“Western Democratic Liberal Model Has Failed” – Agbakoba Calls For Homegrown System

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, has called for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s current system of governance, arguing that the Western democratic model has proven ineffective in addressing the nation’s core challenges.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Friday, Agbakoba made a case for a more indigenous and inclusive political framework tailored to Nigeria’s unique socio-political context.

According to the prominent lawyer and legal reform advocate, the liberal democratic system borrowed from the West has failed to deliver good governance or national cohesion.

“I think that the basic problem to permit me to give a small contextual and conceptual background about where we are and the problem, I think that the basic problem is that the Western democratic liberal model has failed. Nigeria, as you know, we’ve worked on a new constitutional process for 25 years, since 2000, and nothing,” he said.

Agbakoba proposed what he termed “consociational democracy” as a viable alternative—one that would be structured around Nigeria’s institutions and traditional leadership systems.

He said, “I think it’s time to rethink and reimagine our democratic experience. It’s not working, it’s not inclusive, it’s divisive. It’s full of fighting. It’s a winner-takes-it-all. People want power; nobody wants to be in the opposition.

“You see the opposition, people all jumping into the APC. The process is not working. So personally, I would advocate something homegrown, autonomous, what I call consociational democracy, where we build our institutional democracy around our institutions.”

Agbakoba further stressed the importance of integrating traditional rulers into the constitutional process, drawing parallels with the United Kingdom’s monarchy.

“I am a very strong person in finding a role for traditional rulers. King Charles is the constitutional monarch of the United Kingdom, and he has a role to play. He’s going to Canada. He’s playing a role in the trade process. He’s got a good deal with Trump. So I think our constitutional process should include the traditional rulers. I will recommend the Belgium model, where the Walloons and the Flemings are different people, but they’ve come to an arrangement whereby there is inclusion.” 

He maintained that clinging to the current system will only continue to hinder national development and unity.

“It’s something that enables only a few to extract. If return on capital exceeds return on development, why would anybody want to develop Nigeria?

“These are the two broad points I think we need to take into account in reimagining a new Nigerian experiment. Otherwise, I started at 29, like I keep saying. Now I’m 72. If something hasn’t worked for all this time, is it not time we think through a process?” he added.