For it maintains that political power must be exercised to promote the welfare of members of a community. Thus Lincoln's definition dangles on the thick envelope of morality, for it demands that political power ought to derive ultimately from the citizens and must be exercised to improve their lives. It is because of the heavy burden of morality which democracy imposes that makes it a highly demanding political system requiring the very best from politicians. For instance, genuine democracy requires from political office holders transparency, accountability and integrity. In a democratic dispensation, government officials must account for every kobo, every Naira that accrues to government and how such money was spent.
Accountability is inseparable from democracy.
Thus for democracy to exist, the men and women that exercise power in a country must be people of integrity, people with a reasoned appreciation of what political leadership is all about. Man is infallible and perfection is not for him. Yet, it is imperative that those who handle the affairs of government must have a clear conception of the difference between the needs for those things that are life furthering and primitive acquisitiveness. The former is rational and defensible, the latter is a definite symptom of mental imbalance. The Catholic theologian, M.H. Kukah is partially right when he asserted that it is institutions, not individuals and their goodwill, that make things work in a democracy.