Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has warned that any attempt or manipulation to impose a one-party system on the nation’s political space will suffocate the country and possibly lead to confusion and anarchy.
Jonathan gave the warning in Abuja today, Wednesday, during the memorial lecture and day of tribute for the former federal commissioner for information, and South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark.
The ex-president noted that a one-party state may not be an evil thing as Julius Nyerere of Tanzania used it to unite his country because they have many tribes.
However, he noted, it was procedural in Tanzania, and not through manipulation.
According to Jonathan, if a one-party state has become desirable for the country, the process must be thorough and systemic, not by accident or political manipulations.
The former Nigerian leader’s concern comes against the backdrop of the gale of defections sweeping through the ranks and strongholds of the country’s opposition parties – the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; the Labour Party, LP, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP – to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Jonathan, who described Clark as his father, said that there was no need to look for any replacement for the late Ijaw leader because that would not be achievable as he was a unique personality, with a very sharp memory that no one can beat.
Jonathan added that Clark was courageous and ready to take on anybody at any time.
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