Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that democracy in Africa is not just failing but dying, citing corruption and injustice as major threats.
Speaking at the 60th birthday colloquium for former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, in Abuja on Monday, Obasanjo criticised the current state of governance, arguing that democracy should be measured within Africa’s unique context and cultural heritage.
He lamented that the system in place benefits only a few while depriving the majority, stating that true democracy should serve all people rather than a select group.
According to him, representative democracy has failed to address the needs of the populace, turning governance into a tool for personal gain.
Obasanjo also questioned whether Africa is truly practising democracy or merely adopting Western liberal models that do not reflect its traditions.
He stressed the need for a system that genuinely delivers for the people, warning that unless governance is redefined to align with Africa’s realities, democracy on the continent will continue to deteriorate.
He said, “Are we talking of democracy or are we talking of Western liberal democracy? When we talk of democracy, we should remember that in Africa, before the colonial rule and the colonial power, we had a form of government, which attended to the needs of our people.
“And whatever you call it, to me, it is democracy. Because what is democracy about? The American President Abraham Lincoln defined it as government of the people, by the people, 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. But what do we have today?
ALSO READ: Failed democracy comment: Watch your utterances, Presidency cautions Peter Obi
“I believe since we’ve gone past the Greek democracy, which brought everybody to the square and everybody has a say in the decision making, which affected everybody, democracy has now become representative democracy and representative democracy has not taken care of everybody.”
“Today, we have democracy, which is government of small number of people, by small number of people over large number of people, who are deprived of what they need to have in life. That is not democracy that will endure.
“If you are talking about democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed.
“And why has it failed? Because in context and in content, it is not African. It does not have any aspect of our culture, our way of life, what we stand for, what we believe, Ubuntu, I am because we are, It is, I am because I can grab. What sort of democracy brings you and you grab everything and then illegally, corruptly and you say, go to court? When you know that even in the court, you cannot get justice.
“It’s not that democracy is failing, democracy is dying and if we are going to make democracy not to die, we have to look at democracy in the context and in the content of Africa. I hope that we will get to that stage so that democracy, which will deliver, will be the democracy that we will have in Africa.”
ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE