Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has suggested that Nigeria should create two buildings in Abuja to display pictures of individuals who have contributed to the country’s problems.
He argued that such an initiative would ensure their descendants recognise the negative roles their forefathers played in Nigeria’s history.
Speaking at the book launch of former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, in Abuja on Tuesday, Jonathan criticised Nigerians for tolerating bad behaviour from political leaders.
He insisted that political leaders would act responsibly only when citizens begin to reject misconduct.
“We, Nigerians, celebrate the wrong thing. And I believe one day, the country will get to the level where people will reject bad behaviour. And when we get to the level that we reject bad behaviour, this issue will not happen again,” he said.
“Maybe one day, we will have two big buildings in Abuja where we will put pictures of people — whether dead or alive — who have messed up this country so that their grandchildren will know their forefathers were part of Nigeria’s problems,” he stated.
Jonathan strongly opposed the use of military personnel for election duties, stating that it overstretches the armed forces.
He emphasised that elections should primarily be managed by the police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Having been the President of this country before, when you talk about internal security, it’s an area that touches my heart. And especially when you talk about election security, again, it’s an area that touches my heart. One gets worried when it comes to Nigerian elections,” he noted.
Jonathan compared Nigeria’s election security with that of Botswana and Senegal, where the military’s involvement is minimal. He explained that in Botswana, police officers handle election security while the military focuses on securing government facilities.
“In Senegal, polling stations are managed by electoral officials, with police stationed outside to intervene only if necessary.
“I just came back from Botswana some months back during the election. It’s a very small country with a small population, so almost all the police officers were used for the election,” he said.
“What the military does is that those regular duties that the police officers were doing, including securing the police headquarters, the military took over.”
Speaking at the same event, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, stressed that the credibility of elections depends on the leadership overseeing them.
He recalled how he ensured a fair electoral process in his state during Jonathan’s administration.
“I have experienced a free and fair election. During my second tenure as governor under President Jonathan, I approached him and said, ‘Mr. President, I don’t want a single vote that doesn’t belong to me. Let the election be free and fair,’” Obi stated.
He recounted how Jonathan intervened when members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attempted to interfere in his state’s elections.
“I have so many people together with me. Even when his own party people, PDP, came to my state, I called him and said, ‘Mr. President, I’m in my village. I don’t want people wandering around in my state,’ and within a few minutes, he called them and they left the state,” he revealed.
Obi further argued that electoral credibility is determined by the integrity of those in charge, adding that addressing corruption among public officials would positively impact security.
“If we want to talk about security, when we stop stealing as public officers, all these criminals equally learn from us and even policemen will do their work better. Election policing is easy if we have people who are not ready to manipulate the elections,” he concluded.
