Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has stated that the human mindset was key to resolution of the electoral problems in Nigeria.
Jonathan was reacting to the outcome of the just concluded Edo State governorship election. He stressed that the outcome of the election has shown that technology alone would not solve Nigerian’s electoral challenges.
The former President regretted that many Nigerians had a dirty attitude to politics. He, therefore, canvassed attitudinal change among citizens.
Jonathan made this remarks in Abuja at a programme organized by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and Partners in commemoration of the International Day of Peace.
The former President noted that the struggle for power remained the major cause of conflicts in Africa.
Jonathan stated that there was little technology could do to make right a fraudulent electoral process. This, he said, is because it could still be manipulated by corrupt human minds.
According to him, technology would not solve the problems in Nigeria’s electoral process, because technologies could be manipulated if the human mind was corrupt.
He said, “Here in Nigeria, we talk about technology. Without the human mind ready to do what is right, if we bring the technology, they will manipulate it.”
“Actually, 10 top countries are in conflict globally. Three of them are in sub-Saharan Africa. And quite a number of countries around us, including us, are in one form of conflict or the other.
“And when you look at what causes conflict in Africa, most cases are struggle for leadership, contestation for power. That is the main cause of conflict.
“Sometimes when you go through a society, and you can tell all kinds of stories. But by the time you do proper analysis, and dig deep, you know that most cause of conflict is leadership struggle. That is why I’m only worried about my country Nigeria.”
Jonathan, who chaired the occasion, stated that the notion that politics was dirty, was wrong. He emphasized that the players were responsible for the dirty state of politics in Nigeria and Africa, in general.
“People say politics is a dirty game. The way we play our politics is the way we want to play it.
“Remember (Olusegun) Obasanjo, the former President, recently made a statement that politics is not dirty. But that the people that play politics, come to play politics with their dirty minds, dirty hearts and dirty character.
“And that is why people say politics is dirty. And in that case, we must all begin to think differently. We must cultivate the culture of peace,” Jonathan said.
The former President, therefore, urged Nigerians and Africans, in general, to start developing a culture of peace. He stated that peace should be part of everyday life.
“Until we get to that level where we develop the culture of peace in this country, we will always have political conflicts in our election.
“And without us strengthening that effort, without us developing that culture of testing a nation peacefully, we will always be in conflict in Africa and in Nigeria,” he added.
The former President was inducted as Fellow of the Institute at the programme. He became the second individual to be so honoured, after former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon.
General Gowon was given the award in 2023 in recognition of his efforts at the reintegration of Nigeria after the civil war.
Jonathan, is the only Nigerian former President to hand over power to an opposition party after his defeat at the polls.
Follow us for more news on our WhatsApp News Channels @
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaC505jB4hdZ5Yx9g82U