Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State during the 2023 general elections, has called for a fundamental reevaluation of Nigeria’s current presidential system of government, arguing it is ill-suited to the country’s cultural and historical context.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Cole emphasized that the American-style presidential model practiced in Nigeria is incompatible with African societal values and has failed to deliver good governance.
“This American system that we call the presidential system in Nigeria, we need to go and readdress it,” Cole said. “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.”
Cole highlighted a broader dissatisfaction across the continent with Western-style democratic models, asserting that many Africans feel alienated by political systems that do not reflect their identity or history.
“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,” he said.
He cited countries such as China and several Arab nations as examples of nations that have forged their own governance models instead of adopting foreign systems wholesale. According to Cole, Nigeria must also chart its own path by drawing from its indigenous political heritage.
“Let us build an African, Nigerian-focused political system and we have had it,” he stated. “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.”
Cole also criticized the current system for enabling elite manipulation and failing to establish strong, accountable institutions. He noted that Nigeria’s attempt to replicate British-style institutions does not align with the nation’s cultural dynamics.
“The presidential system can be exploited by a few people. It has not built institutions that can hold people to account,” he argued.
His comments come amid growing debate over constitutional reform and calls from various quarters for a more decentralized and culturally attuned system of governance in Nigeria.
