PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan warned in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire on Saturday that African leaders must work harder to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in their countries or face the continuous threat of political instability with its attendant societal dislocations.
Addressing the members of the Ivorian Parliament during his state visit to the country, President Jonathan said the present generation of African leaders must rise to the challenge of managing contests for political power in a manner that assures greater collective security and peaceful co-existence.
The President also warned that leaders of emerging democracies in Africa must never succumb again to the lure of dictatorship as the surest way of bottling up grievances and dissent in their countries.
“We are ourselves daily confronted with the multiplicity of demands and expectations that are the hallmarks of multicultural societies. There are some, here and elsewhere, who might think that the straightjacket of a dictatorship is the surest way to bottle up these grievances and dismantle dissent.
“That is wrong. Nothing strengthens a society more than openness and a leadership courageous enough to understand the inherent positives that flow from these contending demands. As African leaders, we have to, calmly and dispassionately, harness these energies and utilize them to serve the best interest of our people.
“Indeed, it is self-evident that people, who feel secure and free, governed by the rule of law and not by the whims of men, are less likely to go to war with each other, either within or across borders, than those who do not.
“We therefore risk the very institution we are trying to build if we exclude the people who voted us into power in the governance process. That is why we have to build strong institutions and allow the rule of law to take root. Democracy without strong institutions defeats its own objectives,” President Jonathan told the members of Parliament.
He also told them that political leaders in Africa must do more to alleviate and ultimately eradicate abject poverty from the continent as it dis-empowers people and retards growth and development.
“We must assiduously promote the welfare of all citizens and create the enabling environment in which they can fully realise their aspirations and potentials. This would enable them, as stakeholders, to invest in the protection of peace and stability of our countries. And this is achievable,” President Jonathan said.
Noting that it is generally acknowledged that there are billions of dollars waiting to be unlocked by improved trade and economic relations amongst countries in the West Africa, the President also called for the loosening of the “bolts of bureaucracy” that currently stifle trade in the sub-region.
“My own countrymen and people form a sizeable proportion of the population of this wonderful city. They have brought their energy and skills to enrich the economy and culture of Abidjan and other towns and villages in this country. That is the African spirit at work. That is the way we should see ourselves. Borders divide us physically, but our spirits are one and indivisible.
“The borders we defend so resolutely nowadays are, after all, fairly recent creations. Useful as they may be, they must not be more important than the welfare of the sub-continent and its peoples,” he said.
In another event in Cote D’Ivoire, the Nigerian president also pledged that he will continue to work with President Alassane Ouattara and other leaders of the Economic Community of West African States to achieve greater peace, security, political stability and economic prosperity in the sub-region.
Speaking at the Yamoussoukro City Hall after being presented with the keys to the city by its Mayor, Konan Ouanigbe Jean, President Jonathan said that African leaders must carry on doing their best to foster greater political stability and accelerate economic growth within their countries and across the continent as no significant progress can be attained without stable governance structures and stronger national economies.
Mr. Jonathan noted that there was an intrinsic link and a symbiotic relationship between political stability and economic development.
“Without political stability our economies cannot grow and stronger economies will help us achieve greater political stability. We need to strengthen ECOWAS by strengthening our individual countries economically and politically. We must continue to do our best in this regard,” President Jonathan said.
The President thanked the Mayor and people of Yamoussoukro for honouring him and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan with the freedom of the home town of late President Felix Houphouet-Boigny who he described as “one of Africa’s greatest sons”.
Noting that Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire already have excellent bilateral relations, President Jonathan assured the people of the city that he will work in partnership with President Ouattara “to bring our two countries even closer politically and economically”.
He welcomed the offer of admission by the elite Felix Houphouet-Boigny National Polytechnic in Yamoussoukro to 50 Nigerian students in the next academic year as a further gesture of friendship, saying that the Federal Government will sponsor at least one student from each state of the nation to take up the offer.
The President had after a colourful welcoming ceremony in the city, proceeded to lay a wreath at the burial vault of late President Houphouet-Boigny.
Formal bilateral talks will be held between Nigerian and Ivorian government delegations in Abidjan tomorrow. President Jonathan will also address the Ivorian Parliament there and meet with Nigerians resident in Cote D’Ivoire before returning to Nigeria later in the day.