FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that democracy in Africa is not just failing but on the verge of collapse.
He blamed its failure on the adoption of liberal democracy which he said did not align with African values.
Obasanjo, who spoke at the 60th birthday celebration of former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, in Abuja, on Monday, March 24, argued that before colonial rule, Africa had its governance systems that effectively catered to the needs of the people.
He described these systems as a form of democracy that was more inclusive and community-driven.
“When we talk of democracy, we should remember that in Africa before the colonial rule and the colonial power, we had a forum of government which attended to the needs of our people and whatever you called it, to me it’s democracy. Because of what democracy is about, (former) American President Abraham Lincoln defined it as the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
“Democracy is meant to be a system of government that delivers and delivers to all the people, not just a section of the people, not just a few,” Obasanjo said.
The former president criticised modern democracy in Africa. He said the system had become an exclusive system where a small group of elites governed at the expense of the majority.
He lamented that the system was riddled with corruption, injustice, and a lack of accountability, leaving ordinary citizens powerless.
“Democracy has now become representative democracy. And representative democracy has not taken care of everybody. Today we have democracy which is a government of small numbers of people by small numbers of people over large numbers of people who are deprived of what they need to have in life,” he added.
He further condemned the judiciary’s role in sustaining this system, arguing that corruption had made it nearly impossible for ordinary citizens to get justice.
“What sort of democracy brings you and you grab everything, and then illegally, and you say ‘go to court’ when you know that even in court, you can’t get justice.”
Obasanjo warned that if Africa continued to operate under this system, democracy on the continent would not survive.
He called for a re-evaluation of governance structures and leaders to create a system that reflects Africa’s unique cultural and social realities.
His remarks were at the heel of several African countries grappling with governance crises, military takeovers, and growing controversies on democratic presidents’ excessive interference in sub-regional politics.
In the past few years, military putsches abruptly terminated democracy in three African countries namely Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. Their leaders consequently had strained relationships with their colonial master – France, forcing them to terminate diplomatic relations with the European nation.
The nations also pulled out of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and formed a new bloc.
Most recently, President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, March 18, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended the state Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all members of the state House of Assembly for six months.
He said the protracted political crisis between Fubara and his predecessor – the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike – was responsible for the decision.
He particularly criticised Fubara for failing to take action after an oil facility was blown up in the state a day before the declaration.
The president appointed Ibok Ekwe Ibas, a retired rear admiral, as the state administrator.
Many Nigerians, especially leading opposition figures condemned the decision, as they said it subverted the true principles of federalism.
They posited that the president abused the Constitution by suspending elected officials.
Meanwhile, Obasanjo’s government also had a tense relationship with state governors who allegedly refused to align with his political agenda.
In 2006, he suspended Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye and allegedly orchestrated the removal of Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja through questionable legislative manoeuvres.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M