Femi Otubanjo, a Research Professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, has faulted the structure of Nigeria’s political system, describing it as authoritarian and lacking democratic principles, news.ng reports.
Otubanjo gave his views in an interview on Arise Television on Saturday.
Beyond politics, the professor highlighted the level of decadence in most of the country’s institutions, saying they had been rendered ineffective.
“The political system is dysfunctional. What you have as political parties are merely the format rather than the substance. Everything in Nigeria is about format, no substance.
“Our hospitals are glorified clinics. Our educational system, our universities, are glorified secondary schools. Our roads, and what you call the railway and so on. So, we are talking about this difference between format and substance,” he stated.
Recalling his time serving as a director and special adviser in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Otubanjo claimed that internal democracy no longer exists within political parties in the country.
“There are no parties that are democratic in Nigeria,” he said.
He commented on the style of leadership by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying, “He was the only man thinking for the party; whatever the president wants, that’s what takes place.”
On the consensus model adopted by political parties, the professor described it as a tool for leaders to control their subordinates.
“Consensus is just a ruse for authoritarian decision-making. The governors make decisions, the president chooses people that he can control,” he said.
Watch the video
Consensus Begins with The President Choosing People He Can Control — Otubanjo
There are no democratic parties in Nigeria. Obasanjo was the only president who thought of his party and I give that to him. It is a waste of time talking about consensus, because consensus is not… pic.twitter.com/YD1Tg5Oke0
