Tonye Cole, the 2023 APC governorship candidate in Rivers State, has called for a reevaluation of Nigeria’s presidential system of government, asserting it is incompatible with the nation’s context.
In an appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” on Friday, Cole argued that many Africans are dissatisfied with their current political systems.
“This American system that we call Presidential system in Nigeria, we need to go and readdress it,”Cole stated.“We cannot import the parliamentary system of the UK and it will work here, we cannot import a presidential system, it will not work here. Every African in their country, are they satisfied with the political system they have and the democracy they have, they will tell you no. Why? Because it is contrary to who we are, absolutely contrary.”
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He pointed out that successful nations have developed governance systems tailored to their specific circumstances, citing Arab countries and China as examples of those who have rejected Western political models.
Cole stressed the importance of grounding Nigeria’s governance in its own cultural heritage, noting the existence of indigenous political structures before colonization. “Let us build an African, Nigerian focused political system and we have had it. We had a political system before the Europeans came, 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,” he said.
He explained that the presidential system is susceptible to exploitation by a select few and that Nigeria has not built institutions capable of holding individuals accountable. He also argued that Nigeria’s attempts to model institutions after the British system are incompatible with Nigerian culture.
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