Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged those in public positions to resist the ‘pull of ego’ that may make them want to purse a regional or narrow agenda, just as he advised them to follow his example by not placing ethno-religious interests above merits when making decisions.
The former President made the assertion while delivering a keynote speech at the annual Merit Awards Dinner of the Nigerian Lawyers Association of the United States of America, USA.
Below is the full text of his speech.
“Diaspora remittances is a major source of foreign exchange and the USA houses the largest Nigerian Diaspora population.
“As a body, you are an asset to Nigeria and I want you to walk tall knowing that your exploits add value to the Motherland.
“Through you I see a brighter future for Nigeria.
“Diversity as Our Bridge to Tomorrow suggests 2 things: first that there exists diversity in our polity.
“Second that such diversity could either be a Plus or a Minus for our national development.
“Nigeria is great not because of the crude oil we produce but because of the size of the country and its resilient population.
“In both the people and the environment Nigeria exhibits high diversity. The amalgamation is a blessing except we decide to make it a curse.
“As patriots we must strive to both explore and deploy our God given talents and abilities to develop our country and build our nation.
“We may have our differences but these differences should serve as the mortar to cement our unity.
“By understanding our differences we can build unity in our country.
“Our differences are a blessing because they strengthen our resilience and diversity, the essential ingredient of a great nation.
“Nigeria is for all Nigerians. We must resist the pull of ego that may make us want to purse a regional or narrow agenda.
“Most of my principal aides in government hailed from different ethnic nationalities.
“We never placed ethno-religious interests above merits or individual values when making decisions.
“Diversity could remain a strength only when all interest groups in the society feel safe and secured.
“No matter what my critic said about me, I ensured that there was both freedom of speech and freedom after the speech.
“Under my watch not a single Nigerian was sent to prison because of anything they wrote or said about me or the Administration that I headed.
“Nigeria had neither political prisoners nor political exile under my Administration.
“We enacted the Freedom of Information Act and by that we tore the veil of secrecy covering governance.
“We gave institutions unlimited freedom and ensured that the NBA, other professional institutions were devoid of any governmental influence.
“We enacted the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions in Nigeria.
“The Act along with other institutional reforms will help our country in fighting corruption and other crimes.
“We ensured that appointments to INEC were not based on personal relationships.
“The same sense of patriotism and desire to put our country’s interest first influenced the critical decisions I made as President of Nigeria.
“I would like to see our political leaders irrespective of their parties work together for the unity and development of our country.
“Let us re-program our thinking.
“The 2014 National Conference was a platform for all Nigerians to have a conversation about our shared challenges, strength and weaknesses.
“We gave Nigerians the knowledge about how government functions and that is a genie you cannot put back to the lamp.
“It was not to promote the political ambition of @GEJonathan. They were to discuss everything except the sovereignty of Nigeria.
“Let us have no hidden agenda except the Nigerian agenda.
“My sole interest and total commitment for the conference was the unity and advancement of our country Nigeria.
“Let us pledge to Nigeria our country to be faithful, loyal and honest.
“Let us work towards building a united Nigeria where peace and justice reign.
“I urge the Nigerian lawyers in the US and those in the Diaspora to do their best to support the democratic institutions we have built.
“Let us demonstrate responsibility in our utterances and actions.
“Let us honour the labour, wisdom and visions of our founding fathers.”
