Former President Goodluck Jonathan and Head of States Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar (Rtd) have called on all political actors to embrace peace as the country goes to polls in the next few days.
The duo spoke on the needs for the political actors to douse tension, which has always been part of the country’s electoral process.
The two former leaders spoke at a one day conference on peaceful elections and national development organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) with the theme “Peaceful elections and National Development”.
They also pointed out peace was essential for the survival and development of the country.
Jonathan pointed out the strong connection between the struggle for power and national development in his opening speech.
He noted despite improvement recorded in the country’s electoral process, election-related violence has continued to occur.
This, he said, has hindered peaceful co-existence, economic growth and sustainable development.
He therefore called on political actors to change their approach and disposition towards stewardship, stressing as a nation, emphasis should be on the development of the people.
Jonathan further explained that the ten most developed nations on earth are those that experience the least conflicts while the ten least developed countries, many of them here in Africa, are the once wallowing in the worst form of conflicts.
He said: “No doubt, there is a strong nexus between the struggle for power and national development.
“It is my considered view that as African leaders, we must change our approach and disposition towards stewardship.
“We must get to the stage where we should be more interested in developing our people, rather than ruling or just governing them.
“In Nigeria we know that the injuries of the civil war which ended since 1970 are still in our memories.
“We know that good governance is the fertile ground upon which peace and sustainable economic growth are planted.
“In this regard, it is important to point out that in a democracy, periodic, credible and peaceful elections are the necessary gateway to improved governance and people-oriented development.
“Although it is reassuring to note that democracy is being consolidated on the continent, with elections now conducted routinely by many African nations, it is however difficult to express such optimism on the peaceful nature of the electoral processes.
“It is on record that despite the marked improvement on the regularity and number of democratic nations, election-related violence has continued to be experienced in many African nations, often to the detriment of peaceful co-existence, economic growth and sustainable development.”
Abubakar who was the chairman of the occasion, attributed electoral violence to keen competitions among the various contenders.
According to him: “Nigeria is not a stranger to electoral violence. This country has historically had its fair share of election violence. Some of the violence even dates back to pre- independence era and Nigerians have witnessed the destruction that took place and retarded development.
“All Nigerians and indeed the whole world are praying that the election will be peaceful. As we all know, peace is absolutely necessary for the survival a nation because without peace there will be no nation, without a nation there wouldn’t be any election.”
Abubakar also commended the former president for his handling of the 2015 general elections, especially with the prediction of that the country will be Balkanized.
He noted that Jonathan saved the country from plunging into political crisis by keeping to his words that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.
By conceding defeat in 2015, he stressed that Jonathan saved the country from falling into crises.
“The general elections where the doomsayers were predicting the Balkanisation of Nigeria but thank God through the action of Nigerians and the then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, they were proved wrong because this gentleman kept his word that his presidency is not worth the blood of any Nigerian and he graciously conceded defeat at that election,” he added.
