Monday, June 6, 2016
He also said 'despite it not being the responsibility of the Federal Government to develop primary and secondary schools, we built hundreds of these schools across Nigeria.' Dr. Jonathan in his speech also called for equality for all Nigerians, saying 'no investment in our people is going to pay off if we are unequal.'
Questions after his speech were moderated by Mr. Rob Hersov, founder, CEO of InvestAfrica. The former President has been on a multi-city speaking tour in Europe and North America.
The full speech appears below:
“Civis Nigerianus Sum” - I am a citizen of Nigeria.
Former
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Delivered at Bloomberg Studios, London, United Kingdom.
Delivered at Bloomberg Studios, London, United Kingdom.
Monday,
6 June 2016
Since leaving office one year
and one week ago, I have had the luxury of time to be able to reflect on the
future of my great country, Nigeria.
So today is not about my
personal memories or a litany of ‘what ifs’.
No! Today I would like to share with you what I believe is the key
learning from my experiences for the future of democracy not only in Nigeria
but also across the entire continent of Africa.
I said before the last
election that my political ambition was not worth the blood of one
Nigerian.
I was true to my word when on March16th,
2015, just after the election, when the results were still being collated by
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I called my opponent,
General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to concede, in order to avoid any conflict and
ensure a peaceful transition of power.
This was without precedent in
my country and I am proud that it achieved my goal of no conflict arising from
the result of the election.
Some
may think it is ironic that perhaps my proudest achievement was not winning the
2015 Presidential Election.By being the first elected Nigerian leader to willingly hand over power via the
ballot box, to the opposition party, without contesting the election outcome, I
proved to the ordinary man or woman in the country that I was his or her
equal.
That
his or her vote was equal to mine, and that democracy is the ‘Government by the
will of the people’, and Nigeria, and indeed Africa is ripe for democracy.
It is my sincerest wish that
democracy continues to be consolidated in the continent of Africa and it will
even get better.
For it has always been my
consistent desire to help consolidate peace and cultivate democracy in Nigeria
and across the Continent.
In fact, it was the key
foreign policy objective of my Administration when we were able to help broker
peace and restore democracy in Niger, Mali, Guinea Bissau and Cote d’Ivoire.
Ø In Niger –The first challenge that confronted ECOWAS
when I was Chairman in 2010 was the military intervention there. We were able
to resolve it through sheer determination and prudent consultations which paved
the way for the country’s return to constitutional rule and democracy.
Ø In Mali – As the Co-mediator of the effort to return
the nation to democracy after a surprising military take-over, I was the only
sitting President to visit Mali and meet all the stakeholders in the early and
difficult times of the crisis.
I ensured that
Nigeria played theleading role in all the negotiations coordinated by ECOWAS.
Our efforts produced a political timetable for the holding of democratic
elections. I was happy that our work led to the historic Peace and
Reconciliation Agreement signed in Bamako on 15th May, 2015, which I
was privileged to witness.
Ø In Guinea Bissau,a nation known
for its long history of political crises. As leaders of ECOWAS then, we worked
hard to bring about peace by building international consensus around a
transition arrangement.This led to the full restoration of constitutional order
in the country. After leading the negotiations that produced an interim
government, Nigeria provided both financial and logistic support, making it
possible for a successful election to hold. The process produced a democratic
government that is currently running the country.
Ø In Cote d’Ivoire,in 2010, ECOWAS,
under my leadership, demonstrated its commitment to enduring democracy, by
standing firm behind the winner of the Presidential elections. The winner H.E.
Alassane Ouattara, assumed his rightful place as President, andwent ahead to
provide quality leadership not only to his country, but also to ECOWAS as its
Chairman.
As the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria and a key actor in ECOWAS, we were also able to encourage
peaceful elections in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Togo. //
And today, the focus of my energies isto uphold democratic principles,
promote peaceful political transitions and support citizen entrepreneurship and
intra-Africa trade. These are precisely the objectives of the Goodluck Jonathan
Foundation.
We will achieve this by working with African
Governments, the private sector, civil society and other friends of Africa to
galvanize action towards improving our societies and making a change in the
lives of the ordinary people in our various countries.
We will work for good governance by promoting
credible and transparent elections, as well as peaceful power transfers. I have
no doubt that this is the basic requirement we need for strengthening our
institutions and enthroning stability.
Our interest in youth and women
entrepreneurship is driven by the urgent need to create jobs for Africa’s
teeming young population. To this end my Administration championedvarious
initiatives and programmes, including the “Youth Enterprises with Innovation
(YouWin), which encouraged young people to go into business, and the
“Nagropreneur” programme, which encouraged them to go intomechanized
agriculture.
