Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday called for a strategic alignment of democratic governance with sound economic policies to ensure long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s political system.
Jonathan made the call at the launch of a research report by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) in Abuja.
The report is titled: “Strengthening the Nexus between Democracy and Economic Growth in Nigeria.”
The former President urged policy makers to move beyond mere elections and focus on building transparent and accountable institutions that would create an environment where innovation and enterprise would flourish.
Jonathan noted that the gathering came at a critical moment when democracy was under increasing strain globally due to economic hardship, social pressures, insecurity and growing distrust in public institutions.
He said: “Sometimes when I look at the topics, I ask myself, can we really say that democracy will lead to better governance than other forms of government like we see in the Arab world, the monarchies?
“Most of you go to Dubai, the centre of the world. I know of some American friends that send their children to go and school in Dubai and it’s not a democracy there.”
The former President added that in countries like China, some people question whether it is pure democracy that they are running or a different type of government.
According to him, the recruitment process in China is almost second to none, because ‘we are talking about quality of people’.
“In China, they combine selection and election; so before you become a mayor of any of their cities, you are filtered and you are one of the best.
“Can we truly say that our democracy is close to that?’’ he added
Jonathan, however, highlighted freedom and justice as the two key factors that made people to embrace democracy.
