Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says democracy has failed in Africa, arguing that it is not delivering dividends to the continent.

Obasanjo said this in Abuja on Monday during the 60th birthday colloquium of a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Emeka Ihedioha.

“If you are talking about democracy failing in Africa, democracy in Africa has failed. And why has it failed? Because in context and content, it is not Africa. It does not have any aspect of our culture, our way of life, what we stand for, what we believe,” the former president told the gathering.

“Are we talking of democracy or are we talking of Western liberal democracy? When we talk of democracy, we should remember that in Africa, before the colonial rule and the colonial power, we had a form of government, which attended to the needs of our people.

“And whatever you call it, to me, it is democracy. Because what is democracy about? The American president Abraham Lincoln defined it as a government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

Obasanjo said, “Democracy is meant to be a system of government that delivers and delivers to all the people, not just a section of the people, not just a few. But what do we have today? I believe since we’ve gone past the Greek democracy which brought everybody to the square and everybody has a say in the decision making which affected everybody, democracy has now become representative democracy and representative democracy has not taken care of everybody.”

According to Obasanjo, before the advent of colonial rule, Africa had its governance system which he argued served the people better.

He, however, faulted the current system in the continent which the former president says has empowered leaders to “grab everything illegally and corruptly” and ask the people to “go to court”.

The Leader of the National Consultative Front, Prof Pat Utomi, has outlined ongoing moves to crystallise a formidable coalition to defeat the All Progressives Congress in the 2027 general elections described as serious business.

Utomi, one of the opposition movement leaders, said several discontented members of the APC and Peoples Democratic Party were keen on joining the coalition, apart from members of five other political parties.

Utomi said huge numbers of the APC, PDP and other political parties had expressed their willingness to embrace the coalition to save Nigeria from the brink.

He noted that several movements, and parties would join the coalition and form an alliance, though he noted that there were ongoing talks on the particular platform that would be adopted for the 2027 battle.

Utomi said, “This is serious business. Nigeria is on the brink at a time of a changing global order.

“The approach we now take is to focus on core influence groups within parties.

“In this regard, there are good people who subscribe to our values and development strategy in APC and PDP who have significant following and believe there is a better way and have reached out to us.

“The Social Democratic Party that you have referred to is a work in progress. About five other parties are going through similar processes.

“Also bear in mind that huge numbers are getting ready to leave the APC and PDP and have been reaching out. But the core must be firmly fixed.”

Asked how the coalition intends to take care of the various interests joining the coalition, Utomi said the driving force was self-sacrifice and forging a party leadership where decisions would be made collectively.

Utomi’s assertion comes on the back of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, along with some opposition leaders, announcing that a coalition is being formed with the aim to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

Among those present at the event where Atiku announced the coalition were the 2023 Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who was represented by Dr Yunusa Tanko; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal; former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; a former gubernatorial hopeful in Ogun State, Segun Sowunmi; former Director General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Dr Salihu Lukman; Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri, Chief Peter Ameh and Soni Monidafe, among others.

Speaking on Sunday, Utomi stressed that the coalition “aims to redeem the collapse of culture in Nigeria as well as showing by example how a disciplined political party acts.”

The NCFront has talked about the unveiling of a mega coalition in June, noting that opposition parties and discontented members of the ruling All Progressives Congress are intensifying behind-the-scenes consultations to form a formidable alliance against the current administration.

Discussions involve key stakeholders from the North and South, including opposition parties, APC defectors, and civil society groups.

The opposition figures said the northern stakeholders, in particular, are inclined towards a coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu, arguing that his administration’s policies had disproportionately affected their region.

Speaking further, Utomi said the coalition would be operating a government of national unity resolute to advance the common good in a democratic, transparent and people-centred atmosphere.

“It needs a national unity government focused on a developmental state focused on bringing progress to every nook and cranny of Nigeria, not egotists and narcissists looking for state capture to burnish bloated personal accounts around the world while their country slides into the economic abyss.

“Another point is that leadership of the new order must be collective. No more of the Buhari or “Baba sope” approach that got in the way of a collective good goal in the past iterations of rescue missions. Decisions must be made collectively. We will not be victims of groupthink anymore.

“A collective shadow team will be active shortly and, where necessary, we will turn to people power to reset the agenda of our country.

On the goals of the coalition, Utomi stressed, “It is to make democracy work for the people and to ensure a government with a people-centred focus accelerates constitutional reforms for a better working Nigeria.

“It also aims to redeem the collapse of culture in Nigeria as well as showing by example how a disciplined political party acts, especially in how more capable and values-driven people are recruited into public life.”

He added, “The change we deserve is about a core of people who are a self-sacrificing group focused on disciplined organization to move the apparatus of cooperation and state authority.

“It is also to advance the common good in an atmosphere of freedom that is democratic, transparent and people-centred because touts and criminals abound in many parties and will take money from those in power to simulate the appearance of crisis.”

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has taken President Bola Tinubu to court over what it calls the “unlawful suspension” of the Rivers State Governor, his deputy, and House of Assembly members.

The six-month suspension was announced while the president proclaimed a state of emergency in the state.

SERAP argued that the decision violates constitutional provisions and undermines democratic governance.

The lawsuit, filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, was initiated by three members of SERAP’s Volunteers’ Lawyers Network (SVLN) in Rivers State—Yirabari Israel Nulog, Nengim Ikpoemugh Royal, and Gracious Eyoh-Sifumbukho.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) have also been joined as defendants.

The suit, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/558/2025, demands “an order setting aside the suspension of the democratically elected officials in Rivers State by President Tinubu while proclaiming a state of emergency in the state” and “an order setting aside the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.”

SERAP, in a statement by its Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare on Sunday, argued that “the rule of law would be a mere figure of speech if the people’s right to participation can be arbitrarily suspended or violated.”

“Democracy is an inherent element of the rule of law. Nigeria’s democracy ought to have as its foundation respect for human rights and the rule of law,” the statement read.

SERAP insists that the suspension contradicts both the Nigerian Constitution and international legal obligations, citing the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance.

“The combined provisions of Sections 1(2), 14(1)(c), 176(1)(2), and 305(1) of the Nigerian Constitution create a delicate balance of rights and responsibilities, ensuring that the exercise of presidential power does not override the people’s right to participate in their own governance,” the organisation asserted.

It further argued that Section 305, which grants the president powers to declare a state of emergency, “is neither absolute nor superior to other provisions of the Constitution,” stressing that such power must be exercised in a way that upholds democratic participation.

“The suspension of the democratically elected officials in Rivers State has seriously undermined the ability of the plaintiffs to participate more effectively in their own government, the credibility and integrity of the country’s electoral process, and the notion of the rule of law,” SERAP stated.

Among other reliefs sought, the plaintiffs are asking the court for a declaration that Tinubu’s actions are “unlawful, unconstitutional, null, and void” and an injunction restraining the appointed sole administrator from acting in that capacity.

“No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit,” the statement concluded.