State Of Emergency: Key Players In Rivers Crisis Are Pretending To Sleep – Goodluck Jonathan

Former president Goodluck Jonathan has stated that failure to ensure justice and fairness in decision making endangers a nation’s stability and future prosperity.

Jonathan gave the warning while sharing his thoughts on the state of emergency declared in Rivers State.

He argued that no country can succeed when government officials abuse power and act as a dictatorship.

He argued that the crisis in Rivers State reflects wider governance challenges in Nigeria, where key executive, legislature and judiciary figures fail to uphold justice and the rule of law.

Jonathan delivered his remarks on Saturday at the Annual Colloquium of the Haske Satumari Foundation in Abuja, an event aimed at amplifying marginalised voices and promoting equitable governance.

The former president expressed concern that compromised institutions deter investment and impede economic growth, as investors are wary of environments where judicial rulings may be influenced.

The former Nigerian leader said, “We’re talking about building a society where no one is oppressed, as reflected in the top paragraph of our national anthem. 

“What is happening in Nigeria today regarding the situation in river states is like an Indian proverb that said that if somebody is sleeping, really sleeping, you can easily wake up that person. But if that person is pretending to sleep, you find it difficult to wake up that person. The key actors in Nigeria, from executives to the legislature, and the judiciary, they know the correct thing to do, but they are refusing to do it. They are pretending to sleep.

“Waking such a person is extremely difficult, but the person knows the right thing. The clear abuse of offices, clear abuse of power, clear abuse of privileges, cutting across from the three arms of government, from the executive to the parliament to the judiciary. And I always plead with our people that whatever we do affects everybody.

“And if we want to build a nation where our children and our grandchildren, no matter how painful it is, we must strive to do what is right. It may cost us, but we must endeavour and pay the price to insist on doing what is right. Whether you are holding an executive office as a president, a minister, governor, or special advisor, executive, whether you are holding an office in the parliament, senate, or rep, whether you are a judicial officer in high courts or appellate courts, we must strive to do what is right.

“If we want to build a nation that our children will be proud of. As we engage in these discussions, let us remember that promoting social change is not a one-time event, but a continuous process. It requires a sustained commitment, collective action, and unwavering dedication to the values that promote good governance.”