuja by CDD-West Africa Director Dauda Garuba, who warned that nearly three decades of democratic progress in the region are under threat. While countries like Senegal and Ghana maintain stability, others including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea-Bissau have seen military-led populism rise. Garuba cited constitutional manipulations in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Togo, declining public trust in elections, and governance weakened by corruption as key challenges. He stressed that democracy and development are linked, calling for collaboration among governments, civil society, businesses and international partners.
Former CDD director Jubrin Ibrahim said economic development must benefit the majority to be meaningful. He blamed institutions like the IMF and World Bank for discouraging effective economic planning in Nigeria and West Africa. Using China, India and Brazil as examples, he argued that poverty reduction succeeded through centralised planning, not reliance on market forces alone. He also accused self-proclaimed democrats of undermining democracy. A panel featuring Nana Tanko, Hussaini Abdu and Okechukwu Ibeanu discussed systemic failures in democratic practice, citing broken social contracts and poor public services as drivers of instability. They concluded that empowered citizens, especially women and youth using technology, offer hope for a more responsive democracy.
Jubrin Ibrahim's critique of the IMF and World Bank hits a nerve, but his own institution has spent years echoing similar prescriptions without altering outcomes. If centralised planning worked in Brazil or India, it has yet to find competent hands in West Africa. The CDD's five-year plan reads like a repeat of past appeals—this time, the region may be too exhausted for another round of well-worded declarations.
