Seeks single
tenures; adds no country is personal estate of any leader Says conducting
elections every 4 years too burdensome, expensive
Former President
Goodluck Jonathan said, yesterday, that a four-year tenure was too short for
any president to make meaningful impact on the country
He also said there was no need for any president to remain in power for upward
of 14 years, since the country was not his private estate.
Jonathan, who stated these at the constitutional term limits summit taking place in Niamey, Niger Republic, said the conduct of elections was too expensive that it could constitute a distraction to performance.
He made veiled
reference to Nigeria, where people are already discussing 2023 elections,
barely months after the 2019 elections.
According to
him, this can distract any president with a four-year tenure in office,
especially in the developing world.
He noted that
conducting elections every four years was too burdensome for countries,
especially developing countries, stressing that it was also too distracting for
the president in power.
He said: “When
Professor Wade (Senegal) was in his last tenure, he changed the constitution
and extended the term limits from five to seven years.
‘’He thought he
would win the election. But Macky Sall reduced it to five years. We must
commend dynamic leaders like that.
“There is no
need for one person to sit for 14 years, doing what? The country is not your
personal estate.
Countries are
free to amend their laws.
Just like the
president of Niger Republic said, different nations have different ways of
doing things, so it is better they have their own way of doing things.
I agree to that.
“Most countries in Africa emulate America that is a stable country, and take
four years as tenure.
Such countries
include Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana. “Four years is quite a short period for a
country that is developing for a person who wants to change the country to do
much.
‘’In Nigeria, we just finished the election
and some people are already talking about 2023 election.
It is distracting. “That is why some people
come with the idea of a single tenure; so a president can sit down and plan all
his programmes for the good of the country.
‘’We are too
distracted with these elections. Why must we waste money every four years to
elect a leader?
Those are the
things that agitate our minds.” The ex-president had, during his tenure,
canvassed a six-year single tenure for Nigeria’s president but he was pilloried
by many stakeholders who argued that his recommendation was an attempt to
perpetuate himself in office.