Former President Goodluck Jonathan has attributed the insecurity plaguing Nigeria and other drawbacks to habitual absenteeism of the country’s leaders at various levels.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in January 2026 alone spent twenty-two days outside the country, visiting France, the United Arabs Emirates and the Republic of Türkiye.
Such shared practise among the leaders, the ex-President said was the reason insecurity gained a foothold in Nigeria.
“In a country like the United States, some governors do not leave their states for four years. But here, some of our governors spend 50 per cent of their time outside. So who runs the state? Why will we not have security problems?” Jonathan queried.
He made this remark while speaking at the International Memorial Lecture and Leadership Conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of former Head of State, Murtala Ramat Muhammed.
He also clamoured for a new order in which persons above 50 would not seek elective offices saying the jobs of leadership required physical and mental fitness.
“If they need to stay awake for 24 hours, they can stay awake for 24 hours. When I was in office, some days I did not sleep up to two hours. If you subject an older person to that kind of stress, the person will spend 50 per cent of the time in hospital,” he opined.
Speaking further, “If we are looking for people who can run nations in Africa, we should look within the 25 to 50 age bracket. That is when you can be very vibrant, physically strong and mentally sound.”
