The day public pressure rewrote mercy, by Dakuku Peterside

Public activism works best when it targets clear problems and pushes for practical fixes. The pardon-list reversal showed this. People asked simple questions—who was consulted, what rules were used, and how victims were protected—and kept asking until the process changed. That same approach can change many other parts of public life if we focus our energy and stay consistent. 

Start with pardons and justice. Citizens can demand written guidelines for clemency, public summaries of reasons, victim-impact statements in the file, and proof that prosecutors and security agencies were consulted. Activists can track every future pardon decision: Was it based on remorse, rehabilitation, or a miscarriage of justice? Were victims heard? Was public safety considered? By checking and reporting these facts, activists make mercy fair and trusted, not random or political. 

Debt and borrowing are another big area. Activism can push the government to publish a simple debt dashboard: how much we owe, to whom, interest type, maturity dates, and which projects the loans fund. Before any new loan, activists can ask for a “borrowing with purpose” note that explains the project, costs, timelines, and expected results. After the money is spent, they can demand an independent audit and a short public report card: what was delivered, what changed, what’s still pending. When borrowing is visible and linked to real projects, waste goes down and results go up. 

Public procurement is a daily battlefield where activism can save real money. Citizens can press for an open contracting portal that posts tenders, bids, contract amounts, delivery dates, change orders, and payment milestones in real time. They can compare prices across ministries to spot padded costs and publish short “price alerts.” They can also push for strong whistleblower protections with clear penalties for retaliation and a small fund to support people who report fraud. When documents are public and retaliation is punished, corruption becomes harder to commit. 

Budget implementation is where promises meet reality. Activists can help create a citizens’ version of the budget in plain language and then track quarterly releases and results. Communities can geo-tag projects, upload photos, and write short updates: “borehole drilled,” “roof not fixed,” “contractor absent for two months.” Local radio can host weekly “budget hour” call-ins where project managers answer simple questions. Lawmakers can be pressed to hold fact-based hearings with these community updates on the table. One rule keeps efforts honest: trust photos, receipts, and site visits more than speeches. 

Policing and security can also benefit from citizen action without harming operations. Activists can call for the routine publication of case-flow data: arrests, charges filed, convictions, and case duration. They can support victim services—hotlines, legal aid, trauma counselling—so justice is not only about punishing offenders but also about helping people rebuild. They can ask for clear use-of-force rules, body-camera pilots where feasible, and public summaries when serious incidents occur. Respect for victims and support for honest officers both grow when facts are shared and rules are clear. 

Drug abuse and trafficking demand steady, practical activism. Citizens can campaign for more treatment centres, school prevention programmes, and evidence-based drug courts that treat addiction as a health issue while keeping traffickers accountable. They can track outcomes—how many people completed treatment, how many relapsed, how many got jobs—and push to fund what works. At the same time, they can support anti-drug agencies by highlighting major seizures and convictions, ensuring public praise matches the risks officers take. 

Courts and prisons are other spaces for adequate pressure. Activists can ask courts to publish timetables for cases, reduce delay through e-filing, and share monthly stats on adjournments and judgements delivered. In prisons, they can advocate for non-custodial sentences for minor offences, skills programmes, and fair opportunities for parole. When rehabilitation is real and measured, society is safer, and fewer people return to crime. 

Elections and civic information need year-round, not seasonal, attention. Activists can run simple voter education drives, help people check their registration status, and organise debates where candidates answer the same set of clear questions about debt, jobs, schools, and security. After elections, they can monitor campaign promises with a public tracker, so leaders are held to the plans they made. 

Data access holds all this together. Freedom of Information requests should be routine, not rare. Activists can share FOI templates, teach others how to file FOI requests, and publish responses. When agencies refuse, they can escalate through appeals and public pressure. Short, shareable summaries—one page, three charts, two photos—help the wider public care and act. 

Coalitions make activism durable. Victims’ groups bring stories that move people. Lawyers get the law. Journalists bring sunlight. Faith and traditional leaders bring moral voice. Youth groups bring energy and tech skills. When these groups plan together, set ground rules, and keep records, they avoid burnout and stay focused on results, not noise.There are guardrails to keep activism effective. Stay with facts. Protect due process. Avoid calls for blanket punishment or blanket mercy. Publish corrections when you make mistakes. Celebrate real progress so people see that pressure works. Train new volunteers so knowledge spreads and efforts do not collapse when leaders get tired. 

If citizens do these things again and again—on pardons, debt, contracts, budgets, policing, drugs, courts, prisons, and elections—change adds up. The pardon-list reversal showed that steady, informed, respectful pressure can reshape decisions and improve systems. The same discipline can build better habits in every part of government. Outrage may open the door, but oversight keeps it open. Our job is to turn that into a habit: ask for the document, check the site, share the finding, and repeat. That is how public activism moves from one victory to a better country.

•Dr Dakuku Peterside is the author of bestsellers, ‘Leading in a Storm’ and ‘Beneath the Surface’.

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