{
  "id": 20106748,
  "title": "Jonathan Condemns Selection of Nigerian Leaders Based on Religion, Ethnicity, Other Narrow Considerations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/15/jonathan-condemns-selection-of-nigerian-leaders-based-on-religion",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-15T03:11:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/11/15/jonathan-condemns-selection-of-nigerian-leaders-based-on-religion-ethnicity-other-narrow-considerations/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former President Goodluck Jonathan has criticized Nigeria's current methods of selecting political leaders, stating that they are based on narrow factors such as religion, ethnicity, language and other considerations. Jonathan cautioned that such a primitive approach will continue to hinder the nation's development progress. At the Herbert Macaulay Colloquium in Lagos, commemorating the 162nd anniversary of the nationalist pioneer, Jonathan advocated for a shift towards selecting leaders based on merit and competence. He emphasized that no individual's qualifications should be undermined by divisive factors. The former president highlighted several challenges impeding Nigeria's development, including leadership issues, weak institutions, corruption, inconsistent policies, inadequate infrastructure and insecurity. He called for comprehensive democratic reforms to ensure popular participation, uphold the rule of law, protect human rights, maintain judicial independence, promote accountability, foster pluralism and nurture a vibrant civil society. Jonathan also underscored the importance of prioritizing education and establishing research-intensive universities akin to successful models in India, Singapore and South Korea, which have harnessed quality education for remarkable development. He urged Nigeria to invest in its brightest minds and create world-class universities to compete globally. In paying tribute to Herbert Macaulay and other founding nationalists, Jonathan emphasized that the greatest honor the country could pay them is by building a nation that embodies the ideals they fought for.",
  "summary": ". Says primitive leadership selection process retards development Sunday Ehigiator Former President Goodluck Jonathan has warned that Nigeria would continue to struggle with development until it abandoned what he described",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}