ABSTRACT: From the document presented by Olesugun Obasanjo, ex-President of Nigeria and Head of the African Leadership Forum, to the North-South Round Table at the meeting on Economy and Peace held in San Jose, Costarica, 4-5 January 1990:

(The New Party, n.2, July 1991)

It is a well-known fact that democracy is the system preferred by the ruled-over but usually denied to them by their rulers.

The natural instinct of man, as a governed animal, is for democracy.

I am convinced that in Africa democracy will not only survive, but will spread like a virus that cannot be halted. The advance of democracy in Africa must bring about responsibility in the Africans themselves. The Africans must be the avantgarde of the movement that leads to a new era of democracy.

The reality of the situation is that the passage from non-democracy to democracy may be uneven, long, and troubled. The fundamental human rights, in particular, must be stressed, because without them democracy cannot exist.

Democracy is the only adhesive which can both join and save our different ethnic groups in the nations with a common destiny, the same interests and a common identity, on a permanent basis. What we lack most is guiding leaders with democratic ideals and spirit. But we will have them, even if in small doses and for brief periods. The small successes must be consolidated and the democratic process must not be destroyed.