Public demand for accountability emerged in Afrobarometer’s 2024-25 survey of 50,961 people across 38 African countries, where 59% accepted slower decisions as the trade-off for stronger public oversight.
Published Sept. 24, the analysis also found that 77% expected elected officials to follow voters’ demands rather than their own preferences. One finding reflects how respondents weigh oversight against speed; the other concerns whether they expect representatives to heed voters. Both are stated preferences, not measures of government performance, and the survey does not test whether accountability improves policy.
A separate contribution to the debate came Oct. 26, when BusinessDay published an opinion essay by Prof. Lere Baale, CEO of Business School Netherlands International – Nigeria. Baale argues that political systems should allow effective leadership while preventing authority from resting on one person’s strength. “Africa needs strong leaders—but not leaders who are stronger than the institutions they serve,” Baale wrote.
His recommendations include consistent application of the rule of law, merit-based public appointments, checks and balances, citizen involvement and orderly succession. Baale argues that dependence on one leader can weaken continuity during political transitions. He frames institutional safeguards as a way to carry policies through changes in officeholders, rather than tying continuity to an individual.
Afrobarometer also found that 38% named health and 33% unemployment among the top problems they wanted governments to address. These figures put public expectations for accountability alongside demands for services and jobs, but they do not show that institutional changes would solve either problem.
Agenda 2063, the African Union’s long-range framework for 2013 through 2063, includes inclusive and sustainable development, regional integration and democratic governance among its priorities. Baale’s essay links accountability to durable public institutions; the survey measures public preferences, not whether his proposals would work.
