BY: Mohammed Oluwatimileyin Taoheed
The past President of Nigeria, Ebele Goodluck Jonathan, has lamented on Saturday that previous presidents’ attempts to unite Nigeria, particularly those of the First Republic, failed because their programs and policies were regional rather than nationalistic.
Meanwhile, Jonathan asserted that despite the authorities’ sound efforts, centrifugal forces that bolstered ethnic interests won out over their efforts to position the country for economic development.
AND, the former president advised Nigerians to be careful when casting ballots, saying, “We must shift away from the politics of bread and butter.”
Jonathan made this known in his paper entitled: ‘Lasting legacy: Key to Nigeria’s development issues’, at the one-year memorial lecture in honour of late Captain Hosa Okunbo in Abuja.
Jonathan confirmed that the present generation of leaders inherited a nation that had already become seperated into three and then four regions.
According to him: “I believe that the legacy of nationhood and roots of unity were weak at Nigeria’s independence and not much has been done since then to strengthen the base of the union.
“The decision to shift away from the regional arrangement to a national focus, where Nigerians will begin to see their country as their common heritage, need a different orientation, planning, strategy and adaptation.
“My charge to Nigerians is to be circumspect in the exercise of their voting rights. We must shift away from the politics of bread and butter and ensure that we do not elect leaders that will buy our conscience today and mortgage the future of our children and grandchildren. We should endeavour to elect only those that will leave legacies of unity, peace and development.”
