FORMER Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said the Western democratic system of government has failed in Africa.
Obasanjo argued that the system only recognised the views of a few members of society, who serve as representatives of the people, rather than the entire population.
He stated these on Monday, November 20, at an event held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun state capital.
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Obasanjo advocated for “Afro Democracy,” saying Western Liberal Democracy has to be modified to suit the peculiarities of the African people.
“The weakness and failure of liberal democracy as it is practised stem from its history, content, context, and practice. Once you move from all the people to representatives of the people, you start to encounter troubles and problems. For those who define it as the rule of the majority, should the minority be ignored, neglected, and excluded?
“In short, we have a system of government in which we have no hands to define and design, and we continue with it even when we know that it is not working for us. Those who brought it to us are now questioning the rightness of their invention, its deliverability, and its relevance today without reform,” he reasoned.
The former leader stated that the form of democracy currently being practised in Nigeria failed to provide for good governance or meet expectations in Africa.
“Can we look inward and outward to see what in our country, culture, tradition, practice, and living over the years that we can learn from, adopt, and adapt with practices everywhere for a changed system of government that will service our purpose better and deliver?
“We have to think outside the box and then act with our new thinking. You are invited here to examine clinically the practice of liberal democracy, identify its shortcomings for our society, and bring forth ideas and recommendations that can serve our purpose better, knowing human beings for what we are and going by our experiences and the experiences of others,” he said.
Some other Africans have also argued that democracy is unsuitable for the continent, including Ghanaian economist George Ayittey, who noted in 2010 that Western democracy allowed elected leaders to advance personal interests or those of their ethnic groups while excluding others.
Ayittey posited that Africa should develop a government system consistent with its heritage.
“In our haste to democratise -and also as a condition for Western aid- we copied and adopted the Western form of democracy and neglected to build upon our own democratic tradition,” he noted.
Similarly, former head of the Kenyan Anti-Corruption Commission, Patrick Lumumba, a professor, had suggested that Africa redefine the Western democracy it practises.
Describing Africa as a colonial project serving the West and other developed nations, he said,
“In Nigeria alone, there are over 300 ‘nations’ living in an artificial geographical state because the colonial masters chose to christen it Nigeria. One must be alive to the diversity of the African continent and the reality that before the advent of the colonisers, Africans organised themselves in different ways that worked for them.”
He added, ““Democracy was defined to us in their own way. There is nothing wrong with democracy, but Africa must define it in its own way tailored to work for its people. Democracy defined in America for Americans cannot work the same way in Nigeria. There is no one-size-fits-all system of democracy.”
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.