Former President Goodluck Jonathan has stated that his involvement with the West African Elders Forum is a key reason for his ongoing absence from active and partisan politics.<\/p>\n
Jonathan made the remark in Abuja while speaking at an event marking the 10th anniversary of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) on Thursday, themed \u201cLegacy of Impact, Celebrating Our Journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wad gathered that the event also featured a gala dinner held in celebration of Jonathan\u2019s 68th birthday.<\/p>\n
Explaining his absence from active politics to associates, Jonathan said WAEF membership comes with a strict condition of non-partisanship. He described the forum as a preventive diplomacy initiative composed of former heads of state who visit countries within the sub-region during elections to mediate and prevent crises arising from poorly managed polls.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea is, yes, we observe the elections, but we are not co-observers,\u201d he said. \u201cWe go there to make sure that if we notice anything negative emerging, we intervene and try to see what we can do so that those issues do not snowball into a full crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jonathan added: \u201cThe condition to be a member of the WAEF is that you must be a former president within the sub-region and a former president of ECOWAS. One clear condition is that you will no longer be an active politician, and that is why I am disappointing most of my political associates. They expect me to play an active role in politics, but before I do, I must first resign from the WAEF.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the state of the nation, Jonathan decried what he termed \u201crascality\u201d in politics, urging politicians to conduct themselves with decorum and responsibility.<\/p>\n