Jonathan links Nigeria’s challenges to ethnic, religious faultlines

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has decried the current state of affairs in the country, linking them to the increasing faultlines and rancour along tribal and religious lines.

Jonathan also faulted the nation’s leadership not doing enough to ensure the elimination of ethnic sentiments in the country.

He made this call on Wednesday in an address at the 13th Joe-Kyari Gadzama Public Lecture which was held virtually and physically in Abuja with the theme: ‘Redefining Democracy: Yearnings of the Minority in a Democratic Setting’.

“Looking to the future, I can say that our leaders can do a lot more to eliminate ethnic sentiments in our society, enthrone merit and build a system that gives citizens equal opportunities to excel.

“There has to be a united, strong and cohesive Nigerian nation of patriotic citizens for any structure or system to yield the promise of our shared prosperity,” Jonathan said.

He also opined that “the political evolution of leadership in Nigeria has been too concentrated along tribal and religious lines and that is still haunting us today.”

Commenting on agitations for self determination in parts of the country, Jonathan noted that where the minority feels they are not relevant, there will be a tendency to fulfil their destiny with a different approach.

According to him, that tendency gave rise to unending agitations and resistance movements across the world.

On federal character in appointments, Jonathan said the Federal Character Commission (FCC) over many decades “may have been doing its best to give everyone fair representation and a fair sense of belonging, but there are still many who feel that this agency of government has not fully addressed the challenges of accommodating minorities”.