Former President Olusegun Obasanjo claims Nigeria’s democracy lacks African meaning and context, and laments that it has resulted in a winner-take-all approach to politics.
Speaking at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi, the capital of Bauchi State, Obasanjo stated that the Western liberal democracy inherited by many African countries was not meant to reflect the continent’s circumstances.
He compared the adoption of Western liberal democracy to wearing a clothing that was not meant to fit, claiming that the model has created a political culture in which election winners frequently overlook losers.
“The Western liberal democracy that we inherited draws from monarchy, so we may have a government and loyal opposition, loyal to the king.