Deborah Akinyosoye
Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey 2025 report, conducted by the Africa Polling Institute (API), has revealed growing citizens’ distrust and low public confidence in government and public institutions.
The poll revealed that 83 per cent of Nigerians expressed little or no trust in the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; and 82 per cent expressed the same sentiments in the National Assembly under the leadership of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; and House of Representatives Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.
Also, 79 per cent said they had little or no trust in the judiciary, under the leadership of the erstwhile CJN, Justice Kayode Ariwoola, and the current one, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
In comparison with previous editions (2019, 2021, and 2022), the data reveal that citizens’ trust and public confidence were at their lowest ebb.
The API report, unveiled at the weekend in Abuja, further indicated a weak state of social cohesion in Nigeria, with the index revealing 46.8 per cent.
The survey further found that Nigerians now seemed to be united in shared struggle, especially as it pertained to their everyday lives, and the negative impact of the economic realities, as citizens constantly allude to economic hardship, high costs of transport, and goods and services, as well as the lack of economic prosperity under the Tinubu economy.
API, with the support of Ford Foundation, conducted a nationwide Citizens Perception Survey (CPS) to measure the state of social cohesion in Nigeria between January and February 2025.
A total of 5,465 interviews were completed via face-to-face household visits, using the Stratified Random Sampling technique, with citizens aged 15 years and above. The interviews were conducted in five major languages: English, Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba; and geographic quotas were assigned to ensure that all states and senatorial districts were proportionately represented in the sample.
Key findings from the 2025 survey revealed that 53 per cent of Nigerians “feel disappointed in Nigeria.”