Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared that democracy, as it is practiced in Africa, has failed to deliver the expected benefits to the continent. Speaking on Monday in Abuja during the 60th birthday colloquium of former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, Obasanjo argued that the version of democracy embraced by African nations is ill-suited to the continent’s cultural and historical context.
“If you are talking about democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed,” Obasanjo said. He attributed the failure to the fact that African democracy, as it is practiced today, is based on a Western model that does not reflect the continent’s traditions, cultures, or values.
He questioned whether the version of democracy practiced in Africa is truly representative of the people, or whether it is merely a reflection of Western liberal ideals. “Are we talking about democracy or are we talking about Western liberal democracy?” he asked the audience. “Before colonial rule, Africa had its own forms of governance that addressed the needs of our people,” he added, emphasizing that these indigenous systems could be seen as forms of democracy.
Obasanjo cited the famous definition of democracy by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln—“a government of the people, by the people, for the people”—to highlight the ideal of democracy. However, he lamented that modern representative democracy in Africa has failed to deliver equitable benefits to all citizens. “Democracy is meant to be a system of government that delivers to all the people, not just a section of the people, not just a few,” he explained. “Representative democracy has not taken care of everybody.”
The former president also criticized the current political system in many African nations, arguing that it has allowed leaders to “grab everything illegally and corruptly” while leaving citizens with little recourse but to “go to court” to seek justice.
In his remarks, Obasanjo reflected on the governance systems that existed in Africa before colonialism, suggesting that these systems better served the people’s needs. He urged a rethink of the continent’s approach to governance, calling for an African model of democracy that reflects the continent’s history and culture.
