Goodluck Jonathan, a former president, has sounded the alarm about the nation’s democracy slipping into a dictatorship.
On Wednesday, August 31, Jonathan warned Nigerians not to let their guard down because doing so would cause democracy to regress into fascism. Jonathan was speaking at the 70th birthday celebration of Mathew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, in Abuja.
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The former president urged Nigerian politicians to respect all points of view. He stated:
“Obviously many people, especially our youths, are becoming increasingly disillusioned about our politics and democracy.
“However, we must remain on the democratic path because it is the only practical way of effectively managing our diversity, developing sustainably, and recording progress as a nation.
“The task before all of us is not to lower our guards lest the democracy we cherish today succumbs to threats and recedes into fascism tomorrow because there are signs.
“Looking at the states and so on, we are derailing towards quasi-fascist form of government, but democracy is not only about winning elections alone, it is about accommodation. We, as leaders at the centre and at the state levels, especially at this time when elections are coming, must accommodate different views.
“Towards this goal, we are again faced with a good opportunity of choosing our leaders as the nation prepares to go to the polls next year. Let us choose those that will take us to the desired destination and the promised land.”
Urging Nigerians not to give up, he added;
“Nigeria may not be where we want it to and should be, but we should not give up or lose hope by focusing on only the negative.
“Judging from where we are coming from since independence in 1960, we may have been moving slowly in our journey of nationhood, but it is a journey of progress, all the same.”
