Urges Tinubu to dilute politics of religion, region
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said the winner-takes-all disposition, which alienates other parties, notwithstanding their performance at the polls, is inimical to political justice and hampers unity.
Speaking as Chairman of the National Symposium for this year’s Democracy Day, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday, Jonathan observed that the present zero-sum politics in the country over the years promoted desperation, agitation and disunity.
The former President advised the National Assembly to work out a formula that would accommodate political parties that scored a certain percentage of votes in an election in governance.
Jonathan, who was President from 2010 to 2015 stated, “As I round off, let me say that we need to come up with a democratic model that will be more inclusive and reinforces social cohesion.
“A political party, for example, that scored up to 30 per cent of votes in an election at the federal or states should not lose everything. We need to come up with innovative solutions that will address the challenge of political exclusion that usually comes up after elections.”
He advised the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to ensure that the politics of the next 25 years is transformative and inclusive, adding that there must be a determined effort to dilute the politics of region and religion.
“In line with the lyrics of our National Anthem, I think the second stanza, ‘To hand on to our children a banner without stain.’ We must not hand over to our children a democracy built on politics of region or religion. A democracy built on ethnicity does not endure; it will continue to wobble.”
