A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Olisa Agbakoba, is of the opinion that the Western form of democracy is not working in Nigeria.
While speaking on Channels TV on Monday, May 19, Agbakoba questioned the level of commitment by politicians in Nigeria, whom he accused of being only interested in grabbing power.
“I thought that things would have been a lot better than what we have today. And I’ve looked at it very carefully, and I say something must be wrong, that after, not even 25, let’s go to 1960: so we have had military coups in and out, then finally democracy for over 25 years. Something is fundamentally wrong in a process that is not delivering.
In my reflections, and I’ve reflected quite a lot, I just came to a conclusion that it’s time to shed ourselves of this Western model – the Oyibo model, the model that the Europeans and the Americans have foisted on us, it’s not working.”
According to him, Nigerians are not interested in who the president is but only in a system that provides them with the basic necessities of life.
“If you ask Nigerians, broadly speaking, right now: ‘Who would you want to vote for?’ They will just tell you we want to vote for food in our tummies, good schools, good roads, pay us our salaries on time, housing, the things that make them comfortable,” the senior advocate said, citing China’s growth despite the country not practicing democracy.
Nigerians are not really interested in who the president is. They’re interested in a president who will deliver. That’s why it’s necessary to also be sure that you have a good president.”
He said Nigeria must begin to think about a system that works for the generality of the people since the Western model of democracy is “certainly not working” in the country.
“So I want the conversation to start by asking the question. Is this thing working for us? My own answer is that the Western model of democracy, maybe it’s working in Europe, but it’s certainly not working here. So, what is it that we can put on the table that will work? I think that the first thing to do is to recognize that this country is very divided along ethnic, religious, and linguistic lines,” Agbakoba said.
