said despite the security challenges in parts
of the country, his first name had brought
some good luck to Nigeria.
Jonathan said this while granting an interview to a
10-year-old Nigerian girl based in California, Miss
Zuriel Oduwole, on the sideline of the ongoing 21st
ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State
and Government of the Africa Union holding in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Oduwole who was said to have earlier interviewed
some other African leaders is working on a
documentary on the union's 50 years of existence.
She had sought to know from Jonathan how much
good luck his first name had brought to the country
under his leadership.
Jonathan said religion and traditional societies
attached some values to names
This, he said, was why parents select good names
for their children.
He said, "Traditional societies attach some values to
names. That is why people select good names for
their children.
"In the scriptures sometimes, when God sends you
on some special assignment, He could even direct,
'change the name of this child from this to that.'
"But the name in itself does not make much
difference because even from my village, there is
one of my peers that also answers Goodluck.
Another one that is a little older than me answers
Lucky from my small village and I didn't see the
good luck and lucky in them.
"In terms of bringing my name to bear in Nigerian
affairs, within this period, we have our challenges.
Of course, you are aware that we have our security
challenges. But in spite of the security challenges,
the country is moving on. I will say yes, it brought
some good luck to the country."
On the legacy he would want to leave behind at the
expiration of his tenure, Jonathan said he would
like to be remembered for sanitising the nation's
electoral system as well as fixing the power poor
and security challenges.
"If we can stabilise the electoral process, sanitise
the political environment, then we make sure that
we have power in this country and of course,
security, every other things will take off on its
own," the President said.
Jonathan said he would also like the sanitation
going on in the electoral system to be internalised
in all sectors of the country.
He said, "People should be allowed to decide who
governs them, who represents them at the
parliament, who runs their affair at the local
government level; the country never had that
opportunity and the elite were no longer interested
even in voting.
"Democracy was almost left floating in the hands of
people who ordinarily have no place there. So, we
are sanitising the electoral process. Now, Nigerians
can select who they want to be their President, who
they want to be their governor, who they want to be
their senator, who they want to be their House of
Representatives member or even their state House
of Assembly member or even chairman of their
council.
"We are doing that and I want that to be
internalised in all the ways we do things. I want
people to remember me for that."
Jonathan also talked of his desire to put the nation
on a better stead in the area of Information
Technology.
He said with technological development, power
could be stabilised and then, micro, small and
medium scale enterprises would be encouraged.
These, he added, are the areas that create jobs for
the people, improve the economy and reduce
poverty to the barest minimum.
Also, the President said for African countries to
come out of the woods and take their rightful
positions among the comity of nations, their
leaders must deepen democracy by avoiding abuse
of power and impunity.
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