Development Diaries

Nigeria's Fed Min of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development says the country is taking greater leadership of humanitarian response as the United Nations OCHA Nigeria transitions to a technical support role.

Our latest analysis examines what this transition means and asks the accountability questions that should accompany it.

Nigeria Is Taking the Lead on Humanitarian Response. Here Is What Government Should Explain Millions of vulnerable Nigerians may soon discover that humanitarian aid can disappear long before the crisis that created it ends.

What changes a politician's fiercest critic into their loudest defender almost overnight?

Sometimes, the answer has less to do with new evidence than a new appointment.

This report examines what that pattern means for political communication, public trust, and Nigeria's democracy ahead of 2027:

From 'Unfit' to 'Talent Discoverer' in One Appointment: The Okonkwo-Bwala Formula for Political Communication Political appointments are increasingly succeeding where evidence never did, transforming yesterday's fiercest critics into today's loudest defenders.

Ghost agencies appearing in Nigeria's national budget should worry every taxpayer because budgets are supposed to tell citizens where public money will go.

In this report, we unpack a contradiction that goes far beyond one individual and exposes one of the biggest public accountability questions facing the country this year.

Read the full analysis:

'Non-Existent' Agency Got N1.3 Billion in Nigeria's 2026 Budget. Somebody Clearly Existed Long Enough to Approve It A "non-existent" presidential agency got N1.3 billion in Nigeria's 2026 budget. The Presidency says it's a fraud; the man who ran it says he paid N400 million in bribes for his appointment. Development Diaries examines the unanswered budget question that neither the fraud case nor the disclaimers ha...

Oyo's abducted students and teachers have now spent more than six weeks in captivity, but another crisis has quietly emerged alongside the kidnapping.

Read why the government's communication strategy matters almost as much as the rescue operation, and how official silence is allowing rumours to shape the stories anxious families hear first.

Oyo's Abducted Students Have Been Missing for Six Weeks. Here Is Why Rumours Are Filling Government's Information Gap Forty-six students and teachers abducted in Oyo State on May 15 remain missing six weeks later. False rescue claims are spreading on social media. Development Diaries documents the security failure, the communications vacuum enabling misinformation, and what government must do to resolve both.

In less than a week, akara has travelled farther in Nigeria's political conversation than many government policies.

Read why that should concern Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and indeed every other public servant in the country:

Why Nigeria's Akara Debate Was Never About Akara By now, poor akara deserves an official apology from many Nigerians, as in less than a week, the humble bean cake has travelled farther in Nigeria's political conversation than many government policies.

In 2019, Nigeria promised to keep schools safe.

Seven years later, teachers in Oyo State are staying home.

Read our latest analysis here:

Why Are Teachers Staying Home in Oyo After Kidnapping and What It Says About Nigeria’s Safe Schools Promise Nigeria ratified the Safe Schools Declaration in 2019. Seven years later, teachers are being abducted and killed in Oyo State, the NUT is threatening a national school shutdown, and no government institution has published a compliance report. Development Diaries investigates the accountability gap.

Nigeria says politics is open to everyone. Nearly 29 million citizens might disagree.

Read why here: https://developmentdiaries.com/nigeria-has-29-million-citizens-with-disabilities-why-are-so-few-in-politics/

TAF Africa
National Commission for Persons with Disabilities- NCPWD, Nigeria
INEC Nigeria

Nigeria Has 29 Million Citizens with Disabilities. Why Are So Few in Politics? Nearly 29 million Nigerians live with disabilities, but their presence in Nigeria's political leadership is so rare.

Nigeria wants another $1.25 billion World Bank Group loan, even as the country's Federal Ministry of Finance prepares to spend about $11.6 billion servicing existing debt this year.

This report follows the money, the missing transparency, and the questions citizens should be asking:

Nigeria Wants Another $1.25 Billion Loan While Spending $11.6 Billion Servicing Old Debt. What Are Citizens Missing? Nigeria's debt conversation is beginning to resemble a family argument where everyone is shouting at the neighbour who approved the loan while ignoring the relative who collected the money, spent it, and cannot explain where it went.

Nigeria's opposition parties have produced presidential candidates ahead of 2027, but candidate selection is only the beginning.

This report examines the questions every candidate must answer before asking Nigerians for trust: https://developmentdiaries.com/nigerias-opposition-parties-have-held-presidential-primaries-here-are-questions-every-candidate-must-answer-before-earning-citizens-support/

Nigeria's Opposition Parties Have Held Presidential Primaries. Here Are Questions Every Candidate Must Answer Before Earning Citizens' Support Nigerians searching for a credible alternative to the ruling party ahead of the 2027 elections are increasingly confronted by an opposition landscape struggling to convince citizens that it is prepared to govern itself, let alone govern the country.

Nigeria quietly cancelled $717.7 million in World Bank electricity reform funding after the programme failed to deliver its promised results.

But after almost $800 million had already been disbursed, millions of Nigerians still depend on generators and prayers to survive daily darkness.

This report investigates where the reform collapsed, why electricity supply barely improved for ordinary households, and the accountability questions citizens should now be asking public institutions, including Federal Ministry of Power, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the National Assembly.

Nigeria’s Power Sector Swallowed $796 Million But Darkness Never Left Most Homes. Who Is Accountable? Nigeria cancelled $717.7 million in undisbursed World Bank electricity reform funding in May 2026, after the programme failed to achieve its objectives. Development Diaries investigates what happened to the $796 million already disbursed, why the reform collapsed, and what accountability citizens mu...