Democracy was forced on Africa — Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said democracy has not been working as a system of government in Africa because it was “forced” on the continent.
Obasanjo stated this in his address at a high-level consultation on “Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy for Africa”.
The former president said the Western style of democracy failed in Africa because it did not take into consideration the views of the majority of the people.
Obasanjo described Western Liberal Democracy as a “government of a few people over all the people or population”.
”These few people are representatives of only some of the people and not full representatives of all the people.
“Invariably, the majority of the people were wittingly or unwittingly kept out. This is why we should have ‘Afro Democracy’ in place of Western Liberal Democracy.”
Obasanjo said African countries have no business operating a system of government in which they have no hands in its definition and design.
“The weakness and failure of liberal democracy as it is practised stem from its history, content, context and its practice.
“Once you move from all the people to representatives of the people, you start to encounter troubles and problems.
“For those who define it as the rule of the majority, should the minority be ignored, neglected and excluded? Vanguard
