Former President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, reminisced on his 2015 timeous concession telephone call to his then rival, Muhammadu Buhari, and said it was a “collective decision to save Nigeria”.
Speaking at the Goodluck Jonathan 2022 Peace Conference themed, “Nation Building: The Role of Elections in a Multi-ethnic Context”, the former president, however, warned current political actors to tread with caution in the run-up to the 2023 general election, saying there first must be a country before their aspiration.
Jonathan, who in his speech, described hate speech and propaganda as threat to democratic, reacted to comments that he saved Nigeria and bloodshed by telephoning now President Buhari to concede defeat, saying, it was a collective decision.
“We saved the country collectively,” he said, noting that the era of ballot box snatching was over, because of the introduction of electronic voting as contained in the new electoral act.
He recounted his experience in his home town, where ballot boxes were snatched during the first and second republic, but maintained that, “All these are a thing of the past because of innovations in the electoral act.”
Continuing, the former president explained that, “First and foremost, there must be a country first. If you destroy a country, how can you be the president of Nigeria or governor.
“Those who want to be president, there must be a country first. So, those who want to be president tell your supporters that there must be a country first.”
Specifically to the youths, he said, “We urge you to discourage hate speech. Hate speech and propaganda remain one of the threats to democracy. The young people should embrace good conduct.”
On his part, the former head of state, said, “It is pertinent to say there cannot be democracy without elections. Election is an important component of democracy. The forthcoming 2023 general election, therefore, represents an opportunity for Nigeria to consolidate its democratic success.
“While we celebrate the ability of this great nation of ours in its peaceful democratic transitions and all the actors, who play by the rules, it is equally important that, we should not rest on the gains of old. As political actors, some have the habit of appealing to tribal, religious, ethnic and cultural sentiments.
“Therefore, as we are about to formally commence campaign for the 2023 general election, the ECOWAS calls on Nigerian political actors and their supporters to avoid the weaponisation of ethnic and religious biases that will jeopardise democracy, but to embrace issue-based campaigns that center on good governance and quality representation.
“Let’s always place Nigeria before ambition as elections come and go, but the nation remains. People predicted the collapse of the nation in the past, but the nation remains and this coming election will not be different. This is time to consolidate our democracy. I call on all security agencies, INEC and others to put the nation first before their ambition,” he stated.
