Edo Governorship Election Demonstrates Technology Can’t Resolve Our Electoral Issues – Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has stated that the recent Edo state governorship election, held on September 21, highlights the limitations of technology in addressing Nigeria’s electoral challenges.

Speaking at an event in Abuja organized by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and Partners for the International Day of Peace, he emphasized that the mindset of individuals is crucial for resolving electoral issues.

Jonathan lamented the negative attitudes many Nigerians hold toward politics.

He noted that, despite being the first Nigerian president to peacefully hand over power to an opposition party after losing an election, tensions have increased since the Edo election due to perceptions of irregularities.

Jonathan argued that technology alone cannot rectify the problems within Nigeria’s electoral process, as it can be manipulated by corrupt individuals.

“Here in Nigeria, we talk about technology. Without the human mind ready to do what is right, if we bring the technology, they will manipulate it. Actually, 10 top countries are in conflict globally. Three of them are in sub-Saharan Africa. And quite a number of countries around us, including us, are in one form of conflict or the other.

And when you look at what causes conflict in Africa, most cases are struggle for leadership, contestation for power. And that is the main cause of conflict.

Sometimes when you go through a society, and you can tell all kinds of stories. But by the time you do proper analysis, and dig deep, you know that most cause of conflict is leadership struggle. That is why I’m only worried about my country Nigeria.”

The former president, who chaired the event, asserted that the belief that politics is inherently dirty is misguided. He emphasized that it is the actions of the individuals involved that contribute to the corruption in politics, both in Nigeria and across Africa.

“People say politics is a dirty game. The way we play our politics is the way we want to play it. Remember (Olusegun) Obasanjo, the former president, recently made a statement that politics is not dirty but the people that play politics, come to play politics with their dirty minds, dirty hearts and dirty character.

And that is why people say politics is dirty. And in that case, we must all begin to think differently. We must cultivate the culture of peace” he said