Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged the Nigerian electorate to be circumspect with their votes during the forthcoming 2023 general elections, and not mortgage the future of their children by voting leaders with conscience.
The former leaders who spoke while delivering a keynote address titled: ‘Lasting Legacy: Key to Nigeria’s Development Issues’, at the one-year memorial summit in honour of the late Captain Idahosa Okunbo in Abuja, Saturday, said Nigerians “must shift away from the politics of bread and butter.”
While urging the people to elect the kind of leaders deserving of the country so that she could claim her rightful place in the comity of nations, Jonathan said Nigerians should ensure that only those who would foster national unity were elected to lead the country.
His words: “Ahead of 2023 elections, we are getting ready to be wooed and wowed at campaign grounds by various politicians seeking different offices. But these thoughts are beyond 2023. It is about Nigeria and the kind of leadership it deserves now and, in the future, to ensure that our country assumes its rightful place among the comity of nations.
“My charge to Nigerians is to be circumspect in the exercise of their voting rights. We must shift away from the politics of bread and butter and ensure that we do not elect leaders that will buy our conscience today and mortgage the future of our children and grandchildren.
“We should endeavour to elect only those that will leave legacies of unity, peace, and development,” he said, adding that those with aspirations to lead the country in all capacities should be concerned about the value of their leadership style. Jonathan stated further that every political leader should be fired by the kind of legacy he wanted to leave behind for posterity.
He added, “Those who also lead at various capacities in politics and business, be they councillors, council chairpersons, governors, lawmakers at both state and national levels as well as boardroom gurus, should be bothered about the value of their leadership style. “The essence of leadership is to drive initiatives that seek to build sustainable societies and make the lives of the people better and more meaningful. Every political leader should, in a moment of introspection, spare a thought for the legacy he or she would leave behind. Will you be remembered as a deceitful leader, an ethnic bigot, religious fanatic or a nation builder that would leave lasting legacies for the people,” he added
