Former President Goodluck
Jonathan has warned the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to be partisan in the forthcoming
elections.
He also asked politicians not to
support actions that could instigate violence in the country.
The former president said this at
the peace conference organised by his foundation in Abuja, on Thursday.
“If people feel INEC and similar
bodies are fair to all, it will make citizens behave better but if you do
otherwise, it will be a recipe for crisis,” he said at the event tagged:
‘Peaceful elections and national development’.
He added that as the elections
were fast approaching, politicians should be more interested on how to improve
the quality of lives, and not in any form of “impositions”.
The former president said the
foundation’s position is that Nigerians should avoid actions that may lead to
conflicts, especially in the election season.
“We are convinced that any one,
either in government or outside government, who truly loves Nigeria will not
want to play the role of the villain by lending his support to any action that
instigates crises,” he said.
“As the ongoing democratic
process unfolds, with the rest of the world watching with keen interest, we are
also mindful of the worries of Nigerians on whether it would end peacefully.
“Our political leaders must
realise that the greatest and most enduring legacy to leave behind is that of ‘peace
and development’.”
He also said when politicians
resort to “desperate measures” in the bid to occupy political positions, they
run the risk of plunging their countries into serious crises “that often lead
to loss of lives, degradation of values as well as destruction of private and
public assets.”
“These breed of politicians often
ignore the fact that to be patriotic is to love your country and be prepared to
live and die for her honour, reputation, freedom, progress and the ascendancy
of the common good,” Jonathan said.
“You can restore destroyed
infrastructure almost to its former state or even better, but you cannot easily
repair people’s psyche, reconcile aggrieved persons and restore hope in a
nation, once they are damaged in destructive leadership struggles.”
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