• Obasanjo: Africa needs democratic model rooted in its values
• Jonathan advocates power-sharing, return to parliamentary system
• Diri demands true federalism, decries injustice in resource distribution
• Obi: Professors aiding illiterates to rig elections
• IPAC: Political parties weakened, arm-twisted by those in power
• Jonathan Foundation: Elections alone cannot sustain democracy
• LP urges 2027 aspirants to emulate Jonathan’s peaceful approach
Political leaders in Nigeria yesterday called for a fundamental restructuring of the democratic system inherited from colonial rule, arguing that the Western liberal model inherited from colonial rule has failed to adequately reflect African values, cultures and traditions.
They spoke at the 2026 Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Bauchi, with the theme, “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?”
While delivering a speech,former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who chaired the conference, argued that Africa had yet to develop a distinct democratic system.
He said, “Is there African democracy? Let us not deceive ourselves. There’s nothing like African democracy. We were given Western liberal democracy by our colonial master.”
Obasanjo said he had become increasingly worried about the performance of democracy in Africa and other regions of the world.
“Let me emphasise that we are referring to Western liberal democracy, because the Chinese will not agree with you that their own democracy is dying. And maybe the Swiss, who have practised some form of direct democracy, may also not agree with you that their democracy is dying.”
He argued further that liberal Western democracy, which is practised in Europe, the Americas, substantial parts of Southeast Asia, Australia and Africa, was inherited from the continent’s colonial masters.
“Our European colonial masters had nothing else to give us. What they have, we swallowed it, hook, stock and barrel. Has it delivered, or is it delivering, or will it deliver? These are the questions that we must ask ourselves. And these are the very important questions.
“It doesn’t matter whether political parties remain as they remain, but I hope they will not remain as they remain. Or the judiciary is captured, controlled or independent. Of what need is the judiciary in government? What purpose does it serve that when millions of people have voted, then five people will come to decide either in favour or against the decision of millions of people? Is that democracy? It cannot be a democracy,” he said.
He stated further that good governance should take care of the welfare and well-being of the people, guarantee equity and a sense and feeling of belonging, and take them forward in the nation’s life and activities. It should also ensure the protection of life and property, with no marginalisation, discrimination or exclusion.
“Democracy that works is meant to deliver dividends of democracy in terms of quality of life and living for all the people in a geographical entity, all the nation.
“If you try to use (democracy) what is not meant for you to serve your purpose, it’s like a dress for which you are not measured. You are trying to put it on. It’s either too small for you or too big for you. It will not fit, and it will not serve your purpose.
“In practice, what we have, we have one-party form. If you win by one vote, then you take it all. And whatever you have does not matter. See poor management of diversity. You cannot have a democracy that completely rides roughshod over diversity, because you have civil society and mass society.”
The former President lamented what he described as “abusive democracy”, saying it does not help democracy.
He said Nigeria had a gender bias, noting that since the beginning of the Fourth Republic, the country had not elected a female governor in 27 years.
“And yet, there are people we elect; most of them lack character, lack attributes and values, and cannot lead. We’re watching the way forward. I believe we need more political parties.”
Suggesting a way forward, Obasanjo advocated an African-fashioned system of government rooted in the cultures, values and traditions of the continent.
The former President, who insisted that democracy was imposed on Africa, urged leaders to design a system that would be authentically African.
“Call it what you like, just make sure it contains peace, culture, and values that are African. You can call it African democracy if you like. You can call it African democracy. In that case, it will be African with African context and African content.
“Political parties may be part of it, as we may think as we go along, but in a different way, and the military may have little or nothing to do with democracy and establishment of government.
“We have to do innovative, positive, disruptive thinking and take action out of the box. Maybe we should begin with the re-examination of people’s representatives or community representatives, rather than the hijacked representatives by political parties,” he said.
Obi: Professors aiding illiterates to rig elections
The presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, who lamented the erosion of trust in the judiciary, legislature and academia, said fraud was being aided by the elite.
“Look at what is happening today in Nigeria, where professors are now aiding illiterates to rig elections, where our lawmakers have removed forgery as an offence in electoral matters, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria defending forgery. Our religious leaders are now praying for criminal politicians for blessing.
