A road in Nigeria’s Southeast tells a quiet but familiar story.
It was commissioned not once, but three different times. Each event came with speeches, cameras, and promises of transformation. Yet only a few rainy seasons later, the road faded away, taken over by erosion and potholes that made it unusable.
The structures were built. Funds were released. But something deeper was missing.
Across Nigeria, thousands of abandoned or quickly failing projects point to the same problem, development focused on construction instead of people, and progress measured in structures rather than impact.
For Ishaya Inuwa Durkwa, Executive Director of the International Organization for Peace Building and Social Justice and an aspirant for governor of Adamawa State, this failure isn’t just technical. It’s foundational.
“Development without values is just construction,” Durkwa says. “We are not here just to build projects. We must build a community that prospers together.”
Why Projects Don’t Last
Many projects look impressive on the surface. They create momentary excitement, temporary jobs, and eye-catching images during commissioning. But their benefits rarely reach ordinary people because they were never designed with sustainability, transparency, or community needs at the center.
A leader guided by values asks a different set of questions, not “How quickly can we build?” but “Who will this truly serve, and for how long?”
It’s the difference between a milestone and meaningful change.
Nigeria’s Challenge Isn’t Lack of Education
Durkwa makes a hard but necessary point:
“Nigeria does not suffer from a shortage of educated people. We suffer from a shortage of value-based leadership.”
Many individuals involved in public failures are highly educated. The issue isn’t knowledge; it’s purpose.
Education without integrity becomes a tool for exploitation. Expertise without empathy leads to policies that look good on paper but fail in real life.
Good Ideas Fail Without Good Character
Nigeria has never lacked well-written plans. From agriculture to healthcare, reforms often begin with strong intentions. Yet execution collapses when personal gain overrides national interest.
Durkwa is clear:
“Policies don’t fail because the ideas are weak, but because the character behind them is compromised.”
When leaders do not honor commitments, citizens lose trust, and once trust breaks, institutions struggle to function.
The Conversation Nigeria Needs
Durkwa believes Nigeria must begin an intentional, honest national shift, one that focuses on rebuilding the values that shape leadership and citizenship.
This includes:
- Schools teaching ethics alongside academics
- Faith institutions reinforcing justice and responsibility
- Communities modeling accountability
- Media highlighting integrity, not just scandal
- Citizens demanding character, not just credentials
Campaign seasons should not be about slogans alone but about evaluating who is prepared to serve rather than be served.
People First, Projects Second
“Building people is more important than building projects,” Durkwa emphasizes, “because people with the right values will build the right nation.”
This doesn’t mean stopping development. It means doing it differently, ensuring every project reflects transparency, durability, fairness, and genuine public benefit.
When a school is built with proper materials, fair labor practices, and community involvement, it becomes more than a building. It becomes proof that progress can be trusted.
Prosperity That Reaches Everyone
Durkwa’s vision is simple but transformative: a society where progress does not leave people behind.
Shared prosperity means:
- Equal access to opportunity
- Policies designed to lift communities, not individuals
- Healthcare based on need, not wealth
- Education that empowers every child
Leadership rooted in compassion and accountability creates systems that outlast any single administration.
A Choice for the Future
Durkwa’s message is not theoretical; it comes from years of working directly with communities and governance systems. His call is straightforward:
Nigeria has tried development without values long enough. The results are clear.
The path forward requires leaders and citizens committed to integrity, empathy, and the common good, so that progress is measured not by how many structures go up, but by how many lives improve.
The question now is not whether Nigeria can change.
It’s whether we are ready to choose the kind of future we want to build, one where development is more than construction, and prosperity truly belongs to everyone.
Ishaya Inuwa Durkwa serves as Executive Director of the International Organization for Peace Building and Social Justice and is a gubernatorial aspirant for Adamawa State. His decades of work in community development and social transformation shape his vision for value-driven leadership in Nigeria.
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