Beyond job creation, Nigeria like other
developing countries, faced the challenges of corruption, which is a stumbling
block to the development of nations.
I think it is important to let you know my
administration took many steps to
curtail this scourge, in the areas of Finance, agriculture and petroleum.
To take just one example, we drastically reduced
corruption in the agricultural sector with the help of a simple mobile phone.
We achieved this by providing an e-wallet to
farmers which grew the percentage of registered farmers receiving subsidy from
11% to 94%.And in the process we were also able to save billions of naira in fertiliser subsidies.
Through our Agricultural Transformation Agenda, we greatly
boosted food production and saved
almost a trillion naira on food imports.
This one initiative had the benefits of improving food security, creating more jobs and
reducing inflation to its lowest levels in over 5 years.
Our ambition was to sanitize the corruption in petroleum
subsidies by completely deregulating the sector. However, our efforts were
frustrated by unhealthy political resistance.
Consolidating
democracy and the effective war against graft should be the collective
responsibility of all citizens. I
would like to emphasize my ongoing commitment to good governance, effective
stewardship and transparency.
For Nigeria to further develop and progress
we need peace, freedom and unity.
These
values need to be deeply, strongly and irreversibly entrenched in Nigeria for
all time.
For this to happen, it is imperative that both
the Executive andthe Legislative arms of Government institute a Bill of Rights.
A Bill of Rights that will
end discrimination and tribalism, and promote equality, enabling everyone to
work towards the common goal for the development of the nation.
A Bill of Rights which like
the British Magna Carta, some 800 years ago, enshrined the principle of habeas
corpus so that no person is deprived of his liberty without a trial of his
peers.
A Bill of Rights, like that
introduced by America’s Founding Fathers,which stated “the people shall not be
deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their
sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty,
shall be inviolable.”
There is a phrase from Cicero
going back to Ancient Rome, “Civis Romanus sum.” Meaning, “I am a Roman
citizen.”
But it meant much more than
that.
It meant that every Roman was
entitled to all of the rights and protections of a citizen in Rome. It didn’t
matter if you were rich or poor or even a prisoner, you were still a citizen of
Rome and protected by the state.
Wouldn’t it be good for us to
aspire to a Nigeria where we too could apply that same principle
“CivisNigerianussum”?
Each of us could say, “I am a
citizen of Nigeria!”
We would be able to look
beyond where each of us comes from, and look past our tribal origins.
We would be able to evaluate
each other on our merits, rather than our religion, or region.
We would be free to think or
do as we wished, as long as we observed the laws of the land, without fearthat
the land would withhold our rights under the law.
What would it mean to be able
to declare “I am a Nigerian citizen”?
You would be judged on your
own merits, not your tribe.
You would have access to
education that can help you succeed on whatever path you choose.
You would be part of a proud
culture, one that others want to invest in.
You would be safe in knowing
that society judges you by your successes and failures, rather than your place
of origin.
You would be equal before the
law and your protection is enshrined in the laws of the country.
You would be an asset anda valued
member of your country; one who is worth investing in; who can return that
investment tenfold within your lifetime.
Ultimately, it means that you
would be an ambassador for Nigeria, and you would be able to proudly go around
this world and say, “I am a citizen of Nigeria.”
Isn’t it true that we are all
citizens of a proud Nigeria?
Home togreat civilizations,
such as the NOK and Igbo Uku, which dateback over 4,000 years, we are one of
the oldest cultures in the world.
We are a civilization that had
faced challenges,fought wars, and reformed our systems; we have always prevailed
through difficult times.
We are a civilization that
now stands at a crossroads a key time when we must make a decision to move
forward or go back.
It is my belief, that
No matter what location,
No matter what faction,
No matter what tribe,
Each one of us can come
together as citizens of the future Nigeria.
It was the American Green
Party politician Ralph Nader who said, “There can be no daily democracy,
without daily citizenship.”
The first transformation…
must be … a shift in our mindset.
We have to make the decision
to make the rights of our people our priority when making government and
investment decisions.
Rather than spending money on
resources that will run out, we should be investing it in people who are the
key constant elements in the socio-economic transformation of society.
Nigeria is projected to have
a population that will surpass that of the United States of America by the year
2050. But if we have not invested in our people, then we will not be ready to
manage.
Our money must go towards
providing education for all, because we know that once our citizens are
educated, they have futures.
Those futures lead to safer
cities, stable economies, and more businesses. When a young person does not
have access to education, their future is jeopardized and statistics show that
they may be proneto antisocial and criminal activities.
