The former President, Jerry Rawlings, has said that culture of democracy is being undermined in Africa, saying that electoral processes are fast losing their integrity in the continent.

Rawlings disclosed this while speaking with Nigeria’s Punch newspaper at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

He added that democracy was being undermined by immorality in international politics and unethical business practices.

The ex-President further said that legislative checks, which were meant to strengthen the system of governance, were found wanting in Africa.

He said: “As far as I am concerned, I think the culture of democracy in Africa is being undermined by the unipolar situation, by the immorality in international politics and the unethical business practices that are going on.”

Rawlings also urged African leaders to imbibe what was obtainable in the Western world where the parliaments, congresses and civil societies had the power to correct any perceived abnormality in the system.

He said: “The Western powers and a lot of these European powers have what I call the “handbrake”.

Their parliaments, their congresses and their civil societies have the capacity to pull the hand brake, to prevent their vehicle from reversing.

“South America has demonstrated to an extent its electoral integrity, but not in Africa. So what do we have? We have a situation where we do not want military coups but at the same time electoral processes are seriously loosing their integrity.”

Rawlings, who arrived with his wife, Nana Konadu was in Nigeria on the invitation of Mr. Caleb Olumese, owner of Night Shift Coliseum in Lagos.

He was received at the airport by Nigeria’s one-time External Affairs Minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi.

Rawlings also spoke on the publicized discovery of oil in Ghana.

He added that such a discovery had been publicized in 1970 but nothing came out of it, saying that time would tell whether the recent discovery was real.

Credit: The Punch