- He said he set up a national dialogue committee in 2014 ‘to make Nigeria work.’
- He said Nigeria is still yet to grasp the essence of nationhood after over six decades of independence.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed why he set up the 2014 National Conference.
Jonathan, who was the nation’s leader from 2010 to 2015, on March 17, 2014, inaugurated the national conference chaired by the late Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, a former chief justice of Nigeria.
Speaking on the topic, “How to Make Nigeria Work,” in Abuja yesterday at the 60th birthday of Prof. Udenta O Udenta in Abuja, Jonathan said he organised the conference to deliberate on to make Nigeria work and move it forward.
Jonathan said: “When I set up the 2014 National Dialogue, the key thing was how to make Nigeria work, though we did not emphasise that so that people will really discuss the country.”
Udenta was the founding national secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, AD and now fellow, Abuja School of Social and Political Thought.
Jonathan said when the North and South were amalgamated in 1914 by Lord Lugard, there was the failure to integrate Nigerians into a proper nation.
He described Udenta as a true democrat, a nation builder, a man with passion, who has demonstrated his capacity towards achieving national unity and the development of Nigeria.
According to him, when he set up a national dialogue committee in 2014, the topic was ‘How to make Nigeria work.’
He said Nigeria is still yet to grasp the essence of nationhood after over six decades of independence.
He noted that right from when the Northern and the Southern protectorates was amalgamated in 1914 by Lord Lugard till date, and all through party elections and independent struggle Nigeria has not gotten it right.
Jonathan said “But I’m not blaming our forefathers but we fail to integrate into a proper nation.
“Individual interest, if you read some of the comments by our former leaders, of course Sir Awolowo, made it clear that there is not a nation called Nigeria. Yes, it is a geophysical state entity and the country was so polarized, especially during political formation and regional politics.
“There was no sense of commitment as a country to integrate Nigeria into an entity where we can say yes, we have a nation with a common interest,” he said