₦airaland Forum

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.”

helinues:
If democracy is not working in Nigeria, I swear none of you can say what you said above

helinues:
If democracy is not working in Nigeria, I swear none of you can say what you said above

helinues:
If democracy is not working in Nigeria, I swear none of you can say what you said above

helinues:
If democracy is not working in Nigeria, I swear none of you can say what you said above

RecentHistory:
Obasanjo is opening his mouth.
Obi too is whimpering.

Obasanjo that under him, before they finish voting, INEC is already announcing results in Abuja.
This is someone who had Maurice Iwu as inec Chairman. You can Google the specie of creature called Maurice Iwu.

As for Obi, his administration in Anambra supervised the single largest genocide of Igbo youths in peace time. In fact, only the civil war saw more Igbo youths killed.
That is the idiot now complaining about democracy.

RecentHistory:
Obasanjo is opening his mouth.
Obi too is whimpering.

Obasanjo that under him, before they finish voting, INEC is already announcing results in Abuja.
This is someone who had Maurice Iwu as inec Chairman. You can Google the specie of creature called Maurice Iwu.

As for Obi, his administration in Anambra supervised the single largest genocide of Igbo youths in peace time. In fact, only the civil war saw more Igbo youths killed.
That is the idiot now complaining about democracy.

Omooba77:
…Everything has been knocked down — Obi
…Actors don’t play by the rules — Tambuwal
…lIt is work in progress — Kukah

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/democracy-not-working-in-nigeria-obasanjo-obi-tambuwal-kukah/

chino11:
You were the governor of Oyo State at the time Chief Ajibola Ige was murdered. What was your experience then?

It was a bitter experience. That very day was a Sunday. It was the day we had our Christmas carol at the Government House. It was a norman Sunday; everything was going on fine. The carol came and went from 4:15 to 6:00pm that day. And then everybody dispersed. As if I got a signal of what was coming, my speech that day was centred on security in Oyo State. I called on the Commissioner of Police and the Inspector General of Police to strengthen security in Oyo State because an old school mate, Engineer Adegeebo, had been assassinated near his house in Bodija a week earlier.

Every cleric went home and I retired to Government House. I played for some time. Then I went to my room to treat some files. I was doing that when suddenly the phone rang. It was land line we were using then. The operator said that somebody wanted to speak with me. Then I picked the call and it was a brother to my deputy. He said he was asked to tell me that Chief Bola Ige had been shot by some unknown assassins. I was confused immediately. I didn’t know what to do. But later I regained my strength and quickly went down without telling my wife what was happening. It was 9:55 pm. I sent for my PS because all the ADC and other security staff had gone to their places of abode. I told him to drive me in one of the private cars. Inside the car, I told him that Uncle Bola Ige had been shot by some gunmen, that I was going to check him at Catholic Hospital, Oluyoro. The man who informed said Ige was taken to Oluyoro.

The place I have been treading for over 60 years, I remember that I lost my way. I was just going round and round until I gained my consciousness again. Immediately the gateman saw me, he quickly opened the gate. There, we saw Uncle Dele Ige, who was already rolling on the ground. I went straight to the room where Bola Ige was lying. I saw marks of bullets on his body. He slept with his face up. He was somehow breathing but the breathing was abnormal. I saw where the bullet penetrated on the left side. I saw it myself. Uncle Bola Ige was wearing shirt and trousers. And I saw Muyiwa standing by the side of the bed. He was wailing. He appealed to me, saying: ”Uncle, please tell the doctor to wake up my Daddy. Tell him. The doctor can do it.” Then, I approached the doctor and asked him the situation. The doctor called me to one side and told me that he was dead. He said: “Sir, Your Excellency, Uncle is gone. There is nothing we can do. They shot him straight in the heart. He asked me not to tell Muyiwa.

I almost betrayed my emotion when I got back into the room where Uncle was lying with Muyiwa beside his bed. I just quickly gathered myself and told Muyiwa that I was going to see the head of the hospital. That was how I bolted away. I came back to the Government House to inform Mr. President, who was Obasanjo at that time.

By the time I was going upstairs to my room, to try and tell Operator to phone Mr. President for me, the phone was already ringing. When I got into my room, it was still ringing. I quickly picked it up and it was Obasanjo.
He the Operator said the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wants to talk to you. Then I asked him to put him on.
The question Obasanjo just asked was: “Is he certified dead?” I said: “Yes sir.” Then he dropped the phone. That was all. That was my experience. I can never forget that experience.

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/30983-obasanjo%2C-pdp-knew-about-ige%26%23039%3Bs-death%E2%80%94lam-adesina.html

helinues:
If democracy is not working in Nigeria, I swear none of you can say what you said above

Pigstormentor:
;D

Funsho Williams ghost is coming to take revenge.

It's that simple..