Former Rivers State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Tonye Cole, has urged a fundamental review of Nigeria’s presidential system of government, stating that the current model is ill-suited to the nation’s unique socio-political realities.
Speaking during an interview on Politics Today on Channels Television, Cole argued that Nigeria’s American-style presidential system has failed to promote accountability or strengthen institutions, instead becoming vulnerable to manipulation by political elites.
“This American system that we call the presidential system in Nigeria, we need to go and readdress it. We cannot import the parliamentary system of the UK, and it will not work here; we cannot import a presidential system, and it will not work here,” Cole declared.
He noted that while many African nations operate Western-style democracies, their citizens remain dissatisfied because these systems clash with indigenous values.
“Every African in their country are satisfied with the political system and democracy they have, but they will tell you no. Why? Because it is contrary to who we are, absolutely contrary,” he said.
Cole pointed to nations like China and Arab states as examples of countries that have successfully developed governance models rooted in their own cultural and historical contexts rather than adopting foreign frameworks.
Advocating for a return to Nigeria’s pre-colonial political traditions, he asserted: “Let us build an African, Nigerian-focused political system, and we will have it. We had a political system before the Europeans came, and we had a political system even when the slave trade was going on. So, what are we running away from? We know what to do.”
The business mogul-turned-politician emphasized that Nigeria must craft a governance structure that aligns with its societal values rather than persisting with systems that have consistently underperformed.
