Alani Bankole: Democracy is not the best option for Nigeria

Democracy is not the greatest form of administration for Nigeria, according to Chief Alani Bankole, a former acting national chairman of the disbanded All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

However, Bankole, the father of Hon. Dimeji Bankole, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, stated that Nigeria must run on a different kind of administration than military control.

He contends that such a system of administration must take into account the unique characteristics of Nigerians and be ideally adapted to address the problems facing the country.

Bankole spoke on Friday, immediately after being formally introduced as the Apena of Egbaland at the Ake Palace in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo.

Bankole stated that in order for Nigeria to advance, it must create powerful institutions that will support effective government.

“I do not agree that democracy is the best for Nigeria,” he declared. Although there is no democracy in Saudi Arabia, the population is content and achieving progress, and their riches are allocated fairly.

However, military rule is not a substitute for democracy. Considering how the world is developing, I believe people should begin to consider the ideal form of administration that is not autocracy.

The octogenarian insisted that the one benefit of democracy is that political rulers can never hold office indefinitely.

Adding that “the two are quite different from the way we practise it in Africa because there are institutions of checks and balances which are always in the constitutions of those countries,” he pointed out that democracy is practised differently in America and the United Kingdom than it is in Africa.

According to him, Nigeria is still too underdeveloped to be able to create such institutions of checks and balances.

The Alake of Egbaland argued that Nigeria’s monarchs could not afford to be spectators in the country’s affairs and reaffirmed his appeal for constitutional roles for traditional heads of state.

“The entire nation will be in a state of turmoil if traditional leadership start to watch. We are essential to keeping the peace in the nation, and we must be seen to be doing so, according to Alake.