Former President Goodluck Jonathan has blamed Nigerians’ tolerance for the bad behaviours of the political leaders.
He said once Nigerians begin to demand and insist that the right thing be done, the political leaders will begin to do the right thing.
The ex-President also strongly criticised the deployment of military personnel for election duties in Nigeria, saying that it overstretches the military.
Speaking at the book launch of former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, in Abuja on Tuesday, Jonathan decried Nigerians’ tolerance of bad behaviour by leaders, citing the deployment of military for election as an example.
Jonathan stated that the political class would adapt once society starts demanding that the right things be done.
He said, “We, Nigerians, celebrate the wrong thing. And I believe one day, the country will get to the level where people will reject bad behaviour. And when we get to the level that we reject bad behaviour, this issue will not happen again.
“I believe one day, we all Nigerians will say we no longer accept the wrong thing. And the day we all collectively say we no longer accept the wrong thing, we, the political class, will behave normally. People must reject us if we behave wrongly.”
Jonathan expressed hope that Nigeria would evolve to a point where bad political behaviour is universally rejected.
“Maybe one day, we will have two big buildings in Abuja where we will put pictures of people—whether dead or alive—who have messed up this country so that their grandchildren will know their forefathers were part of Nigeria’s problems,” he stated.
He argued that elections should be primarily managed by the police and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
According to him, in most other countries, the Air Force and Army are used to transport election materials to dangerous areas, and not providing security at polling units as done in the country.
Jonathan said, “Having been the President of this country before, when you talk about internal security, it’s an area that touches my heart. And especially when you talk about election security, again, it’s an area that touches my heart. One gets worried when it comes to Nigerian elections.
“In fact, here we overstretch the Army. In most other countries, the military doesn’t get involved in the day-to-day management of elections. Some countries use them to manage strategic systems, such as transporting election materials to dangerous areas. But manning polling booths and staying around polling stations—military personnel are never used for such duties,” he stated.
Jonathan cited examples from Botswana and Senegal, where elections are conducted with minimal security interference, allowing the electorate to vote without intimidation.
He noted that in Botswana, police officers manage election security while the military secure government facilities, and in Senegal, polling stations are run by electoral officials with police stationed outside, intervening only when necessary.
He said, “I just came back from Botswana some months back during the election. It’s a very small country with a small population, so almost all the police officers were used for the election.
“What the military does is that those regular duties that the police officers were doing, including securing the police headquarters, the military took over. So the military high command of the posted military officers to secure government assets and facilities.
“That’s what they do. And you don’t hear stories. Go to a country like Senegal, which is a West African country, their election last year.
“We talk about technology, technology, and still, with the technology, we still have problems. And I said that they use the simplest form of voting. In fact, there was a table there.
“They put the ballot box for every candidate. And you, the voter, you go and you just go and pick. Of course, you must pick from all the candidates. They just put a long table. Every candidate has his ballot papers put there.
“You don’t see any police. The electoral management officers, polling agents and so on were just sitting there and watching. The police were outside because they used secondary schools and primary schools as polling stations.
“Then, each of the classrooms has different polling units. So, the police stay here. If there is an issue, they will call them in. Otherwise, you don’t see police wherever you go. And that is a standard in so many countries. But here, we fully do the wrong thing.”
Also speaking, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, emphasised that the credibility of elections depends on the leadership in charge at the time.
According to him, a free and fair election is possible if the right people are involved.
Reflecting on his experience during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Obi recounted how he ensured an impartial electoral process in his state.
“I can’t comment on election policing, but I will say it depends on whoever is in charge at the time.
“I have experienced a free and fair election. During my second tenure as governor under President Jonathan, I approached him and said, ‘Mr. President, I don’t want a single vote that doesn’t belong to me. Let the election be free and fair.’”
He further revealed that even when members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party attempted to interfere in his state, he called the Jonathan.
“I have so many people together with me. Even when his own party people, PDP, came to my state, I called him and said, Mr. President, I’m in my village. I don’t want people wandering around in my state and within a few minutes, he called them and they left the state. “
Obi stressed that electoral credibility is determined by the integrity of those in charge.
“So when we talk about election, it depends on the human being that is involved. If the right person is involved, we’ll have free and fair election. But if people decide that we have to live off the situation we have, where we have become a crime scene and we are chasing criminals, the criminality will start from the politicians doing the right thing.”
On security, he argued that reducing corruption among public officials would have a positive impact on crime rates.
“If we want to talk about security, when we stop stealing as public officers, all these criminals equally learn from us and even policemen will do their work better. Election policing is easy if we have people who are not ready to manipulate the elections.”
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