Democracy Is Not The Solution To Our Problems

• Leading African Historian, Prof. TOYIN FALOLA

Professor Toyin Falola is a world renowned historian and scholar. He is a public figure of global stature. Since 1991, he has taught in the Department of History at the University of Texas, Austin where he holds the Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker chair in the Humanities. And he holds the title of University Distinguished Teaching Professor.

His career has been extraordinary. He has authored and edited more than 200 books and written countless articles and chapters. Prof. is the recipient of more than 30 Lifetime Achievement Awards, including most recently an MON national award conferred on him by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. He has received over 20 honorary doctorates from various universities across the globe, a doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree and 3 Chieftiancy titles. There have also been 8 books written about him.

Lately, he has been talking a lot about Democracy, especially how Western Democracy, as we know it today, can’t help African countries, like Nigeria. He delivered a lecture last year titled: The West & The Hypocrisy of Democracy. He is of the opinion that the West has sold Africans a fake product called Democracy. “Africans your vote is not a sign of Democracy. It is no more than a deception. There is no Democracy without Accountability. There is no Democracy without Transparency. There is no Democracy without Good Governance. He believes that Africans should begin to think of alternatives to democracy or at the very minimum, how Accountability and Transparency will form the core of our democratic practices.

He has a passion for academics, particularly the study of African history. He has focused on the decolonisation of African history and studies.

He is presently working on 5 new books. He says he plans to complete his 3 volumes on Nigeria for Cambridge Univ. Press, his books on the Yoruba for Indiana, his Memoir for Michigen and 5 Textbooks for Routledge & Decolomization for Rochester. He is 71. Last year October he delivered so many Lectures from 7th October 2023 to 30th October. He delivered so many convocation lectures and keynote addresses in many Universities across Nigeria.

Last July, Toyin Falola, Africa’s most decorated historian & humanity scholar delivered the Commencement speech at Adeleke University. He has given lectures in over 65 countries. And wait for this!

A few weeks back he dropped a bombshell that Western form of Democracy can’t help us. It was during an interview he granted Africa WebTV.

According to him, “President Jomo Kenyatta came up with an allegory. And I’ll add a little embellishment. So, the animals were wondering about the kind of life they were living, exposing themselves to rain, to sun, to mosquito bites. And they decided, let’s behave like human beings, let’s build our own houses. Yes, the the Fox built it’s house. Like you and me, he called for a house warming party and when the party was over the Lion said before the count of three, Fox, I want you to leave this house. 1,2, he ran away and that was the end of his investment.

He summoned courage again and said okay! I’ll build another house. When the party was over , the Hyena said before the count of three, I want you to leave. He lost his house. Then, he built the biggest house and called another party. Unknown to them, he had set up a system that’ll burn down the house. So, they were all in, and he took an excuse and he set the entire house on fire. The Tiger died, The Lion died. The Hyena died and President Jomo Kenyatta converted the allegory that if there’s no Justice, there’s not going to be peace. Power sharing is connected with Corruption, because the very basis of power sharing in many situation, is to allocate authority and resources to yourself.

Constitutions are always products of conflicts and wars. So, if you see the American Constitution after the American Civil War, you’ll renegotiate. If you look at the South African Constitution, in the context of Apartheid, you’re trying to manage serious problems through the Constitution. And in trying to manage these things, you’re dealing with Pluralism- that you have many ethnic groups and religious identities. We don’t even look alike. We have to deal even with colour differences, racial differences, gender differences. So, plural societies are very difficult to manage.

Second, dual societies- Rwanda, where our friend won 98.5% of the votes. You know that is not possible. Even if you go to heaven, Satan lives there, Angels live there, good Christians like me will go to heaven, bad Christians like some of you will go to hell. So, how can I win 98.5%? There’s no theoretician that has given us any document to manage a dual society. I’m Utu,  you’re Tutson. Am I not going to vote for the Utu? If you’re Tutson, are you not going to vote for a Tutson candidate? So, by its very nature, dual societies are complicated.

The Western devise of Democracy is severally flawed. Why Africans have bought into the Western conception of Decmoracy, I do not understand. By its very nature, Democracy is very messy.

Contrary to what you read in books that it unites you, it actually does the opposite. Democracy revives everything that’ll divide you. Democracy revives Gender and Religious identities.

That’s what it does. See the forthcoming American Presidential election, that Democracy will bring out the worst in society- Racism, Immigration. Between the Goats and the Lions they cannot be together. One is a vegetarian and the other eats only flesh. Politicians are the grand masters of deceit. There is no honest politician anywhere in the world.

None. It is a business of betrayal, whether in South Africa, Nigeria or the US. Leadership is connected to interests, to the factions you want to improve, to the money you want to steal, because you can never tell a politician not to steal money.

As this election unfolds, you’ll see what we call democracy in action, that it  actually produces what will create a War. America, the U.S that many of you celebrate, the reason why it doesn’t have civil war issues is that boundaries of state- California, Texas  are not co-terminus with the boundaries of ethnicity.You understand. If for instance, Texas is just Hispanic, Louisiana is just white only they’ll behave exactly like Nigeria and Chad.  When you now bring this democracy to us without interrogating it, it’s going to bring the worst in us as well

In the last Nigerian election, Are you Igbo? Are you Yoruba? Are you Fulani? Are you Hausa? Those  are the fundamental premises and you find how this democracy itself has produced political factionalism in this great country.

