Nigeria’s former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has pointed out that the struggle for power remains the major cause of conflicts on the African continent.
He also noted that there is little technology can do to make right the fraudulent Nigerian electoral processes as it could be manipulated by corrupt human minds.
Jonathan gave the remark on Tuesday at a a programme organized by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and partners in commemoration of the International Day of Peace in Abuja. Jonathan was also honoured as a Fellow.
He became the second individual to be so honoured after Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), Nigeria’s Head of State who oversaw the reintegration of the country after the Civil War, was given the same honour last year.
Speaking at the event, Jonathan said: “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 is struggle for leadership, contestation for power. And 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 causes of conflict is leadership struggle. That is why I’m only worried about my country Nigeria.”
The former president, who chaired the programme, noted that the notion that politics is dirty is wrong, stressing that the players are responsible for the dirty state of politics in Nigeria and Africa in general.
He said: “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 the people that play the politics, come to play politics with their dirty minds and 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,” he added.
He said Nigerians and Africans in general must start developing a culture of peace, noting that peace should be part of their 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.”
The former president, who remains the only Nigerian president to hand over to opposition party after he was defeated at the polls, cited the recently conducted governorship election in Edo State, noting that there was more tension after the election than before, due to the feelings that some things were not done rightly.
He noted that technology would not solve the problem in Nigeria’s electoral process, decrying that technology would be manipulated if the human mind is corrupt.
“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,” he said.
While delivering his lecture, Dr Samuel Iroye, the Head of Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the National Open University of Nigeria, said all Nigerians need to play a part in the promotion of the culture of peace in the country.
Iroye, while stating that peace was not an ideology but a practical experience that could be felt called for the engagement of youths in developmental initiatives.
He said to achieve peace, there must be a level playing ground for everyone through education, stressing that the education curriculum in Nigeria doesn’t promote the culture of peace.
“To ensure a culture of peace, we must ensure that we have peace within ourselves”, he said, adding that no one could give what he doesn’t have.
Earlier, the Director General of (IPCR), Dr Joseph Ochogwu, said peace is an orphan, adding that people like to enjoy it but don’t want to invest in it.
While decrying the level of violence across the world, he charged Nigerians to start investing in the development of the culture of peace.
On why President Jonathan was picked for the award, Ochogwu said it was because of his ideology which promote peace above personal considerations, recalling the former President’s statement that nobody’s life is worth sacrificing for any personal political interest.
Michael Olugbode
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