Tonye Cole, the 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has expressed strong reservations about Nigeria’s current presidential system of government.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today program on Friday, Cole argued that the American-style presidential system is ill-suited to Nigeria’s unique socio-cultural fabric.
He explained that the system is vulnerable to exploitation by a few individuals and has failed to create institutions capable of holding leaders accountable. “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 not work here; we cannot import a presidential system, and it will not work here.”
Cole emphasized that many Africans are dissatisfied with their political systems because these systems clash with their cultural identities. He cited examples of countries like China and Arab nations that have developed political systems tailored to their own contexts rather than adopting Western models wholesale.
Highlighting Nigeria’s rich indigenous political history, Cole urged a return to governance structures rooted in African traditions. “Let us build an African, Nigerian-focused political system, and we will have it. We had a political system before the Europeans came, and 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 stated.
Cole also criticized Nigeria’s attempt to model its institutions after British systems, which he believes are incompatible with Nigerian culture, further undermining governance effectiveness.