You have Ideological differences- You’re a Marxist, You’re a Capitalist, this is your ideology, that is your ideology; you’re going to fight because ideologies by their nature produce that fight as in my first allegory between the Goats and the Lions. They can’t be together. One is a Vegetarian and the other eats only flesh.

Then, you have policy agendas. At any level- family, local, national, international, policy agendas are never going to be the same. So, your wife wants to drive a nice car- Mercedes Benz right and, that is going to generate a fight if you want a Camry. There’s just nothing you can do about that. Policy agendas always create problems.

Leadership and personalities are very complicated. Politicians are the grand masters of deceit. There’s no honest politician anywhere in the world- You understand. None. It’s a business of betrayal and the process of producing that leadership is very complicated in terms of governance.  So, whether it’s South Africa or Nigeria or the U.S, leadership is connected to interest – to the factions you want to improve, to the money you want to steal because you can never tell a politician not to steal money. If he doesn’t steal money, he’s not going to get to heaven. That is their own business.

And the theories of factionalism is that it produces internal conflict while it promises to resolve conflict- You understand. It’s a mechanism to resolve conflict but it generates it’s own conflicts as you have to challenge one another. Two days ago, I was listening to parliament. I was fascinated by what they were talking about. One parliamentarian wants the police to expand, another wants the army to expand, another for  mine workers, another for school system. They’re just talking, nothing is going to happen. It’s very entertaining but if you think that budget is going to change, you’re just deceiving yourself because if you say I want the police to expand, then, they’ll ask you- Where should we take the money from? because they cannot access money. They cannot spend what they don’t have. Unless, they want to go and print money.

Then, you’re going to fight over alliances. You can’t overcome that. And you’ll fight over personality issues and you’ll fight over other things.

How do these things now apply to out great country?

They have released the document,which is in the Internet. What they mean, how to dissolve it, it’s very brilliant if you read it . They talk about the modalities of government of national unity and they publicized this. Let me make 5 points each on 3 aspects

1. That there’s an historical context of this government of national unity because after it emerged from decades of struggles against Apartheid, the Mandela government was formed that way.
2. There have benn leadership battles. Within 24 hours some months ago, the president was even about to resign. Zuma left, President Mbeki did not complete his term.So, that leadership battle will never end. If you’re looking for an end to leadership battles, you’re saying that human beings must not have ambitions and you’re not going to have a collection of human beings without ambitions. All of us in this room have ambitions. They may even be noble as wanting to make your own children successful. Because even at that extended family influences may set it.
3. You’re going to have Policy disputes. How can we all sit in this room and not have policy disputes? It’s not possible. I’m a professor. I want all money to go to Education but that’s my own preference. But if you’re a business man, you’ll query the value of education. He will say, all these historians that you have been producing, what are they useful for? Why can’t we establish another Brewery so that more people will drink beer?. That’s a policy and I can’t stop you from having those policies and having those ambitions but they will generate crisis.
4. We’re divided by Religion. We’re divided by Race. We’re divided by Ethnicity. We have to fight. Policies are connected to those divisions.
5. And the way we evaluate the impact of governance is also based on self-interest. If we have been privileged to steal $20,000,000 from the government, it’s a good government. If you fix roads, it’s a good government. The cracks on the roads, the potholes. I know a person who became a millionaire on potholes.During the night, he and his boys will go and create potholes and to those who gave him contract, that’s a good government. A government that makes you a millionaire fixing potholes is the government you cherish. And as we map out all these differences, our interests are different.

What are the current challenges that this government of National unity is going to have?

1. Economic Inequality is there. It is not an arrangement that will solve this economic Inequality. If you know how a government of National unity can solve economic Inequality, they should actually pay you.
2. It is not going to eliminate Corruption. It can reduce the amount that comes to your pocket because if you do not spread corruption to the parties in coalition and to the leadership of that coalition, it is going to collapse. You have to give the Zuma party something, you have to give the ANC something, you have to give the other small parties something. How you do that is part of how you stabilize the government and manage it.
3. Then, you have issues of social coercion – and that social coercion will merge with issues around social delivery.
4. It is not going to solve the issues of Crime and Violence.

But, there are opportunities: 1. The demographic dividend will continue. 2. The natural resources are not just going to disappear. 3. Elements of democratic institutions are not going to disappear

So how do we move forward?

1. The government must embark on economic reform. They must do Anti-corruption efforts. At least, they must create a perception to their citizens that are not corrupt.
2. They must do Social investment in education and healthcare, Safety and Security.
3. And they must do everything to produce political stability. Otherwise, the country can move into the direction of crisis.

So, the future of this great country lies in: 1. How the collective efforts of government are managed. 2. How you balance interest of power with that of civil society. 3. How you let private sector be functional without corruption. 4. And how citizens must believe that their social contracts have not been violated.

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