A former Head of the United Nations’ African Union Mission in Darfur, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, on Monday in Abuja suggested that for the country and other African countries to sustain democracy, they should vote wisely and put in place strong democratic institutions and leaders.
According to him, promoting democracy should be a collective effort, rather than being left in the hands of democratic leaders.
He spoke at a dialogue in commemoration of 40th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States. His speech was a reaction to the statement by US President, Barack Obama, who said that what Africa needed was strong institutions and not strong men.
The policy dialogue on the future of democracy and peace in the West African region was organised by a political think tank, Centre for Democracy, and other development partners.
According to him, although elections are important and necessary, they are insufficient prerequisites to sustain democracy in any nation.
He said, “President Obama, during his visit to Accra, addressed the parliament and made a strong speech that what Africa needs is not strong men but strong institutions. I am no longer serving any government or the UN, so I will speak my mind as a scholar.
“Yes, strong institutions are very important and in the case of democracy, strong democratic institutions are vital to the sustainability of democracy but also is the importance of strong leaders. So, there must be a distinction between strong leaders and strong institutions but the combination of whole.”
Gambari, who is also the founder of Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, lauded ECOWAS for its commitment to promoting democratic institutions in the region.
Speaking on corruption, he described as saddening a situation where people limited corruption to stealing, adding that impunity should be addressed with utmost vigour so that the country could witness genuine change.
Gambari said weak leaders attempt to subvert strong institutions, adding that because of their insecurity, they tend to attack rather than build strong institutions.
He said, “Contrary to perceptions outside, ECOWAS has taken huge steps to establish democratic institutions because it is not enough to mouth democracy — the government of the people, for the people, by the people. But there has to be sustainability and that could only be done be establishing and implementing democratic institutions.”
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