Goodluck Jonathan and his recent comments...... He obviously seems to know what he is doing! There is a huge feeling of confidence.... We have a way with words in Nigeria, only that words rarely translate to actions.
ON BOKO HARAM:
“Boko
Haram has no face. Government will not dialogue with a faceless group. I
don’t know what they want except to destabilise the country. The target
of any terrorist group is to destabilise. By attacking churches, they
try to instigate Christians against Moslems.
“Soon,
if they don’t succeed with that, they may attack mosques so that
Moslems will attack Christians. But we are working very hard and we will
stop it.”
He
said if members of the group state its grievance, he would encourage
those who have been in touch with them to go ahead and pacify them and
make them see why they must stop the killings.
“The
Boko Haram members are Nigerians and I will rather not want to lose the
life of any Nigerian. Boko Haram has no face. Government will not
dialogue with a faceless organisation.
“Security
is a global challenge; just like the economic meltdown. Government is
on it. Boko Haram changes their tactics every day, we are also changing
and we will continue to adjust.”
“We
will encourage those with access to them to dialogue with them. Even
(Islamic leader, Dr) Datti Ahmed has access to them, we will encourage
him,” he said.
ON HIS TRIP TO BRAZIL (Nigeria reports say went with the highest number of delegates)
The
President also defended his decision to attend the Earth Summit in
Brazil soon after the last round of bombings in Kaduna and Yobe states.
“I
have no regrets going to Brazil,” Jonathan said. “I sympathise with the
people who lost loved ones. I feel the pain. When I hear that one person
dies, I feel so sad.
“But
the government in Nigeria must not stop for a second because of
terrorists. Boko Haram and their sponsors will not stop government from
functioning. The Vice-President, the Senate President, the Speaker, all
must keep faith with their engagements. The country must move on.”
“I
have no regrets going to Brazil. I feel the pain when I hear that some
people died. Those who were worried got worried out of ignorance. Part
of their plans is to muzzle government. The government of Nigeria must
not stop for a moment; government must function. It would have
communicated something too negative and the consequences would have been
bad for the image of the country. It would have meant that the country
was unsafe.
“I
could have sent the Vice President or any other person, but the day the
international community gets to know that even the President could not
travel, then we would be in serious trouble. All arms of government will
keep faith with their national and international engagements. We
sympathise with the level of damage, but we must bring it to an end.”
WAR ON CORRUPTION
Jonathan
said the fight against corruption has not been lost. Asked about the
allegation that anti-graft agencies wait for the President’s “body
language” before bringing corruption charges against suspects, Jonathan
said it was not true.
“I
give them the latitude to do their work. If a person is doing a job and
is waiting for the President’s body language, then he is not committed,”
he said.
The
President said he picked the Chairman of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, even though he investigated
him when he was governor of Bayelsa State because Nigerians have
confidence in him.
“Nigerians have confidence in Larmode and I also believe in him. I have confidence in Lamorde.”
The
President also, for the first time, spoke on the on the sacking of
former EFCC boss Mrs Farida Waziri. He said she was sacked due to loss
of confidence as there were many allegations against her.
He,
however, said sacking her was not an indication that all the allegations
against her were true. He said it was better for the head of an
anti-corruption agency not to be tainted or seen to be tainted
The
President said because Nigeria practices English law, sometimes it is
not easy to obtain the 90 per cent proof to secure a criminal
conviction.
“The burden on these agencies is enormous. It takes time to build a case file,” the President said.
Jonathan,
who also pleaded that the anti-graft agencies be given time to work,
denied being part of the alleged sting operation to nail Hon. Farouk
Lawan.
He
also noted that before the House probe, the Federal Government had
earlier set up a panel to look into the subsidy issue, adding that “if
we have something to hide, we would not have brought in Nuhu Ribadu who
contested against me in the last presidential electuion”.
He also said that before now, he had asked for an international audit firm to audit NNPC.
Citing
the reported case of money transfer in the United States concerning the
Nigerian Embassy, the President said he has asked the EFCC to
investigate the report. “If I get report even in a newspaper, I give
directive to necessary security agencies to investigate.
ON OIL SUBSIDY:
Regarding
the oil subsidy probe by the House of Representatives over which the
Presidency is accused of orchestrating a sting operation that led to the
suspension of chairman of the probe panel Farouk Lawan for collecting
$620,000 from oil baron Femi Otedola, Jonathan said he had nothing to do
with it.
“I
have nothing to hide,” the President said. He said he would not have
appointed former opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
Presidential candidate Nuhu Ribadu head of petroleum revenue task force
if he was not sincere about ridding the petroleum sector of corruption.
“If I
want to do a sting operation, why would I use Femi (Otedola)? The fact
is that criticising Jonathan is a big business in Nigeria,” Jonathan
said.
ON ASSET DECLARATION: (THE CODE OF CONDUCT BUREAU TAKE NOTE)
On
why he has not declared his assets, the President said: “It is personal
and I don’t give a damn about that. The law is clear about it and so
making it public is no issue and I will not play into the hands of the
people. I have nothing to hide. I declared under the late President
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua becuase he did it, but it is not proper. I could be
investigated when I leave office. You don’t need to publicly declare
your assets and it is a matter of principle. It is not the President
declaring assets that will change the country. We should go after issues
that will develop the country.