Obasanjo stated that democracy had failed in Africa, calling for an original government approach

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that democracy has failed in Africa, on the grounds that the system has not provided significant progress to the people of the continent.

He made this statement on Monday in Abuja during the 60th anniversary of the former Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives, Emeka Imedoha.

Obasanjo associated the failure of democracy in Africa with his foreign origins, insisting that he did not have the cultural and traditional foundation needed for effective governments on the continent.

“If you talk about democracy that fails in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed. And why does it fail? Because in context and content, it is not Africa. That does not reflect our culture, our way of life, what we fight for, or what we believe,” he said.

The former president questioned whether Africa practiced true democracy or only adopted Western Liberal Democracy. He showed that before the colonial government, African society had a government structure that effectively met the needs of their people.

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“Whatever you call me, for me, it is democracy,” he said, referring to the definition of democracy of former US President Abraham Lincoln as “the people’s government, by the people, for the people.”

According to Obasanjo, democracy must be a system that benefits all citizens rather than a little elite. He noted that while ancient Greek democracy allows direct participation in decision making, modern representative democracy often fails to serve the interests of the majority.

“Democracy is intended to be a government system that conveys to everyone, not only part of the people, not only a little. But what we have now? Representative democracy does not take care of everyone,” he complained.

Obasanjo criticized the current political structure in Africa, accusing him allowing leaders to exploit power for personal gain while rejecting citizens’ concerns.

“Today’s system allows leaders to take everything illegally and corruptly and then tell people to ‘go to court,'” he said, highlighting the culture of impunity that developed.

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