Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged politicians to shun violence ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Jonathan gave the advice on Tuesday in Abuja at the 2022 peace conference organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation.
According to the ex-President, Nigeria must exist before it can have another President.
Jonathan stressed that those interested in becoming president, governors, and legislators also have roles to play in preserving the nation’s democracy.
In his words, “We must have a state before you talk about having a President or a governor. If you destroy the country, then where do we need a President?
“Anybody who is interested in leadership at the level of a president, governor, senator, etc, you have the biggest stake to protect the nation.
“Both those who want to be President, governors and their supporters should first know that we need to have a nation before whoever you are supporting can emerge (into leadership position).”
The former Nigerian leader also mentioned hate speech and propaganda as posing the biggest threat to Nigerian democracy and appealed to Nigerians not to engage in such.
The some prominent Nigerians attended t
The peace conference titled, “The Role of Elections in a Multi-Ethnic Context.” was attended by some prominent Nigerians, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjkpo.
Former Governor of Bauchi state, Isa Yuguda, Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto Diocese, among others were also in attendance.
