Jonathan to African leaders: Strengthen democracy or risk political instability

President Goodluck Jonathan warned on Saturday in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire that African leaders must work harder to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in their countries or face the continuous threat of political instability with its attendant societal dislocations.
Addressing the members of the Ivorian Parliament during his state visit to the country, President Jonathan said the present generation of African leaders must rise to the challenge of managing contests for political power in a manner that sees to greater collective security and peaceful co-existence.
The President also warned that leaders of emerging democracies in Africa must never succumb again to the lure of dictatorship as the surest way of bottling up grievances and dissent in their countries.
He said: “We are ourselves daily confronted with the multiplicity of demands and expectations that are the hallmarks of multicultural societies. There are some, here and elsewhere, who might think that the straightjacket of a dictatorship is the surest way to bottle up these grievances and dismantle dissent.
“That is wrong. Nothing strengthens a society more than openness and a leadership courageous enough to understand the inherent positives that flow from these contending demands. As African leaders, we have to, calmly and dispassionately, harness these energies and utilise them to serve the best interest of our people.
“Indeed, it is self-evident that people, who feel secure and free, governed by the rule of law and not by the whims of men, are less likely to go to war with each other, either within or across borders, than those who do not.
“We therefore risk the very institution we are trying to build if we exclude the people who voted us into power in the governance process. That is why we have to build strong institutions and allow the rule of law to take root. Democracy without strong institutions defeats its own objectives.”
He also told the parliament that political leaders in Africa must do more to alleviate and ultimately eradicate abject poverty from the continent as it dis-empowers people and retards growth and development.
He added: “We must assiduously promote the welfare of all citizens and create the enabling environment in which they can fully realise their aspirations and potentials. This would enable them, as stakeholders, to invest in the protection of peace and stability of our countries. And this is achievable.”
Noting that it is generally acknowledged that there are billions of dollars waiting to be unlocked by improved trade and economic relations amongst countries in West Africa, the President also called for the loosening of the “bolts of bureaucracy” that currently stifle trade in the sub-region.
He said: “My own countrymen and people form a sizeable proportion of the population of this wonderful city. They have brought their energy and skills to enrich the economy and culture of Abidjan and other towns and villages in this country. That is the African spirit at work. That is the way we should see ourselves. Borders divide us physically, but our spirits are one and indivisible.
“The borders we defend so resolutely nowadays are, after all, fairly recent creations. Useful as they may be, they must not be more important than the welfare of the sub-continent and its peoples.”
President Alassane Ouattara late on Friday in Abidjan conferred Cote D’Ivoire’s highest honour, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Nation, on Jonathan in appreciation of Nigeria’s contributions to peace, stability and progress in Cote D’Ivoire.
President Ouattara also conferred the honour of Commander of the Order of the Nation on the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, at a State Banquet in the Ivorian seat of government.
Speaking at the occasion, President Jonathan, who began a state visit to the country on Friday, said that Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire must continue to strengthen their bilateral cooperation for the benefit of their citizens and others in the West African sub-region.
He said: “As partners, driven by shared values and a common strategic objective, namely, the security, stability and prosperity of our sub-region, we must continue to build on the historical bond of friendship and solidarity which have served our two countries very well in the past. My challenge – and also President Ouattara’s challenge – is to intensify this partnership for the benefit of our citizens and the entire sub-region of West Africa.
“I believe that the future of our countries lies in consolidating our relationships in all spheres of human endeavour but most especially in the areas of democratisation and good governance, promotion of human rights, poverty eradication and development.
“Going forward, our countries must build on the efforts of our past leaders to foster a climate of peace and security in our sub-region. Without these collective efforts, our hopes and our aspiration of improving the living conditions of our peoples would be imperilled. We must fight poverty collectively through pooling of our resources, value-addition, intra-regional trade and promotion of investments.”
President Jonathan thanked President Ouattara and the people of Cote D’Ivoire for the special honours conferred on him and the First Lady, adding: “We will cherish and treasure them for the rest of our lives.
“As a true friend of Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria will always be on your side to share the joys and pains of friendship, in good times as well as in bad times. We stood, shoulder to shoulder, with you all the way during some of the darkest periods of your recent history. Now that your beautiful country has turned the bend, there is even more incentive for us in Nigeria to work with the government of President Ouattara and with the people of Cote d’Ivoire to build on the progress you have worked hard to achieve in the last few years.”