“We have a crisis, and above all, our judges are now singing ‘on your mandate will stand’. So it is a big problem for all of us. Unexamined life is not worth living. It is time for every Nigerian to sit down and ask ourselves, where is our nation going? We need to reverse this, because the abuse we are allowing today will take its revenge on our children.”
Jonathan: Nigeria needs power-sharing model, governance reform
The Chairman of the Foundation and former President Goodluck Jonathan called for a review of Nigeria’s presidential system, advocating a governance structure that distributes executive powers among key institutions and reduces the concentration of authority in one individual.
Jonathan, who spoke on democratic governance, judicial independence and electoral reforms, argued that Nigeria should consider returning to a parliamentary system similar to the one operated during the country’s pre-independence and early independence years.
He said Nigeria could explore a model similar to Switzerland’s system, where major national decisions require broad agreement among members of the governing team. He argued that concentrating excessive powers in one person could have serious consequences for the country, stressing the need for institutional checks and shared responsibility in decision-making.
He explained that under such an arrangement, executive responsibilities would be divided between the Prime Minister, who controls government resources and administration, and a President or other head of state responsible for commanding the armed forces.
Jonathan said such a structure would create mutual checks between the holders of political and military authority, unlike the current presidential system, where, in his view, too much power is concentrated in one office.
He therefore urged Nigerians to engage in broader conversations on the structure of governance and determine the model that best suits the country’s unique circumstances.
On the judiciary, the former President stressed the importance of fairness, independence and impartiality, describing the judiciary as the final guardian of constitutional order.
He expressed concern over the increasing tendency for electoral disputes in Nigeria to be settled in courtrooms rather than at the ballot box, noting that the situation was significantly different from that in many other African countries.
According to him, Nigeria’s political system had become so accustomed to election litigation that political parties often make provisions for legal battles when preparing their election budgets.
Jonathan, however, acknowledged that not every electoral dispute should be taken back to the voters, stressing that criminal offences committed during elections must be appropriately handled by the courts.
He questioned the increasing role of the courts in determining political party candidates and, in some instances, deciding which political party should be recognised.
Jonathan warned that such interventions could further destabilise Nigeria’s political environment.
He said democracy was an ecosystem involving political parties, electoral management bodies, security agencies, the judiciary, civil society organisations, the media, international observers and voters.
Diri: Injustice persists in Nigeria’s resource distribution
The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, argued that democracy was about the rule of law and was built on three pillars: justice, equity and fairness.
He said Nigeria had long deviated from the principles of democracy, particularly in the distribution of the country’s resources.
“The pillars of justice, equity, and fairness. And I believe that we have missed the road of democracy in Nigeria long ago… Oloibiri today is a shadow of itself. And all of us come to Abuja at the end of the month to come and share oil money. I don’t think that that’s what democracy is all about.
“I don’t believe that the local government that brings so much money to Nigeria, Southern Ijaw Local Government… For 60 years, they have had no access to the headquarters of that local government. It is only recently that I have concluded a 630-metre-long bridge to the headquarters of that local government.
“And so to my mind, there is total injustice where I have just eight local government areas. Some other states have 40 local government areas and above. And the resource from my state is used to share to those local government areas. And I have only eight.
“There is injustice. And whoever becomes president, the injustice continues. The unfairness continues. Resources are expropriated. Today there is gold in Zamfara and other places. And what do we experience? Insecurity. Most of the insecurity is also traced to the discovery of gold in that far north.
“For it (democracy) to thrive in Nigeria, there must be true federalism. And until Nigeria begins to practice federalism, we will have some pseudo-democratic, pseudo-autocratic, and sometimes even a tyrannical government in this country,” he said.
IPAC: Political parties are being arm-twisted
The Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, said political parties were being weakened and subjected to undue pressure by those in power.
According to him, political parties, as institutions, were stronger in the past, while their leadership was separate from elected government officials.
“Each party was a structure on its own, independently. And when people are elected, or parties decide, political parties ensure that elected officials align with the manifestos of the party.
