Former President Goodluck Jonathan has stated that Nigeria’s greatest political challenge is its lack of unity, emphasizing that true development will remain unattainable until this issue is addressed.
Speaking yesterday in Effurun, Delta State, as the chairman of the Wellmann Group Colloquium, Jonathan noted that, after more than a century of amalgamation, Nigerians should have recognized the importance of unity, especially given the country’s diverse geography and ecology.
“There must be a reason why these people felt that bringing these two parts, the rainforest area and the savannah together, would form a better country. But that now creates a country with so much diversity: diversity of human beings and diversity in terms of religion. Then, from the amalgamation to date, we have not been able to develop ourselves to the extent that we see ourselves as one,” he said.
He criticized lawmakers in the National Assembly who place the interests of their ethnic groups above those of the nation.
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“Some members stand up and say, ‘My people,’” he said. “Federal lawmakers must downplay this issue of my people and begin to take the whole country as your people. Because you are a member of the Nigerian National Assembly, either the Senate or House of Representatives. You are not a member of the assembly of your people at the state assembly. And I believe this is the area that we need to look at if we must get out of this quagmire.
“Presently, the forces separating us are too strong. We must weaken these nationality boundaries and see ourselves as a nation.”
He lamented that although Nigeria has the attributes of a nation, unity—the essential cornerstone of nationhood—remains absent.
“We believe in our own ethnic nationalities. So what you see in Nigeria is a conglomerate of small ethnic nationalities. And we are more loyal to these ethnic nationalities than to the nation. What we have today is that the boundaries between these nationalities are getting wider.
“Most countries also have these different nationalities that come together. But over the period, they begin to see themselves as a nation rather than a country. And until we begin to see ourselves as one nation, as the weak national boundaries between the nationalities, we cannot move anywhere.”
The former president emphasized that leaders have a crucial role to play at both the state and national levels. He called on political leaders to implement fair and sustainable policies and initiatives that go beyond seeking short-term approval.
“Since the constitution stipulates that each state must have a minister and there are 36 states, it is easier to appoint ministers because you can have one per state,” he said. He, however, added that it becomes more complicated with the appointment of heads of various parastatals, as this could easily lead to the president becoming tagged with allegations of nepotism.
Recalling his experience, Jonathan said, “What I did was, if a minister brings normally to the secretary of government at least two vacancies, I normally keep asking the secretary of government to wait until we have a minimum of six. And when we have a minimum of six, then when we are giving the appointments, we make sure that every geopolitical zone will have one. And that really helped me.”
He stated that political leaders, from the president to local government chairmen, must make a deliberate effort in all their appointments to prioritize the unity of the country, their states, and local government areas.
“All this is to reduce the forces that separate us,” he said.
Jonathan further stressed that resolving divisions among ethnic groups must take precedence before engaging in discussions on development and other national matters.
“While Nigeria is not the only country with multiple nationalities, it is the number one country where people are yet to see themselves as common citizens of Nigeria. And as long as you continue with that spirit, it will be difficult for us to develop this country.”
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