Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, while inaugurating some projects in Ekiti State on Friday, advised President Muhammadu Buhari to avoid the temptation to abuse power.
Jonathan commended Ayodele Fayose, governor of the state, urging Nigerian leaders to make personal sacrifices in the bid to strengthen the nation’s democracy and make the country great.
But he appealed to Buhari to resist the pressure from “unpatriotic elements” who wish to subjugate democracy to attain selfish ends.
“Since I came in I have been going round the state with the Governor. I have seen the support the Governor still has, I have seen the support the Peoples Democratic Party enjoys in the state. I have
also seen the enthusiasm of our people. I don’t believe anybody can defeat the PDP in Ekiti, if real election is going to be conducted,” he said.
“I use this opportunity to call on Mr. President because I was there before, and I know that when you are there, there is so much pressure on you to use all the powers at your disposal to subjugate democracy.
“Don’t do that because what you go with, at the end of the day, is the good name you leave behind. If you use your powers negatively, posterity will haunt you. I call on Mr. President to use his power to strengthen democracy because all the great democracies we see in the world today were built by people. People make sacrifices to make their country great.”
Making a case for good leadership, the former president said it has got to the stage where the nation’s neighbours cite the country as a bad example.
Jonathan said he feels sad each time people say negative things about Nigeria.
“A President of a neighbouring country, Ghana, recently made two negative remarks about Nigeria. First, the current Ghanaian President was addressing Ghanaians about the movement of cattle within their shores and he said openly that Ghana is not like Nigeria where cattle roam freely. That was quite uncomplimentary,” he said.
He added that recently the same president was speaking in the United Kingdom when he made disparaging remarks about Nigeria’s currency.
“If it has got to a level when the Presidents of neighbouring countries will cite Nigeria as a negative example, then we must know as leaders of this country that certain things are not going well, and we must change the way we do things,” he said.
