President Bola Tinubu says the antidote for bad democratic governance in Africa is “more democracy”.
The president spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at a summit on the state of democracy in Africa.
The summit was themed ‘Role of regional bodies in deepening democracy in Africa’.
Tinubu stated that Nigeria has learnt that the “worst form of democracy is far better than the best form of military rule”.
“We finally had a return to democracy in 1999 after 16 years of sometimes benevolent, most often brutal military dictatorship. We have since then recorded 25 years of unbroken democratic governance,” Tinubu said.
“We have learnt through bitter experience that the worst form of democracy is far better than the best form of military autocracy.
“Specifically, in Nigeria, we have learnt that the cure for bad democratic governance is more democracy.
“As one of our most profound intellectuals, the late Professor Claude Ake once famously opined, ‘the people must learn to become their own political messiahs from bad governance’.
“This can only be done through the instrumentality of democracy.”
The Nigerian leader mentioned that the democratic system should not be accepted to be politically correct, but because it provides responsible governance.
“We do so because we believe that the ultimate purpose of democracy must be to provide good, honest, and responsible governance that will promote the greatest good for the greatest number of our people,” Tinubu said.
“Many times, such evils as corruption, nepotism, inefficiency, and socio-economic difficulties erode the trust and confidence of people in democracy and make military dictatorship attractive.
“But the superior merit of democracy over authoritarian regimes is that it offers the mechanism for peaceful change through the ballot box.”
Tinubu also said Africa has come of age and should “begin to fulfil her historic destiny”.
“Africa can no longer afford to be the doormat of the world — a continent of street beggar economies that perennially hold out begging bowls for loans or aid,” Tinubu said.
“It is time for Africa to truly come of age and begin to fulfil her historic destiny for the good of her people and the benefit of humanity.”