Mr Obasanjo said that unless democracy is redefined to reflect African values and care for the people’s needs, it will continue to fail and eventually die in Africa.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said democracy in Africa has failed because it has not aligned with the people’s values, culture, and way of life.
Mr Obasanjo said this at a colloquium in Abuja to mark the 60th birthday of Emeka Ihedioha, a former governor of Imo State.
The former Nigerian leader, who chaired the event, noted that Africa had an effective system for serving the people before colonial rule.
Referencing Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy as “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” he said the system should work for all citizens rather than a privileged few.
He wondered if African countries are practising true democracy or only adopting Western Liberal democracy.
Mr Obasanjo, Nigeria’s military ruler from 1976 to 1979 and democratically elected president from 1999 to 2007, lamented that democracy has become a system of government where a tiny group of people rule a large majority who are deprived of their rights and necessities.
He criticised a system that facilitates corruption and injustice, where the people in power accumulate wealth illegally while the masses suffer.
“If you are talking about democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed. And why has it failed?
“Because in context and in content, it is not Africa. It does not have any aspect of our culture, our way of life, what we stand for, what we believe.
“Today, we have democracy, which is the government of a small number of people, by a small number of people over a large number of people who are deprived of what they need to have in life. That is not democracy that will endure.
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