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2023: Avoid Bread, Butter Politicians, Jonathan Tells Nigerians
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has enjoined Nigerians not to elect leaders that would buy their conscience and mortgage the future of their children, saying “we must shift away from the politics of bread and butter”.
Jonathan urged Nigerians to be circumspect in exercising their voting rights in the 2023 general election.
The former president gave the admonition while delivering a keynote address at the one-year memorial summit in honour of late Captain Idahosa Okunbo in Abuja, last Saturday.
In his keynote address, titled, ‘Lasting Legacy: Key to Nigeria’s Development Issues’, Jonathan, said 2023 should be seen as avenue to elect the kind of leadership Nigeria deserved now and in the future to assume its rightful place among the comity of nations.
He said: “Ahead of 2023 elections, we are getting ready to be wooed and wowed at campaign grounds by various politicians seeking different offices.
“But these thoughts are beyond 2023. It is about Nigeria and the kind of leadership it deserves now and in the future to ensure that our country assumes its rightful place among the comity of nations.
“My charge to Nigerians is to be circumspect in the exercise of their voting rights.
“We must shift away from the politics of bread and butter and ensure that we do not elect leaders that will buy our conscience today and mortgage the future of our children and grandchildren.
“We should endeavour to elect only those that will leave legacies of unity, peace, and development.”
The former president further stated that in spite of all Nigerians had gone through; he did not believe that they should lose hope.
Jonathan said every political cycle provided Nigerians with the ample opportunity to take decisions that would help them renew their hope, restore what had been lost and rebuild the country.
He advised political leaders at all levels to deliberately make the necessary sacrifices that promote patriotism, inspire devotion, and spur citizens to do their best for their country.
He also charged political leaders to be concerned about the depth of their footprints and the kind of legacies they are leaving behind.
“Those who also lead at various capacities in politics and business, be they councillors, council chairpersons, governors, lawmakers at both state and national levels as well as boardroom gurus, should be bothered about the value of their leadership style.
“The essence of leadership is to drive initiatives that seek to build sustainable societies and make the lives of the people better and more meaningful.
“Every political leader should, in a moment of introspection, spare a thought for the legacy he or she would leave behind.
“Will you be remembered as a deceitful leader, an ethnic bigot, religious fanatic or a nation builder that would leave lasting legacies for the people,” the former president said.
Jonathan stated that anybody aspiring to public office should first articulate his own vision and philosophy of leadership.
He added that leadership did not necessarily refer only to a political office, noting that it encompassed the kind of guidance people were given at every position of responsibility.
“I always emphasise that the seed of leadership should be sown in the family from which it grows to guide the society.
“Good leadership at homes, schools, communities, traditional institutions, as well as worship places will give birth to legacies that would serve as a source of pride and benefit to the rest of society,” he added.
On Nigeria’s political evolution and development challenges, Jonathan said the country and its leaders could not afford to lay undue emphasis on its ethno-sectional coloration.
The former president said emphasis should rather be to harness and rally the fine points of its diversity for positive growth and development.
Jonathan, who believed that the legacy of nationhood and roots of unity were weak at Nigeria’s independence, said not much had been done since then to strengthen the base of the union.
Jonathan, however, described Okunbo as a great industrialist who contributed considerably to the growth of Nigeria through hard work, discipline, and perseverance, while he was alive.
“He will continue to be remembered by many, not only in his family and community, but across the nation, because of the impactful friendship and relationships he cultivated while alive,” Jonathan said.
Nigerians may experience an increase in the prices of premium energy products diesel and petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily halts the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
The $20billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” it said.
The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.
As part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollars, and guarantee price stability of petroleum products, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback.
In the beginning of March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state company, however, said that talks were on to replace the contract, and that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ¦ 200/litre to about ¦ 1,000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, the billionaire industrialist commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th.
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking.
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who beat him to become the champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next tournament is the WTT Contender Chennai which serves off in India from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.
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