Jonathan To Buhari: ‘If You Use Your Powers Negatively, Posterity Will Haunt You’

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has advised his successor President Muhammadu Buhari against using his “powers to subjugate democracy”.

Jonathan, who spoke while commissioning some projects in Ekiti State on Friday, said it is the good name a leader leaves behind that matters.

He appealed to Buhari to resist the pressure on him by “unpatriotic elements” to use the power available to him negatively.

The ex-president further commended governor Ayodele Fayose for his enormous achievements in Ekiti state, adding that with the governor’s performance, no party can defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the July 14 governorship election.

“Since I came in I have been going round the state with the Governor. I have seen the support the Governor still has, I have seen the support the Peoples Democratic Party enjoys in the state,” he said.

“I have also seen the enthusiasm of our people. I don’t believe anybody can defeat the PDP in Ekiti, if real election is going to be conducted.

“I use this opportunity to call on Mr. President because I was there before, and I know that when you are there, there is so much pressure on you to use all the powers at your disposal to subjugate democracy.

“Don’t do that because what you go with, at the end of the day, is the good name you leave behind. If you use your powers negatively, posterity will haunt you. I call on Mr. President to use his power to strengthen democracy because all the great democracies we see in the world today were built by people. People make sacrifices to make their country great.”

Jonathan frowned at the manner other nations use Nigeria to cite negative examples, maintaining that “we (Nigeria) must change the way we do things”.

“A President of a neighbouring country, Ghana, recently made two negative remarks about Nigeria. First, the current Ghanaian President was addressing Ghanaians about the movement of cattle within their shores and he said openly that Ghana is not like Nigeria where cattle roam freely. That was quite uncomplimentary,” he said.

“If it has got to a level when the Presidents of neighbouring countries will cite Nigeria as a negative example, then we must know as leaders of this country that certain things are not going well, and we must change the way we do things.”