As president, I worked for next generation, not next election – Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has again defended his administration’s Transformation Agenda stressing that it was designed to engage the latent potential in the entire nation, as well as
stimulate and enable higher productivity.
 

  Dr. Goodluck Jonathan spoke Monday at the Oxford Union, succeeding US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who spoke at the same event in May this year.

Speaking on the theme 'Fostering Youth Entrepreneurship, Dr. Jonathan, whose speech was streamed live, said:

    "I once said that I was not elected President of Nigeria to spread poverty, I was elected to generate and spread wealth." 'My belief in this regard is that getting a job or being a worker cannot completely cure the disease of poverty. It is only your own business that can provide such security and give you the financial freedom you need to prosper."

Dr. Jonathan asked the esteemed audience some questions during his speech which included;

    "Why are some nations rich and some poor?

    Why do individuals that grow up in similar circumstances end up differently, with some as successes and others as failures?

    Is the wealth of nations a result of geography, weather, culture, destiny, etc.?

    What could a leader do to effectively lift a people out of the depths of poverty, and enable them to achieve prosperity?"

The former Nigerian leader talked about youth entrepreneurship programs his administration pioneered saying that one of them, YouWIN was a major plank of his job creation efforts.

    "The motivation for this program is for young people to go into SMEs, create jobs for other young people with the expectation that some would grow to large scale businesses" Dr. Jonathan said.

The former President concluded his speech by giving a short brief of his achievements in the economic sphere, saying:

    "Under my watch, Nigeria was projected by CNN Money to be the third fastest growing economy in the world for the year 2015 and rated as the largest economy in Africa and the 23rd largest in the world by the World Bank and the IMF, with a GDP above half a Trillion US dollars."

 He also said that while serving as President of Nigeria, he worked for the next generation and not for the next elections, as a means of ensuring that Nigerian children had a promising future.

According to him; “While serving as President of Nigeria, I worked for the next generation and not for the next elections. Somebody must sacrifice and work for the next generation otherwise your children's children will suffer the same predicaments as you have. 

“I am excited to be in the midst of some of the World's future leaders to discuss issues relating to youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. The issue of youth entrepreneurship in Africa is very critical, as Africa is the only continent in which we will witness a population boom. Most violent crises in Africa can be traced to a lack of education and opportunities among its teeming youthpopulation. 

Studies have revealed that there is a symbiotic relationship between youth unemployment and youth restiveness.” “As a leader, you can decide through your policies to educate the youths, or face the consequences of failing to do so. The Transformation Agenda was conceived to engage the latent potential in the entire nation, and to stimulate and enable higher productivity.”

He challenged “contemporary African leaders to see youth entrepreneurship as a collective project transcending national boundaries, adding that “despite incredible challenges, Nigerian youths are achieving great things and placing Nigeria positively in the world map. They inspire us.”  he said