ABUJA—Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and Aminu Tambuwal, the former governor of Sokoto State, yesterday expressed concerns that democracy was not working in Nigeria.
The leaders, who spoke at the 60th birthday celebration of former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Emeka Ihedioha, at the Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Intercontinental Hotel, yesterday, stressed the need for urgent reforms to address the country’s challenges.
Speaking at the event also attended by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku and immediate past governor of katsina State, Aminu Masari, Obasanjo noted that democracy, as currently practised in Nigeria and much of Africa, has failed to meet the need of the people.
According to him, western model of democracy does not align with African values and needs, and “democracy in Africa has failed because it is not African.”
Obasanjo, who called for a redefinition of democracy to better reflect the continent’s cultural realities and serve the people more effectively, said: “Is democracy failing in Africa? Are we talking of democracy or western liberal democracy?
“We should remember that in Africa, we had a form of government which attended to the needs of the people. That is democracy.
“Abraham Lincoln describes it as a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. But what do we have today? The Greek democracy affects everyone but democracy has now become representative democracy and it hasn’t taken care of everyone.
“Democracy in Africa has failed because it’s not African, it didn’t have our culture and way of life. You will say, go to court when you know that you can’t get justice. Democracy is dying in Africa and to save it, it should be made in the context of Africa.”
On his part, Obi also noted that the democracy practiced in the country is not working as it should.
Recalling his experience, where he had to fight for his mandate after being impeached as governor of Anambra State, Obi maintained that he did not resort to bribery.
He said: “Democracy is not working in Nigeria. Everything has been knocked down. I didn’t pay a dime to retrieve my mandate. When I was impeached, Obasanjo called to ask about my welfare. Nigeria should imbibe the Indonesian democracy, proportional representation.’’
Speaking further, Obi said Nigeria’s democracy, which had been progressing since 1999, is now being “knocked down” by the current administration.
“Some people came and knocked everything down. That is the situation we are in now. Everything has been knocked down. Nothing works.
“I became a governor through the court when President Obasanjo and Atiku were in government.
“I did not pay the court one naira. I was sitting in my office, and the court declared me the winner. It can’t happen in Nigeria today.
“When I was being impeached, the president sent people to come and intervene on my behalf. Ken Nnamani came, begging the House (House of Assembly) not to impeach me.
“Today, the president is impeaching a person. They were in PDP; I was in APGA. The president was calling and saying, ‘Peter, are you okay? Even when I was impeached, President Obasanjo called and said, ‘Are you okay? Are you safe?
“When the court eventually declared me (the winner) under Andy Uba (as governor), President Yar’Adua called my phone in London and said, ‘come back. I said, President, I can’t come back.
“When I came back, the military people came and received me at the airport. I couldn’t believe it. And took me straight to him. Now, the president would ask me not to come back. Democracy is collapsing.”
Delivering the keynote address, titled “Is Democracy Failing in Africa?’’ Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, faulted the weaponization of religion in Nigeria, which he described as one of the major hindrances to the country’s democratic development.
Kukah also described the relationship between Obasanjo and Atiku as being like a Catholic marriage, where they quarrel frequently but never broke up.
The cleric, who, however, called for a more honest and inclusive approach to addressing the country’s challenges, said further: “Democracy is working for different people as you can see in their outlook. There is the belief that citizens are free to rebel. There has been debate whether the Nigerian constitution is perfect or not.
“No constitution will be better than the Bible and Koran. Yet, we are still living in sin. The problem is that in Nigeria, the issue of Christian and Muslim prayer is not the best. The weaponisation of religion is a big problem in Nigeria.
“Democracy is work in progress. God doesn’t discriminate between Christian or Muslim prayers. There is no discrimination. We are children of one God. If we are not treating each other rightly, one of them must be a bastard.
“Democracy and its principles are endless contests. There are certain things God has given us which people can’t control.
“We, as Africans, inherited a system that’s not ours, but we can’t say it’s not relevant to us. There are differences between democracy in Asia and that of Africa. Singapore, for example. What do we make of the tenets of democracy in Africa?
“I feel sorry for the judges. At the last election, even small me, I had people calling me, complaining, talk to this, talk to that. Pressure on judges to deliver justice. I agree that there’s an urgent need to clean up the mess.
“Democracy is about everything, it’s about justice. How do we know if democracy is working in Nigeria? Do we measure democracy based on the things we wish ourselves?”
In his remarks, former governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, said democracy in Nigeria is still work in progress but noted that its success depends on the commitment of political leaders to abide by the rules.
Weighing on the emergency rule declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, Tambuwal recalled that there was cooperation of the National Assembly during a state of emergency under Obasanjo’s administration, saying democracy could work when political actors act responsibly.
“Democracy will work if the actors play by the rules. It’s work in progress. Under Obasanjo, a state of emergency was declared. The NASS worked together to ensure that 2/3 majority passed the emergency. “Each member had to vote. In this same NASS, we have the same constitution. What happened in the last one? We need to chase out the bad operators of democracy”, he stated.
Speaking at the event, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said Ihedioha has remained loyal, even when they found themselves on different political platforms.
“Emeka and I have kept this relationship and till today I have found him extremely loyal, dedicated and focused, even though sometimes we found ourselves on different political divides but we kept our relationship and I think that testifies with the kind of person Emeka is,” he said.
On his part, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, traced the origin of democracy and what he and his team at the commonwealth did to promote its cause across the globe.
Anyaoku said: “As Commonwealth Secretary-General, I helped members to transit to multi-party democracy. Also the collapse of apartheid administration in South Africa. Review of 1999 constitution
“We need a new constitution to address many challenges. True federalism is the answer to the management of national issues.
“The recent coup in Mali, Niger tend to take us back. The nature of our politics and the conduct of our politicians is another problem of our democracy.
“They have become instruments of capturing political power. It’s only true, stable democratic governance that can rid our country of the crises which impede development.
“I believe Nigeria can change this Eurocentric narrative. We in Africa and Nigeria have a responsibility to get a stable democracy and change the Eurocentric narrative.”
While expressing gratitude to all who attended the event, the celebrant, Emeka Ihedioha, said: “My father told me the most expensive habit is having friends. I have lived my life pursuing the cause for democracy. We should all rise to defend democracy.
“I urge all men to always speak truth to power and protect democracy. There’s life after money. I will remain who I am. For me and democracy, it is till God do us apart.”
