Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi; Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Matthew Kuka; and former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal have said democracy in the country is not functioning as it should, stressing the need for urgent reforms to address the country’s challenges.
The leaders spoke, yesterday, at the 60th birthday celebration of former governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, in Abuja.
Also at the event were former Secretary-General of Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and the immediate past governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari.
Obasanjo stated that democracy, as practised in Nigeria and much of Africa, failed to meet the people’s needs.
According to him, the Western model of democracy does not align with African values and needs, adding: “Democracy in Africa has failed because it is not African.”
Obasanjo called for a redefinition of democracy to better reflect the continent’s cultural realities and to serve the people more effectively.
He said: “Is democracy failing in Africa? Are we talking of democracy or Western liberal democracy? We should remember that, in Africa, we had a form of government that attended to the needs of the people. That is democracy. Abraham Lincoln described it as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
“But what do we have today? The Greek democracy affects everyone. Democracy has now become representative democracy and it hasn’t taken care of everyone.”
Obi, on his part, was equally critical of how democracy is practised in the country, declaring that it was not working.”
The former governor of Anambra State, while recalling his experience, when he fought for his mandate after being impeached, maintained that he did not resort to bribery.
“Democracy is not working in Nigeria. Everything has been knocked down. I didn’t pay a dime to retrieve my mandate. When I was impeached, Obasanjo called to ask about my welfare. Nigeria should imbibe the Indonesian democracy, (which is) proportional representation,” Obi said.
Delivering the keynote entitled ‘Is Democracy Failing in Africa?’ Bishop Kukah faulted the weaponisation of religion in Nigeria, which he described as one of the major hindrances to the country’s democratic development.
Kukah also likened the relationship between Obasanjo and Atiku to a Catholic marriage, where the parties quarrel frequently but never break up.
He, however, called for a more honest and inclusive approach to addressing the country’s challenges.
The cleric said: “Democracy is working for different people as you can see in their outlook. There is the belief that citizens are free to rebel. There has been debate about whether the Nigerian Constitution is perfect or not. No Constitution will be better than the Bible and Qur’an; yet, we still live in sin. The weaponisation of religion is a big problem.
“Democracy is a work in progress. Democracy and its principles are endless contests. There are certain things God has given us, which they cannot control. We as Africans inherited a system that is not ours, but we cannot say it is not relevant to us. There are differences between democracy in Asia and that of Africa. What do we make of the tenets of democracy in Africa?”
He pitied judges who were arm-twisted to betray justice.
The cleric added: “I feel sorry for judges. At the last election, people call, even small me, to complain, ‘Talk to this, talk to that, pressure on judges to deliver justice.’ I agree that there’s an urgent need to clean up the mess.
“Democracy is about everything; it is about justice. How do we know if democracy is working in Nigeria? Do we measure democracy based on the things we wish ourselves?”
Also, Tambuwal concurred that democracy in Nigeria “is still a work in progress”, stressing that its success depends on the commitment of political leaders to abide by the rules.
On the emergency rule declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, the former Speaker of the green chamber recalled the cooperation at the National Assembly during a state of emergency under Obasanjo’s administration, saying that democracy could work when political actors act responsibly.
“Under Obasanjo, a state of emergency was declared. The National Assembly worked together to ensure that a two-third majority passed the emergency. Each member had to vote. In this same National Assembly, we have the same Constitution. What happened in the last one? We need to chase out the bad operators in democracy,” he stated.
Atiku said Ihedioha, who was Tambuwa’s deputy as speaker, remained loyal to him, even when they found themselves on different political platforms.
“Emeka and I have kept this relationship. Till today, I have found him extremely loyal, dedicated and focused. Though sometimes we found ourselves on different political divides, we kept our relationship and I think that testifies to the kind of person Emeka is,” he said.
