Former President Goodluck Jonathan said the outcome of last weekend’s governorship election in Edo State had shown that technology would not solve Nigeria’s electoral challenges.
He said the human mindset was key to the resolution of the electoral problems. But he regretted that many Nigerians had a d+rty attitude to politics
Jonathan made the remarks in Abuja at a programme organised by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) and Partners in commemoration of the International Day of Peace on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
Jonathan noted that there was more t£nsion after the Edo election than before it, due to the feelings that some things were not done rightly. He argued that technology would not solve the problems in Nigeria’s electoral process, because technologies could be manipulated if the human mind was corrupt. “Here in Nigeria, we talk about technology. Without the human mind ready to do what is right, if we bring the technology, they will manipulate it. Actually, 10 top countries are in conflict globally. Three of them are in sub-Saharan Africa. And quite a number of countries around us, including us, are in one form of conflict or the other. And when you look at what causes conflict in Africa, most cases are struggles for leadership, contestation for power. And that is the main cause of conflict. Sometimes when you go through a society, and you can tell all kinds of stories. But by the time you do a proper analysis, and dig deep, you know that most cause of conflict is leadership struggle. That is why I’m only worried about my country Nigeria,” he said.
