Former President John Dramani Mahama has cautioned that democracy cannot endure on rhetoric alone, warning that it collapses when citizens lose faith, leaders forsake integrity, and institutions fall to capture.
Speaking at the 2025 Democracy Dialogues organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Mahama urged stronger regional solidarity within ECOWAS, stressing that the decline of democracy in any one country threatens the stability and democratic progress of the entire subregion.
“Democracy dies when citizens lose faith, when leaders abandon integrity, and institutions succumb to capture. But democracy can be renewed when citizens rise to defend it,” he said.
Quoting former Czech President Václav Havel, Mahama reminded participants that “the salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart.” He added that the survival of democracy depends on the choices of leaders, citizens, and institutions — insisting that courage must prevail over complacency.
Outlining what he called the essential pillars of sustaining democracy in Africa, Mahama stressed that governance must deliver development.
“Democracy without development, without roads, without schools, hospitals, and jobs will always be at risk,” he stated, arguing that citizens’ trust in democratic systems can only be secured when institutions deliver tangible improvements in daily life.
He further called for stronger independent institutions — including the judiciary, parliaments, and electoral bodies — as well as the protection of press freedom and civic space, which he described as indispensable to safeguarding democracy.
