The people of Africa are just about now realizing that the template for democracy inspired by western “advanced democracies” may not quite work in our fledgling iterations. We continually have problems brought about both by the short amount of time we have had to improve upon this democracy and by the many inefficiencies we have discovered by adapting it to our purposes.

The value of democracy lies perhaps more in the fluidity with which many sustainable agencies. and institutions can be set up rather than the (mirage of) civil liberties afforded to each individual through their right to vote. As such, the template goal of any democracy or rather any government structure should be the ability to set up and create successful and sustainable institutions that become permanent and outlast the fickleness of presidential terms.

The question this is: in our current state with unusually high levels of unemployment, dismal human capitalization (Malcolm Gladwell) rates per individual, economies that are as shaky as whatever the undulating value of their primary export is and (would you guess it) high discontent with the government and ruling classes, is there a better way to do democracy?

I have an argument that centers around decentralization. Now hold your horses and I’ll explain the prevailing logic. One of the primary reasons why the development of agencies and institutions is the gold medal of democracy is that it decentralized responsibility from the core government. In lay terms it is like creating copies of oneself that can perform some of your duties while you focus on the rest of your duties or on new ones. You know how mom would say “do I have two heads?” or “there is only one of me” the government is mom and we simply would be giving the government multiple heads.

The next question would be how would we alter our core government structure to enable an efficient and rapid creation of sustainable agencies?

My proposal is radical because it attempts to decentralize responsibility all the way down to our democratic process. Starting at the top and perhaps with the hardest to swallow is to do away with the central command type idea of a presidency. I argue that we should have at least three presidents, each would run for a different major sector of the countries priorities. A division along the lines of foreign policy, domestic affairs and infrastructure would be the third part. You could argue that these should be different in terms of division and I would agree with your proposal as long as we have at least three co-presidents.

This further runs along to the finance of the country. I argue that disbursement analysis, budget creation and actual allocation should be handled by an entirely differently elected democratic council. Their powers and ability being entirely technical. This group would be allowed two terms in dis alignment with any other major elections this decentralizing budgeting from the government. Budgets would still in a sense be a combination of directive/suggestion from the presidents.

The senate would remain as is because they are the exemplification of decentralization in a sense and with the included absence of financial powers.

The Judiciary will be more systemized to include operating presidents, a strategic advisory board and sort of like the EFCC an enforcement council to independently monitor the state while the state police protects and serves the public.

The state governments will return to single core. leadership but with a similar financial situation where an autonomous board handles control and disbursement. The caveat is that for this to operate efficiently, states have to become financially independent with the exception of capital investments in the state for federal interested which may include establishing financial independence.

In addition, the civil service including governorship support personnel should be limited to appropriate federal and state caps in total number of individuals.

With these major shifts in structure we may then be able to establish an efficient and functional government that will bring us to change.

Let me know what you think

Best,

Akinade Aderele