When former President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted third term he did not know that western style democracy is not suitable for Africa. Has Obasanjo forgotten about his aborted third term agenda? If western democracy is not suitable for Africa, yet President Obasanjo wanted a third term from a system that is not working. Late General Sani Abacha would have asked Obasanjo democratic question if he was alive today. Obasanjo has proved to Nigerians that Abacha was not totally wrong when he detained him during his administration. Today, Obasanjo no longer believes in western democracy in Africa and this is a system he has benefitted so much from. Obasanjo should apologise to Nigerians for making the above statement.
Obasanjo said recently that western liberal democracy is unsuitable for Africa and seems not to be working for Nigeria and other African countries. According to the former president, western democracy as it is being practiced in Nigeria and other African countries, should be re-examined or moderated. He stated that this is because it has not delivered on good governance and progressive development for the continent.
Obasanjo spoke at the high-level consultation on Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa held at the Green Resort Legacy, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun state. Obasanjo said that the time has come to be brutal with the truth and face the reality that western democracy is not delivering on expectations and should therefore be tinkered with in such a way that it will be able to take care of our peculiarities as Africans.
The former president said that the snag with liberal democracy lies in the fact that it wasn’t homegrown and never took into account African history and multicultural complexities, among other peculiarities. He further explained that the Western style of democracy failed in Africa because it did not take into account the views of the majority of the people.
Former Senate President Ken Nnamani had revealed some of the steps he took to abort the tenure elongation agenda (otherwise known as Third Term) of Obasanjo. Mr Nnamani, while speaking at the public presentation of his book: “Standing Strong: Legislative Reforms, Third Term and Other Issues of the 5th Senate,” at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, said by adjourning the senate in the course of the constitutional amendment process, some senators in support of the bill had a change of mind after interacting with their constituents.
Nnamani, who represented Enugu East Senatorial District on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was senate president between 2005 and 2007. It was during his tenure that Obasanjo, in 2006, sought to extend his tenure beyond the constitutionally-allowed two terms of four years each.
Nnamani further disclosed that the live transmission of the plenary on May 16, 2006, when an alteration of the constitution to allow three terms for Nigeria’s presidents, forced some senators to abandon support for the bill seeking a third term for Obasanjo. We decided to televise the proceedings. Publicising the proceedings was not supported by those who wanted to smuggle into the constitution the extension of tenure through undefined and darkened procedure,” the former senate president, who is currently a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said.
The former president, who was also the country’s military ruler between 1976 and 1979, wanted the National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution to enable him prolong his stay in office. The move generated tension in the land at the time.
Obasanjo has repeatedly denied he had a plan to spend another four years in office. “If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is nothing I wanted that God has not given me,” he told Channels Television in 2012.
But narrating how the third term agenda was killed, Nnamani said, “I wanted senators to vote with their mind on the question of whether we should amend the constitution to allow President Obasanjo a third term. I also wanted their votes to represent the views of their constituents.
“To be an informed trustee, the senators need to understand the view of their constituents before casting their votes. On this basis, the senate adjourned to allow the senators to consult with their constituents about the constitution amendment. With this intervention, some senators returned with enlightened views,” he said.
Obasanjo should stop deceiving Africans that western democracy does not work in Africa.
Inwalomhe Donald
