Former President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday called for a strategic alignment of democratic governance with sound economic policies to ensure long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s political system.

He made the call at the national convening and launch of a research report by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) in Abuja. Jonathan urged policy makers to move beyond mere elections and focus on building transparent and accountable institutions that would create an environment where innovation and enterprise could flourish.

He noted that the gathering came at a critical moment when democracy was under increasing strain globally due to economic hardship, social pressures, insecurity and growing distrust in public institutions.

Reflecting on the effectiveness of various systems of government, he noted that while some non-democratic nations had achieved significant development, the unique value of democracy lies in the guarantee of freedom.

He said: “Sometimes when I look at the topics, I ask myself, can we really say that democracy will lead to better governance than other forms of government like we see in the Arab world, the monarchies? “Most of you go to Dubai, the centre of the world.

I know of some American friends that send their children to go and school in Dubai and it’s not a democracy there.” The former president added that in some other countries like China, some people question whether it is pure democracy that they are running or a different type of government.

According to him, the recruitment process in China is almost second to none, because ‘we are talking about quality of people’.