My Conscience Played A Big Role In My Decision To Lead Nigeria - Goodluck Jonathan

The former president of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan says his conscience played a huge role in him leading Nigeria.

According to report,  he mad this known while speaking in Malaysia for the World Peace Summit. His paper titled "Conscience Based Leadership: The Secret to Global Peace and Security,’ reveals how he was able to passionately lead the country.

"Since you specifically invited me to share my experience as a political leader and President, with the forum, I will, therefore, like to mention some of the things I did in office, to build a peaceful society. I can confidently say that in all my public life, I was inspired to lead by conscience. This is in agreement with my personal philosophy which I first proclaimed while running for the office of the Governor of my home state Bayelsa in 2006, and re-echoed when I ran for the office of the President of Nigeria in 2011 and 2015. Then, I made it clear that my political ambition is not worth the blood of anybody. Ever since I said that in November of 2006 in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State, I have always lived by it. This philosophy informed my 12 decision to concede the 2015 Presidential election, even while the results were still being collated"


Speaking further, he said


"Let me give an example of one way I was inspired to lead by my conscience. In Nigeria, there were 10.5 million (about 15% of the population) out of school children who were of school age, going by UNICEF figures, as at the time I became President. This was a disproportionate portion for my country which was quite alarming, considering that many other developing nations with much higher population had fewer numbers of out of school children. Over 80% of these children for which majority are known as Almajiri came from the northern part of Nigeria, where I recorded the least votes in the elections I contested. Knowing the value of education , I could see that the ugly situation was limiting the opportunities of these children and negatively affecting the development of my country.