We are trying to build a democratic system on a monarchial foundation. People leave office without wanting to leave office – Pastor Sam Adeyemi gives reasons for Godfatherism

Pastor Sam Adeyemi, the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, commented that godfatherism in Nigerian politics stems from individuals reluctant to vacate their positions in office.

During his appearance on Wednesday’s Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, Adeyemi highlighted Nigeria’s struggle to establish a democratic system based on a structure resembling a monarchy rather than an electoral process.

He also noted that Nigeria is deeply divided along ethnic, religious, and political lines, which makes it challenging to foster a regenerative form of leadership.

He said; “What we need to bear in mind is that in the monarchical structure, you don’t have elections; you leave office when you die. We are now trying to build a democratic system on that foundation.

“So, people leave office without wanting to leave office, so we have this godfatherism and all of that. Whenever I look at leadership within the context of Africa, I come to the conclusion that the average African has the monarchical structure of leadership in our DNA.

“It produces the same result in the family, in businesses, in government, and even in our religious organisations—we treat our leaders like kings.” 

“We are polarised along ethnic lines, religious lines, and political lines, and that makes it easy for the kind of leadership that we have had to continue. We need a total change in the leadership system, and that’s why I emphasise a lot the leadership culture.

“At a collective level, we are on a dangerous path when it comes to leadership; you will just notice we’ve been producing the same results. I’m not that old but in the few decades I have spent in Nigeria and Africa, we’ve been producing the same results over and over again.”