Parliamentary System Over “Bad Leaders” in Nigeria
In a recent lecture at Harvard Law School, former Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi took aim at the presidential system of government in his country. Obi, who ran for president in 2023 on the Labour Party ticket, advocated for a switch to a parliamentary system as a way to hold leaders more accountable.
His main critique of the current presidential system is that it allows Nigerian presidents to insulate themselves from the people for their entire 4-year term. As Obi put it, “A president in Nigeria can decide not to talk to anybody for one year and nobody cares because he has hired all these people who do the talking.”
He argued that in a parliamentary system where the president is also a member of the parliament, they would face regular questioning and scrutiny from elected representatives. There could also be a vote of no confidence to remove an underperforming president before their term is up, rather than being stuck with them for 4 years.
Obi used characteristically blunt language, saying current presidents “hire a gang of lunatics” to speak for them and call critics names rather than addressing the people’s concerns directly. His comments drew criticism from some quarters, with a former spokesman for Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 campaign accusing Obi of painting all public figures as “gangsters and lunatics.”
Whether one agrees with Obi’s pointed rhetoric or not, his core argument about the lack of accountability in Nigeria’s presidential system resonates with many citizens frustrated by repeated leadership failures. The idea of adopting a parliamentary democracy in order to place more checks on executive power is worth debating.
Obi’s Harvard speech showed once again that he is not afraid to be a polarizing critic of the political establishment. His supporters appreciate his willingness to bluntly call out what he sees as a broken system in need of reform. But his detractors see his harsh language as needlessly inflammatory and distasteful from someone aspiring to lead the nation.
Reference
Peter Obi Says Nigerian Presidents Remove Themselves From People, Hire Gangs Of Lunatics To Speak For Them published in Sahara reporters