Former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has warned politicians against politics of bitterness and violence and charged them to forge a common agenda that would promote peace and sustainable development in the nation.
The former President further urged them to put the interest of the nation first, adding that politics was not about dividing the people and fighting enemies.
He spoke on Friday during a virtual conference organized by the umbrella body of Ijaw cultural associations known as the Ijaw Nation Development Group(INDG).
Speaking further, the former President said: “To the politicians amongst us, let us shun politics of bitterness and violence and pursue our common interest, regardless of party affiliations. Politics is not about creating and fighting enemies, it is not about dividing the people. Politics is about aspiring for a platform and the ability to utilise it to positively impact our people and develop the nation. Irrespective of party differences, let us forge a common agenda that will promote peace, unity and prosperity among our people.
“As a crusader for functional democracy and good governance in our country and continent, I will like to see our people play key roles in the emergence of who leads them and how they are led.
Nothing drags a people and a nation back more than social crisis occasioned by the struggle for leadership. We cannot pretend to love our people if we place our personal ambitions over and above everything else and allow it to frustrate the people’s will and our common good.”
Dr. Jonathan also preached unity and love stressing that Nigerians must aspire to build bridges that would sustain a national climate of peace and progress regardless of the challenges.
“As Nigerians, we must realise that our existence, as well as our success depends on our mutual solidarity beginning from the family unit.”
The former President also commended the organisers for seeking to advance an agenda that would promote the development of Ijaw land. He however further urged them to collaborate with other ethnic nationalities for greater harmony towards achieving the desired goal of sustainable development.
According to him the bid should “reflect a determination to unify all Ijaw interest groups in Nigeria and in the diaspora towards achieving the desired goal.