By Akinwale Kasali
Former President Olusegeun Obasanjo has come under the hammer of the Federal Government over his comment that Nigeria is not matured for Western Democratic Style.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, who signed the statement which strongly criticised the former President, described Obasanjo as architect of Nation’s current state.
Onanuga noted that the democracy the country currently practises dates back to direct inputs by Obasanjo when he led the country first, as Military Head of State from 1976 – 1979, and as civilian President from 1999 – 2007.
In his words, “ “Obasanjo ought to know that he brought this thing (American-style democracy) into Nigeria. He was the one who made us adopt it in 1979. He must have seen it as expensive and unsuitable when he governed us for eight years and even wanted an extension for another four years.
“So, the way he is sounding, it is like the man is getting wiser after leaving office,” Onanuga said.
The Presidency further blamed Obasanjo for a poorly copied model during his tenure as Head of State and, later, President.
It criticised him for not advocating a better system despite his current views, saying, “If he believes in what he is saying now, he ought to be an advocate of the need to go back to the Parliamentary System.”
Onanuga added, “We were practicing the Parliamentary Democracy the British left for us. Then, the military struck in 1966. And when we were going to return to democracy, instead of going back to what we were practicing before, Parliamentary Democracy, which was not expensive, it was this same Obasanjo who accepted the recommendation of the Constitutional Assembly at that time that recommended this American-style democracy.”
The Presidency, also, slammed Obasanjo’s implementation of the Presidential system. It said: “Obasanjo also knew that he copied this Presidential system very wrongly. He copied the form and structure. But he didn’t copy the spirit of it.
“Something that should have been under him in 1999 to 2007, he even made attempts to modify the constitution,” Onanuga remarked.
Obasanjo had criticised Western democracy, suggesting it had not delivered good governance and development in Africa.
He called for a re-examination and moderation of democracy to better suit African nations, citing the Western model’s disregard for African history and complexities.
He proposed an “Afro democracy” tailored to the Continent’s unique needs.
