Jonathan: African politicians now staging civilian coups

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has pleaded with politicians to stop killing people for the sake of power.

Speaking after he was honoured with an honorary degree of doctor of science at the 17th convocation of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo state, on Saturday, the ex-president lamented the desperation among politicians.

He said African politicians are systematically replacing military coups with civilian coups going by recent trends in the political sphere.

“Let me plead with my fellow politicians, they should stop killing the people, destroying properties because people want to own office,” he said.

“What happened in the last governorship elections in my state, Bayelsa and Kogi state, especially in Kogi state where a woman was burnt alive in her house, is something that should not happen in any normal society. Something is fundamentally wrong with our political system.

“Only yesterday (Friday) in one African country, we were discussing the politics of our continent…most of us former heads of state, presidents, former presidents and vice presidents. The way African politics is going, we are replacing military coup with civilian coup and that cannot sustain the continent.”