What Kind Of Democracy Do We Want? – Fashola Asks Nigerians

Former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has urged Nigerians to stop viewing elections as perfect exercises, saying the country should focus more on strengthening democratic institutions and improving electoral processes.

Fashola, a former Minister of Works, Housing and Power, said elections, especially in a large federation like Nigeria, involve complex logistics that make absolute perfection difficult to achieve.

Naija News reports that Fashola spoke on Friday at The Platform, a public policy forum held in Lagos as part of activities marking Democracy Day.

According to him, while elections remain central to democracy, citizens and political actors must understand the challenges involved in conducting nationwide polls.

“Elections are an imperfect event because they require a large logistical operation across a federation,” Fashola said.

The former governor said presidential elections require thousands of polling units across the country to conduct the same process at the same time, often under different local conditions.

He noted that such a huge operation could produce mistakes or shortcomings, adding that the challenge should be how to improve the system rather than weaken public confidence in elections.

“The reality of a presidential election is that all polling units across the nation have to be doing the same thing at the same time. The question then is how we assign blame when things go wrong, especially when the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission cannot be everywhere at the same time,” he stated.

Fashola said Nigerians must be fair in assessing electoral problems and avoid placing every operational failure solely on the leadership of the electoral body.

Fashola argued that electoral challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria, saying even older democracies experience imperfections in their electoral systems.

He said mature democracies recognise that elections may not always be flawless, but they continue to improve their institutions and processes over time.

“In other jurisdictions, they accept these imperfections and aspire to improve, but they also accept the results,” he said.

The former minister said Nigeria must also develop the discipline to strengthen its democratic system without constantly delegitimising election outcomes.

Fashola also expressed concern over what he described as the growing refusal of some political actors to accept election results after losing.

He warned that such conduct could hinder democratic growth and weaken the role of the opposition in national development.

“It seems to me that an unwillingness to accept the outcome of an election perhaps blinds the unsuccessful participants from seeking and taking up the role of opposition for the development of society,” he said.

According to him, democracy does not end with victory or defeat at the polls.

He said opposition parties and unsuccessful candidates have important roles to play in holding the government accountable, offering alternative policies and contributing to the progress of society.

Fashola further urged Nigerians to broaden their understanding of democracy beyond elections and political contests.

He said the country must begin to ask deeper questions about the type of democratic system it wants to build and sustain.

“If we are to discuss democracy beyond elections, the question I ask is: What kind of democracy do we want?” he asked.

The former governor said democratic maturity should be measured not only by the conduct of elections, but also by the strength of institutions, respect for the rule of law, accountability in governance and the conduct of political actors after elections.

Fashola maintained that democracy can only thrive when institutions are protected, strengthened and allowed to perform their roles without being undermined by political interests.

He said citizens, leaders and political parties must continue to support systems that promote accountability, fairness and stability.

His remarks formed part of wider discussions at The Platform on the state of Nigeria’s democracy, governance, accountability and the responsibilities of both leaders and citizens in sustaining democratic institutions.