Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan has berated democratic process in Africa, accusing African politicians of replacing coup in the era of military regimes with political coups in the era of democratic dispensation.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Jonathan made the observation on Saturday while speaking at the 17th convocation ceremony of Nigeria’s premier private university, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, where the former President was conferred with a Honorary Doctor of Science Degree and the institution’s college of arts was renamed after him.
The former President rated the conduct of the recent Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections low, and cited the violence recorded at the elections as heartrending, falling short of what ought to “happen in any normal society, while urging politicians to play politics by the rules and for the overall interest of Nigerians.
“What happened in the last governorship elections in my state, Bayelsa state, in Kogi state, where that young lady was burnt alive in her house, is something that should not happen in any normal society. Something is fundamentally wrong with our political system.
“Only yesterday in N’djamena, we were discussing the politics of our continent; most of us former heads of states, presidents, former presidents, vice presidents. The way African politics is going we are replacing military coup with political coup d’etat, and that cannot sustain the continent,” he said.
“Let me plead with my fellow politicians, they should stop killing people,and destroying properties because people want to own offices,” he said.
Commending the founder of Igbinedion University, Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion for his perseverance and doggedness in sustaining the private university over the years, stressing that government alone cannot champion the cause of citizens’ education, Jonathan said no country can develop above its level of education.
He called on both the private sector and government to play their roles in ensuring that the educational standard of the country is improved upon for the development of Nigeria.
He also called on Igbinedion to resuscitate his moribund Okada Airlines to further propel the country’s aviation sector, saying that Nigerians want the airline back.
Addressing graduands, Jonathan said the survival of the country rests on the shoulders of the youths, advising them to be focused.
He said he was convinced that the knowledge they have acquired throughout their learning years has prepared them well to face challenges ahead.
Earlier, the institution’s chancellor, Igbinedion, said the university, in its first 20 years, has graduated well over 1,000 doctors, adding that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) said it has inducted only a little over 82,000 medical doctors.
The institution’s deputy chancellor, Lucky Igbinedion, who spoke for his father, mentioned the World Health Organization (WHO) disclosed that Nigeria needs a total of 237,000 doctors for an efficient healthcare delivery system, but that only 35,000 doctors are available.
He said based on the dearth of doctors in the country, the institution has pleaded with Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to increase the admission quota to the institution to be able to meet up with the health demands of citizens.