The current state of Nigerian democracy has been attributed by the Presidency to the former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
President Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this observation to reporters on Monday, pointing out that Obasanjo had a direct impact on the type of democracy that the country currently practises.
He claimed that throughout his two terms in office—from 1976 to 1979 as a military head of state and from 1999 to 2007 as a civilian president—Obasanjo’s influence was felt.
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“Obasanjo should be aware that he introduced this to Nigeria. In 1979, it was he who forced us to embrace it. During his eight years as our governor, he must have considered it costly and inappropriate, as he requested an additional four-year extension.
In response to Obasanjo’s post-presidential position, Onanuga remarked, “So, the way he is sounding, it is like the man is getting wiser after leaving office.”
The statements from the Presidency come after the former President’s address at the high-level discussion on reconsidering Western liberal democracy in Africa, which took place at the Green Resort Legacy of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta.
Obasanjo has criticised Western democracy, claiming that it had neither aided in the advancement of Africa or provided good governance.
Citing the Western model’s disdain for Africa’s history and complexity, he argued that democracy should be reexamined and modified to better fit African nations.
Obasanjo proposed a “Afro democracy” tailored to the demands of the African continent.
The former president listed a number of reasons why the liberal democracy was flawed, including the fact that it was not indigenous and ignored the subtleties of multiculturalism and African history.
A “government of a few people over all the people or population and these few people are representatives of only some of the people and not fully representatives of all the people” is how Obasanjo defined Western liberal democracy, highlighting its shortcomings.
Whether intentionally or inadvertently, he maintained that the majority of people are constantly left out.