I am proud of the fact thatmy
Administration established a Federal University in every one of the 12 States
that did not previously have them.Now,for the first time in our country’s
history, everystate has a universityestablished by the Federal Government.
Despite it not being the
responsibility of the Federal Government to develop primary and secondary
schools, we built hundreds of these schools acrossNigeria.
Yet we need to build on these
achievements by changing our mindset to investing in the resources above the
ground, rather than below the ground.
Once we invest in our
citizens, it will be our time to confidently enter the international stage.
Each one of us will be able to go to any nation and proudly proclaim: I am a citizen of Nigeria.”
When we have a good mindset,
we must also strive for equality.
No investment in our people
is going to pay off if we are unequal.
One area some of the international community disagreed
with me, was that while I was in office, I signed into law a bill that discriminates
against a segment of our population.
This private member bill was put forwardin the context of
polls that showed 98% of Nigerians did not think same sex marriage should be
accepted by our society. This was the highest percentage of any country surveyed.
The bill was passed by 100% of my country’s National
Assembly. Therefore, as a democratic leader with deep respect for the Rule of
Law, I had to put my seal of approval on it.
However, in the light of deepening debates for all
Nigerians and other citizens of the world to be treated equally and without
discrimination, and with the clear knowledge that the issue of sexual
orientation is still evolving, the nation may, at the appropriate time, revisit
the law.
When it comes to equality, we
must all have the same rights as Nigerian citizens.
Former US Congressman Charles
Rangel noticed the same thing when talking about America, he said “Full
participation in government and society has been a basic right of the country
symbolizing the full citizenship and equal protection of all.”
Equality will promote
meritocracy, growth and security. Tribalism, regionalism and religious
intolerance shouldneverbe acceptable in Nigeria.
Within the Nigerian
Federation, anyone, regardless of their home state should be treated equally
and have full protection under Federal Law.
That is the only way that all
Nigerians can be at home in any part of the country and proudly say “I am a
Nigerian Citizen.”
That is the only way we can
eradicate tribalism, regionalism and religious intolerance before theydestroy
our beloved Nigeria.
The constitution recognizes
anyone born in Nigeria by Nigerian parents as a citizen. We must go the next
step and accept all Nigerians residing in any part of the country as equalcitizens.
Our new Bill of Rights must
therefore amend our constitution to criminalise discrimination of Nigerian
citizens residing in any part of the countrybased on their place of origin.
Indigenes and residents must
pay the same amount for school fees and social services all over the county.
I ask the same question that
Eric P. Liu asks, “The next time someone uses denial of citizenship as a weapon
or brandishes the special status conferred upon him by the accident of birth,
ask him this: What have you done lately to earn it?
Every Nigerian must feel at
home in any part of Nigeria. It is the
only way that each of us will be able to say, “Civis Nigerianus Sum.”
As our country increases its
equality, its cultural value will increase too.
When we increase the cultural
value of Nigeria and show it to the world, not only will people spend their
business dollars in our country, but their vacation dollars too.
You have to buy into the
culture of a country before you decide to visit or invest.
It will become a
self-fulfilling prophecy for our beloved nation.
As we invest in the equality
of our people and strive to make ourselves more equal, the world will take
notice.
As our image rises in the eyes
of others, we will become even prouder of our national culture. This will
repeat and repeat in a positive feedback loop where both parts feed each other
and grow as a result.
Before I conclude, let me ask
you this:
Which Nigeria do we as
citizens want?
An equal or unequal Nigeria?
An educated or uneducated
Nigeria?
One Nigeria or many Nigerias?
We all know the answers to
these questions hence my call for a Bill of Rights, based on our shared vision
for a future Nigeria which is…
A Nigeria where you are
judged on your merits and not your origins;
A Nigeria where you can get
the education you want and the future you choose;
A Nigeria whose government
serves the people and is not above the law;
A Nigeria whose government
invests in its resources above the ground and not just the resources below;
A place where we all work
together, rather than allow ourselves to be divided by tribalism or prejudice;
Nothing better sums up this
vision for Nigeria than our national anthem, which sounds as good in prose as
it does in song:
“Arise, O compatriots
Nigeria's call obey
To serve our fatherland
With love and strength and
faith
The labour of our heroes past
Shall never be in vain
To serve with heart and might
One nation bound in freedom
Peace and unity.”
I will leave you with this:I
am a patriot.
I am so very proud of my
country.
And I believe it is only
right and proper for me, and every Nigerian to be able to proudly proclaim, in
our villages, in our towns, in our cities, in our country and anywhere in the
world:
“Civis Nigerianus Sum”
I
AM A CITIZEN OF NIGERIA
No comments:
Post a Comment