Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for a rethink of democracy in Africa, arguing that the Western liberal democratic system adopted by many African countries does not adequately reflect the continent’s realities.
FILE: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised the model of democracy practised across much of Africa, saying it lacks African context and content and has created a winner-takes-all approach to politics.
Obasanjo said the Western liberal democracy inherited by many African countries was not designed around the continent’s realities, likening its adoption to wearing a dress that was not made to fit.
He argued that the model has created a political culture in which election winners often disregard those who lose.
The former president spoke on Tuesday at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital.
“The Western liberal democracy that we inherited pulls from monarchy, hence we can have government and loyal opposition, loyal to the monarchy. But when you talk about loyal opposition in an African setting and I have gone into many of African languages, opposition means enemy, that is the word. Then do you have a loyal enemy? So, what do you do with your enemy? You crush him and destroy him and that is what we have.
“The democracy we practice has no African context, no African content and if you try to use what is not meant for you to serve your purpose, it is like a dress for which you are not measured, you try to put it on, it is either too small for you or too big for you. It will not fit and it will not serve your purpose. In practice, we have winner takes all, first path post. If you beat me by one vote then you take it all and whatever I have does not matter,” Obasanjo said.
The former Nigerian leader also lamented what he described as poor management of diversity, warning against a democracy that completely disregards the importance of diversity.
He said diversity remained central to African and other societies and must be deliberately protected and nurtured.
“Nigeria is what it is because of our diversity. Remove diversity out of Nigeria you will probably have Republic of Oduduwa, that will not be Nigeria or Republic of Danfodio, that will not be Nigeria. That diversity must be nourished and be taken care of,” he said.
Obasanjo also decried the growing influence of money and other forms of inducement in politics, saying they had been increasing “by leaps and bounds.”
While acknowledging that widespread poverty and illiteracy do not help democracy, the former president also criticised gender imbalance in Nigerian politics since the beginning of the Fourth Republic.
“In Nigeria, you call this one fourth republic, we have not elected a female governor in more than 24 years. And yet the people we are electing, most of them lack character, the lack attributes and values that can endure and can uplift.”
On the way forward, Obasanjo said Nigeria needed more than simply borrowing political parties and judicial structures, stressing that democracy was a continuous process rather than a destination.
He said the countries from which African nations adopted Western liberal democracy were themselves reconsidering aspects of the system, questioning why Africans should not also reassess the model.
“Call it what you like, just make sure it has history, culture and values that are African. You can call it democracy if you like, you can call it African democracy. In that case it will be African with African context and African content,” he said.
The dialogue, chaired by Obasanjo, was attended by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and former Vice President Namadi Sambo.
Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed hosted the event, which also brought together constitutional experts and civil society voices from across the continent.
