Nigeria’s inherited democracy does not have African content – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says Nigeria’s democracy does not have African content and context, lamenting that it has created a winner-takes-all approach to politics.

Speaking at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital, on Tuesday, Obasanjo said the Western liberal democracy inherited by many African countries was not designed around the continent’s realities.

He likened the adoption of the Western liberal democracy to wearing a dress that was not made to fit, arguing that the model has created a political culture in which election winners often disregard those who lose.

“The Western liberal democracy that we inherited pulls from monarchy, hence we can have a 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 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 the winner take all first path posts. If you beat me by one vote then you take it all and whatever I have does not matter,” Obasanjo said.