Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the former president of Nigeria, has noted that power struggles continue to be the primary source of hostilities on the African continent.
Additionally, he pointed out that since technology is susceptible to manipulation by dishonest human brains, it cannot do much to correct the rigged political procedures in Nigeria.
In honour of the International Day of Peace in Abuja, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and its partners hosted an event on Tuesday during which Jonathan made the statement. Jonathan received honours as a Fellow as well.
He was the second person to get this distinction following the prior recipient, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), the Head of State of Nigeria who led the nation’s reunification during the Civil War.
Speaking at the event, Jonathan said: “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 is 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 causes of conflict is leadership struggle. That is why I’m only worried about my country Nigeria.”
The program’s former president, who also served as its chair, emphasised that the participants are to blame for Nigerian and African politics’ generally filthy reputation while disputing the idea that politics is inherently corrupt.
He said: “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 the politics, come to play politics with their dirty minds and 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 added.
He stated that cultivating a culture of peace is vital for Nigerians and Africans at large, emphasising that peace had to permeate their daily existence.
“Until we get to that level where we develop the culture of peace in this country, we will always have political conflicts in our election.
“And without us strengthening that effort, without us developing that culture of testing a nation peacefully, we will always be in conflict in Africa and in Nigeria.”
The outgoing president, who is still the only one in Nigeria to cede power to an opposition party following a landslide victory, referred to the just concluded Edo State governorship election, observing that tensions were higher following the vote than they had been previously because of perceptions that certain things had not been done correctly.
He said that technology would not fix the issues with Nigeria’s election system and that if people had corrupt minds, technology would be misused.
“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,” he said.
Dr. Samuel Iroye, the head of the National Open University of Nigeria’s department of peace and conflict studies, stated during his lecture that everyone in Nigeria needs to contribute to the nation’s efforts to foster a culture of peace.
Iroye advocated for youth involvement in development projects while emphasising that peace was not a theory but rather a tangible reality.
He emphasised that education must provide a fair playing field for all in order to bring about peace, and that Nigeria’s educational curriculum does not support a culture of peace.
“To ensure a culture of peace, we must ensure that we have peace within ourselves”, he said, adding that no one could give what he doesn’t have.
Prior to this, Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, the Director General of the International Peacekeeping Centre (IPCR), stated that while people prefer to enjoy peace, they don’t want to invest in it.
He criticised the amount of violence in the globe but urged Nigerians to begin making investments to foster a culture of peace.
Ochogwu cited President Jonathan’s philosophy of prioritising peace over self-interest as the reason he was chosen for the honour, bringing up the former President’s assertion that no one’s life is worth sacrificing for one’s own political gain.
