Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Olisa Agbakoba has once again expressed worries about the viability of Nigeria’s current democratic system, calling for a thorough reassessment of the country’s political structure.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television program that aired on Monday, Agbakoba denounced the collapse of opposition institutions into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), stressing that such political realignments undermine rather than improve democracy.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s political history since independence, Agbakoba stated that the country had repeatedly failed in administration, despite having exercised democracy for more than two decades.
“I figured things would have improved by now. But, after all these years, beginning with military coups in 1960 and ending with 25 years of democracy, something remains fundamentally wrong,” he stated.
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Agbakoba questioned the applicability of the Western democratic model for Nigeria’s geopolitical context. According to him, democracy transplanted from Europe and America has failed to give the predicted dividends to Nigerians, who are more concerned with their quality of life than with the structure of government.
“Nigerians aren’t necessarily interested in who the president is,” he told me. “They want someone who will give food, good schools, safe roads, timely pay, and adequate housing. “Those are the real issues.”
Drawing parallels with nations such as China, which have experienced substantial development without adopting Western-style democracy, Agbakoba advised leaders and citizens to explore a governance approach that prioritizes results over political formality.
He stressed that Nigeria’s problems are aggravated by deep-seated ethnic, religious, and linguistic differences. “We must ask ourselves a difficult but necessary question: is this current system truly working for us?”
Agbakoba’s statements come as other opposition politicians have defected to the APC. The previous president of the Nigerian Bar Association raised worry about the tendency, claiming that it weakens democratic checks and balances.
“If opposition parties believe they are acting strategically by defecting, I am here to warn them they are not. It weakened the system and harmed ordinary Nigerians. The willingness to stand in the gap, even when it is politically unpopular, is the genuine test of leadership.
He urged ethical leaders to avoid the allure of power and instead work to develop a credible, effective opposition that keeps the government accountable, which is a necessary component of any functioning democracy.
