Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged the National Assembly to allow electronic transmission of election results to improve transparency.
He advised the lawmakers to use the ongoing harmonisation period by both Chambers to adopt E-transmission in the Electoral Act amendment bill.
The former president spoke at the National Defence College (NDC), Abuja, where he delivered the inaugural lecture for course 30 participants.
The lecture titled “Human Security and National Development: The whole of society approach” was Jonathan’s first at the topmost military training institution since his exit from office in May 2015.
Recall that in July, both chambers of the National Assembly passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill but with variations on the issue of electronic transmission of results.
Speaking on the issue, Jonathan also urged Nigerians to repose confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to avoid crises whenever there was an election.
“Where there is no confidence in the electoral umpire, people resort to the crisis. But unfortunately, sometimes when the results come out, the damage would have been done.
“I urge the National Assembly while looking at the law, they should allow the use of electronic means of transmitting results for the sake of transparency as well as avoiding electoral crisis,” he said.
On the importance of human security, Jonathan said no nation can develop when the people live in fear.
“When human beings live in fear, their productivity drops and the economy of the nation also flounders as a consequence. Every nation must therefore place emphasis on human security.
“One of the reasons why our economy is not performing optimally is the level of fear in the general Nigerian society.
“There is no doubt that fear is a key factor in human development. Many countries recognise this fact. That is why the Canadian option of human security which emphasises freedom from threats to people’s rights, safety of lives is anchored on the principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P),” he said.
Continuing, the former President said any meaningful discourse on human security and development should be framed around the interdependence between people’s liberties, the environment, their economic status, progress and peace.
“Therefore, the thrust of human security is to work towards ensuring the elimination of major threats to development, safety and the attainment of shared peace and prosperity.
“Before this time, not many people considered climate change as a source of national security. Today, I am sure that we can picture the place of the Lake Chad crisis, the whole issue of dwindling resources and their implication to our collective wellbeing and security,” said Jonathan.
To him, security was the business of everybody, urging Nigerians to join hands with the government to combat insecurity.
He said: “It is very obvious that these days people do not go to farm anymore because of one fear or the other. Everybody should be involved in securing the country. Yes, the government will do its part but we as individuals should also do our own part.
“My humble suggestion is that government and stakeholders should do a lot of dialogue, when you start talking sometimes it reduces the anger in people. We must build this issue of human security and the security of the country.“
