Thread by @thebardogbamola

DISCOURSE ALERT

Personally, I think popular western democracy is doing more harm to Africa than good- it was derived from an experience different from ours & it’s evolution is something that is alien to us. Why we as Africans haven’t looked into indigenous democracy surprises me

The US type democracy which we copy in Nigeria and most African countries has a college system that allows for checks against popular democracy- in as much as Africans had monarchical systems, they weren’t totally autocratic- The Alaafin has checks and balances in the Oyomesi.

Even the Other Obas had the Ogbonis to check them but what I think is the best institutional indigenous democracy we have had in Africa was in Igboland. The family unit is called Ezi and the Umunna is formed by a group of Ezi- headed by Okpara which is the family representative.

The Okpara is usually the eldest son and a collection of Ummuna makes up Obod (village), it is through this system that the pre colonial Igbo society ensures that they carry everybody in the community along in decision making- The igbos believed in majority decisions

‘The foolishness of the majority is better than the wise sayings of one person’ seems a common saying amongst Igbos and this states why their is a system that had no individual autocratic characteristic- The Igbos are a people who had no Kings or form of monarchy pre-independence

The self confidence exuded by Igbos in present day Nigeria which we mistake for being uncouth comes from the fact that the Igbo believes ‘Everyman is a king of his household’- These are elements of a workable democratic system and not this popular democracy imposed by westerners

The popular democracy we practice presently in Nigeria is nothing but an Oligarchy with no presence of group decisions or majority decisions being felt. Decisions seem to be made outside the feelings of the majority and as such there seem to be special citizens in the country

Let’s think deeply about it, shouldn’t we try to have a discourse about Africa’s indigenous democratic institutions and see which aspects work for our contemporary world- shouldn’t we learn from our past rather than just embracing a democracy which they experience is alien to us?

The new Africa is in need of thinkers but not just thinker, it is need of people who can think and sometimes see things from the African lens, people who believe that experience is the foundation from which progress is made- a people who don’t learn from experience can’t theorize