Former President Goodluck Jonathan has recognized the shortage of unity as the best problem dealing with Nigeria’s political panorama, saying that real improvement will stay unattainable until this concern is addressed.
Jonathan made the assertion yesterday in Effurun, Delta State, the place he served as chairman on the Wellmann Group Colloquium.
The previous president famous that, regardless of Nigeria’s geographical and ecological variety, the advantages of unity ought to have been evident after over 100 years of amalgamation.
“There have to be a purpose why these two elements, the rainforest space and the savannah, had been introduced collectively to kind a greater nation. However now, this has created a nation of huge variety – in folks, faith, and tradition,” he stated.
Nevertheless, he lamented that, regardless of these numerous parts, the nation has not achieved the unity crucial for progress.
The previous president additionally criticized lawmakers within the Nationwide Meeting for prioritizing their ethnic affiliations over the collective good of the nation. He argued that federal lawmakers ought to characterize the whole nation, not simply their ethnic teams.
“Federal lawmakers should downplay this concern of my folks and start to take the entire nation as your folks,” he stated, urging the necessity to transcend ethnic boundaries for nationwide cohesion.
Jonathan additional emphasised that though Nigeria possesses the traits of a nation, the essential factor of unity stays absent.
“We’re extra loyal to our ethnic nationalities than to the nation itself,” he stated. He identified that whereas different nations with numerous ethnic teams have managed to construct a unified nation, Nigeria nonetheless struggles with weak nationwide boundaries.
In accordance with Jonathan, the duty for fostering unity lies not solely with the federal authorities but in addition with state and native leaders. He advocated for insurance policies that transcend political positive factors, urging leaders to nominate people based mostly on equitable issues that promote nationwide unity.
Recalling his expertise, he shared that he ensured each geopolitical zone was represented when making appointments, a technique he believes helped strengthen nationwide cohesion.
In his closing remarks, Jonathan stated that overcoming ethnic divisions should come earlier than tackling broader nationwide points, together with improvement. He concluded, “So long as we proceed to see ourselves as separate ethnic teams, it is going to be troublesome for us to develop this nation.”
