By Tunde Olusunle
The principal mandate of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, NILDS, is to build capacity for Nigeria’s lawmakers at all levels and to deepen the foundations of democratic governance.
For decades, the parliament bore the brunt of military rule. While the executive and judiciary were retained to run the machinery of state, the legislature was repeatedly dissolved. Academies for the military, civil service, and judiciary existed. But institutions to nurture legislative expertise did not. The result was a huge human capital gap in lawmaking.
It was to fill that gap that NILDS was established in 2003. For the past seven years, Professor Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman, a scholar of Political Science and International Relations, has led the institute’s transformation.
Ordinarily, the lecture theatres of NILDS host members of the National and State Assemblies, local government councilors, and foreign trainees in legislative drafting and bill analysis. Partner agencies from the public and private sectors also draw from its research and training resources. But on Thursday, September 3, 2026, the Director-General welcomed a different kind of class.
My Children At NILDS
A dozen children, eight girls and four boys aged 10 to 16, filed into the DG’s conference room. They were members of _”My Voice Matters Young Cast”_, drawn from schools across the Federal Capital Territory. They came seeking guidance on governance, ethics, and leadership. Prof. Sulaiman called them “my children.”
He had spent the day in high-level meetings across Abuja. But he made time. And when he walked in, he had deliberately “dressed down” — simple shirt, trousers, and casual slippers. No agbada, no entourage. He wanted the children to feel at ease, not intimidated by the trappings of office. He began with an apology. A prior meeting with senior citizens had run late. “Sometimes,” he told them, “your schedule will be overtaken by circumstances beyond you. Patience and perseverance matter.” It was lesson one, before the lesson began.
Teaching Democracy From Experience
Leader of the delegation, Mrs. Mary Makanjuola, Proprietor of Ryan and Jasmine Consult, thanked the DG for his humility. She noted that for children born after 1999, democracy is all they have known. “Gen Z and Generation Alpha Nigerians need to hear directly from a father, grandfather, and public officer like Prof. Sulaiman,” she said.
Taking them through Nigeria’s political history, Prof. Sulaiman explained coups, counter-coups, and the truncation of the First, Second, and Third Republics in 1966, 1983, and 1993. He contrasted that with the electoral transitions witnessed since May 1999. He traced the logic of NILDS: in 2003, only 29 of 109 Senators returned to the National Assembly. Today, turnover still averages 74.5% per assembly. Without continuity, institutional memory suffers. NILDS was created to bridge that gap and to professionalize lawmaking.
“Government exists to maintain order, manage competing interests, and allocate resources fairly,” he said. “The legislature, executive, and judiciary are the three arms. The parliament is the closest to the people.”
Lessons in Leadership and Values
Drawing from his own upbringing, Prof. Sulaiman urged the children to honour their parents, be prayerful, stay focused, and choose their friends wisely. He spoke on discipline, integrity, purpose, and mentorship as the bedrock of leadership.
“Your generation has technology on its side,” he said. “But life will still test you with delays and disappointments. Life is not a bed of roses. Learn to weather the storms.”
He made a special appeal to the girls: get involved. With women still underrepresented in elective offices, Nigeria *cannot* afford to leave half its talent on the bench.
An Intentional Investment in the Future
The encounter underscores a critical point: leadership cannot be left to chance. As Nigeria grapples with questions of governance and succession, deliberate grooming like this is no longer optional.
By opening NILDS to the “My Voice Matters Young Cast,” Prof. Sulaiman is doing more than hosting children. He is planting seeds for the next generation of lawmakers, policymakers, and ethical public servants. The nation’s future, many agree, hinges on leadership. Examples like this show what intentional investment in that future can look like.
Tunde Olusunle, PhD, is a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, FANA