Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has faulted the version of democracy practised across much of Africa, arguing that it was borrowed from the West and has bred a “winner-takes-all” political culture.
Obasanjo spoke on Tuesday at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital.
He said the Western liberal democracy inherited by many African countries was not designed around the continent’s realities, likening its adoption to wearing a dress that was not made to fit.
“The democracy we practice has no African context, no African content and if you try to use what is not meant for you to serve your purpose, it is like a dress for which you are not measured, you try to put it on, it is either too small for you or too big for you. It will not fit and it will not serve your purpose.
“In practice, we have winner takes all, first path post. If you beat me by one vote then you take it all and whatever I have does not matter,” Obasanjo said, as reported by Channels TV.
