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Former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan
Former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has advised African leaders to prioritise inclusion and economic empowerment as a means of ensuring political stability and sustainable development.
The former President also urged African nations to invest in education, digital infrastructure, and skills development to be able to transform the continent’s youthful population into a force for innovation, leadership and global competitiveness.
Special Adviser to Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Ikechukwu Eze in a statement said Jonathan made the call in a keynote speech he presented on Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the launch of a report on ‘Advancing Inclusive Development: Policy Options for Burkina, Faso, Guinea, Gabon, Mali and Niger’ produced by the African Union Commission, UNDP’s Africa Facility to Support Inclusive Transitions (AFSIT) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
Stressing that the future of Africa can no longer be left to chance, Jonathan declared that governance must be rooted in legitimacy and inclusion. To address instability, he charged African leaders to take decisive steps to build a continent that is strong, self-reliant and prosperous by governing wisely and investing in economies that create jobs, industries and sustainable wealth.
He said: “Political stability cannot be sustained without trusted institutions, rule of law and leadership that earns its mandate from the people. We must invest in building responsive governance structures, fostering constitutional integrity, and ensuring that democratic processes deliver tangible dividends for all citizens.”
The former President also made a case for profound economic transformation, stating that fragile states do not emerge solely from political upheaval “but are by products of economic exclusion, underdevelopment, and the absence of viable livelihoods. Africa’s economic future lies in industrialization, technology-driven growth and regional trade integration.”
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