‘Jonathan Instituted True Democracy In Nigeria’

Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan instituted true democratic order in Nigeria through the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in 2015.
This was the assertion of a law teacher and legal practitioner, Mr. Chukwuma A. J. Chinwo during an interview with  The Tide in Port Harcourt.
According to Mr. Chinwo, the then opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC , won  the electios because  of the then President’s deliberate decision not to interfere with the  electoral process, regretting  however that the APC has so far failed to build on the gain of that exercise.
He said that the social, political and  economic crisis facing the country at the  moment were attributed to the current administration’s inability to be humble enough to acknowledge the strengths of previous administrations and taking useful tips from them to forge a more enduring democratic culture and a better cohesive country.
According to the constitutional lawyer the issues facing the country today were general to all developing societies, noting however, that  the method of handling the issues by the present government in power was the one creating the problem.
That in itself, he said, was a direct derivative of the inexperience of those handling  the affairs of the country at the moment.
“We must face the truth, the majority of those  who lead the federal government today are  learning the ropes,” he said, adding that “this government should have been humble enough to appreciate the strengths of past governments, to understand how they managed crisis and adopted those things that are good and bring in their own ideas, if they have. But  most unfortunately, President Muhammadu Buhari came in with the idea that everything was bad”.
The law teacher with the Rivers State University, RSU, submitted that even though many perceived former President Goodluck Jonathan as a weak leader, he had the strength to establish a strong and independent electoral system for the benefit of the country.
“I have heard people who argue that he was a weak President. But we need a weak leader  to establish strong institutions. And he achieved that,” the constitutional lawyer noted, adding that the country had lost a lot because the present administration led by the  APC had refused to build  on that foundation.
“If this government had built on that, we could have achieved a lot of things but unfortunately, they did not build on that. So the government is stating a fresh. In starting a fresh, you’re going to hurt many people’, he said, adding that “they have hurt several people and not knowing how to  address issues, have made  those people think that you have the attitude  of ‘go to hell”.
Going forward, Mr. Chinwo advised the federal government to “re organised its way of handling things for the good of Nigeria”.

Opaka Dokubo