“Until we got to a point that the National Assembly, in tandem with some executive officers who feel it is better for them to have control of political parties, chose to weaken political parties by taking over the leadership from the political party structure to the executive arm of the government.
“And in doing that, also, the subvention given to political parties was withdrawn, and parties were left at the mercy of who can pay or drive the political party financial activities to determine what happens in the party.
“If we must get it right, I think it is something that both the previous leaders, the current leaders, the legislators, and all Nigerians should be sincere to see that we restore the strength of the institution of political parties.
“Because today, it is about who has the financial wherewithal and who is in power, who can pay, and also use the institution of the judiciary to destroy internal democracy in political parties.
“Most of the factions in the political parties today, I’m sorry to tell you, they are manufactured.”
Jonathan Foundation: Africa must look beyond elections to strengthen democracy
The Executive Director of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, Ms Ann Iyonu, said more than three decades after the wave of democratic transitions that swept across Africa in the 1990s, multiparty elections had become the accepted mechanism for political competition across much of the continent.
According to her, African states had conducted successive electoral cycles, witnessed peaceful transfers of power and strengthened constitutional frameworks governing elections.
Yet, despite these gains, she said concerns about the quality, resilience and effectiveness of democracy continued to grow.
She said citizens across the continent were increasingly questioning whether elections alone were sufficient to deliver accountable governance, protect constitutional order, uphold the rule of law and improve socio-economic outcomes.
“Recent findings by Afrobarometer reveal that while support for democracy remains relatively strong across Africa, public trust in democratic institutions has declined in many countries.
“The 2024 African Insights: Democracy at Risk – The People’s Perspective report notes that although two-thirds of Africans continue to prefer democracy over any other form of government, confidence in political institutions has weakened and support for democracy has declined over the past decade in several countries.”
She said the report underscored growing public concerns about accountability, governance performance and the integrity of democratic institutions.
She further said one of the defining challenges confronting African democracies today was the tendency to equate democracy with the successful conduct of elections, while paying insufficient attention to the institutions that sustain democratic governance between electoral cycles.
The conference was attended by former President of the Senate, Anyim Pius Anyim; Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri; Professor Karuti Kanyinga of the University of Nairobi; former Prime Minister of Burkina Faso and former President of the ECOWAS Commission, Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo; Johnson Aseidu Nketia, Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Ghana; member of the National Assembly, Republic of The Gambia, Fatoumatta Njai; former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini; Prof. Hassan Salihu of the University of Ilorin; and other stakeholders from across Nigeria.
LP urges 2027 aspirants to emulate Jonathan’s peaceful approach
The Labour Party (LP) has said Nigeria’s democracy survived the crisis that followed the 2015 general election because former President Goodluck Jonathan chose to concede defeat in the interest of the country.
The National Chairman of the party, Senator Nenadi Usman, made the submission yesterday in Bauchi State while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue.
This was contained in a statement issued by the LP National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa.
Usman urged politicians seeking elective offices in 2027 to emulate Jonathan’s non-violent approach to politics and respect democratic rules, warning against inflammatory rhetoric capable of threatening the country’s democratic stability.
She said Nigeria defied predictions of a possible breakdown of democracy in 2015 because Jonathan conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari even before the final results were fully announced.
She said, “Nigeria’s democracy survived the doomsday predictions of bookmakers in 2015 because President Jonathan conceded defeat in that year’s election, even before the final votes were tallied.
“Such a principled approach to politics had never before been witnessed on the Nigerian political horizon. Jonathan, from the inception of his presidency, consistently maintained that neither his election nor remaining in power was worth the blood of any Nigerian.
“And on the day this oft-repeated refrain was put to the test, the former President lived up to his preaching.”
The Labour Party chairman urged politicians preparing for the 2027 elections to put national interest above personal ambitions and play according to the rules.
Usman also recalled the famous saying attributed to Warren Buffett that someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
She said the democracy Nigerians practise today had survived because Jonathan made sacrifices in the past.
Usman, however, questioned whether politicians seeking the presidency in 2027 would be prepared to make similar sacrifices for the sake of national unity, given the inflammatory rhetoric emanating from some political camps.
