Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has issued a strong warning that flawed elections are destroying democracy in Nigeria across Africa and could wipe it out completely if nothing changes.
Speaking at the 2025 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue held in Accra Ghana Jonathan pointed straight at the heart of the problem. He said the main issue facing the continent is the way elections are run. Leaders and their teams twist and manipulate the process by any means necessary just to stay in office even when the people no longer want them there.
In a real working democracy, he explained if a leader performs badly voters simply remove them at the next election and that ends the matter. But in many African countries those in power use every tool of government including security forces money and state institutions to force themselves back onto the ballot or change the rules so they can remain indefinitely. This creates a cycle where bad governance continues unchecked while ordinary citizens suffer.
Jonathan stressed that he often talks about the state of democracy in Africa. He referenced a point made by Bissau Kukasi that democracies do not simply collapse overnight but if the current slide continues without serious fixes the system could reach a breaking point and democracy itself might disappear from the continent.
The event brought together current and former leaders including Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo along with other experts and civil society voices. The 2025 dialogue carried the theme Why Democracies Die and focused on the urgent need to protect and strengthen democratic institutions before it is too late.
Jonathan called for honest conversations and practical reforms so that elections become genuine tools for accountability rather than machinery for endless power retention. His remarks have sparked fresh debate on how African nations can build systems where leaders fear the voters more than they fear losing control.
