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Tag: Jonathan

  • Asking Jonathan to his feet

    It is a rare occasion for a lady to ask the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was already seated at a public gathering, to not only rise to his feet but remain standing for about five minutes.

    But, it actually happened at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday last week when the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh led a delegation of the Anglican Communion to the State House.

    The delegation was at the Villa to confer the “Primatial Award of Excellence in Christian Stewardship” on the President.

    The way the President was asked to stand up for about five minutes before a medallion was hung on his neck and the award plaque and a copy of Holy Bible were handed to him took some top officials and journalists in the hall by surprise.

    The lady, Augusta Maduegbuna, who came with the delegation and read part of the procedure for the conferment of the award on behalf of the Primate, did not only ask the President to stand up but also asked him to remain standing.

    But she did it with the authority and on behalf of Most Revd Nicholas Okoh.

    She said: “And the authority of the Primate of all Nigeria is this, the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, I now invite his Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to please rise and remain standing.”

    Many in the hall felt it would have been appropriate for the President to have been allowed to sit while the lady read through the conferment programme and the President should only stand up for the conferment proper.

    They expected the President to feel offended and to remain on his seat.

    But the President was not ruffled as everything has to do with the church that has touched his life right from his primary school days to date.

    So, as a gentleman, he obeyed the feminine voice and stood up for about five minutes as the lady, assisted by another church official, read out from the award conferment programme.

    After the conferment, Jonathan said: “I sincerely thank the Anglican Church for finding me worthy to be so recognised. I’m most grateful for this honour. I grew up as a member of the Anglican Church. At that time, it was only Anglican Church that was in my tiny village. But now, I don’t know the numbers of churches that are there, almost all the classrooms are churches.

    “I have been part of the church from the beginning; I attended Anglican primary school as a pupil. So, I have to be very grateful to the Anglican Church that brought me up. I am what I am today because of the Anglican Church.

    “I therefore thank you our Bishop, fathers and to use this unique opportunity to thank Christians and all the religious bodies that constantly pray for this country.”

     

  • APC to PDP, Jonathan: stop taking credit for Ebola control

    APC to PDP, Jonathan: stop taking credit for Ebola control

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday told President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop taking credit for the country’s successful containment of the Ebola Disease Virus (EVD).

    It said it would amount to dishonesty for the President and his party to turn what was a collective effort to a campaign issue.

    But the PDP fired back, saying the APC preferred that “the Ebola scourge continued unabated in Nigeria so as to have what to blame the PDP-led government for”.

    The PDP made its position known in a response to a statement by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    The APC said President Jonathan and his party were wrong to have appropriated the credit for the successful containment of the EVD without giving due credit to the real heroes of the successful battle: Dr. Stella Adadevoh and her colleagues at the First Consultant Hospital; officials of the ministries of Health in Lagos and Rivers states and the patriotic Nigerian volunteers, among others.

    It described as a cheap shot and a shameless venture the President’s decision to make the Ebola success story a campaign issue during a PDP rally in Benin, giving the impression that only the PDP deserves the credit for the successful containment of the disease.

    The APC said while indeed Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu exhibited the kind of professionalism and purposefulness that are not common with the Jonathan Administration during the battle against Ebola, it will be uncharitable for the PDP-led Federal Government to pretend as if the governments of the two affected states did nothing.

    The party reminded President Jonathan that the two states hit by Ebola, Lagos and Rivers, are APC states, and that the promptness, purposefulness, doggedness and determination shown by the governors contributed largely to the successful containment of the virulent disease.

    ‘’The cities of Lagos and Port Harcourt are perhaps the largest metropolis to have ever been hit by the EVD since the first outbreak was recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo almost 40 years ago, and any mishandling of the disease could have spelt disaster not just for the cities but for the country as a whole.

    ‘’But the ever-dogged and determined Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers states employed the same winning strategies that have stood their states out of the pack and quickly rose to the occasion, putting in place measures that ensured a quick curtailing of the EVD spread. The measures include painstaking contact-tracing, unrelenting follow-up and creative treatment of infected patients even without access to the experimental drug Zmapp.

    ‘’There is no doubt that Nigeria is fortunate that the EVD outbreaks were recorded in those two states. It is a measure of the high premium that the Chief Executives of the states place on human life, a testimony to the strong health systems they are building and an indication of their purposeful approach to governance that they successfully contained the disease, thus earning Nigeria a rare accolade from the global community.

    ‘’Unlike the President and the PDP, we will also like to give credit to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, for acting out of character with the do-nothing Jonathan Administration. We hope President Jonathan and his party will stop making the Ebola success story in which opposition states were the main actors a fulcrum of their campaign for the 2015 general elections. They cannot and should not take credit for the containment of Ebola in Nigeria,’’ APC said.

    The party also advised President Jonathan not to use the Ebola containment effort as another tool to divide Nigerians along party lines.

    ‘’President Jonathan is the most divisive President in Nigeria’s history. He inherited a united Nigeria, but has divided the country along ethnic and religious lines on the altar of selfish personal ambition and short-term opportunism. It will amount to a monumental tragedy if the President will again use the Ebola success story, which has earned Nigeria a rare acclamation from the global community, as a tool to further divide Nigerians,’’ it said.

     

  • ‘Blame Jonathan for failing to end Boko Haram’

    ‘Blame Jonathan for failing to end Boko Haram’

    he poor command by President Goodluck Jonathan and the politicisation of the military have been identified as reasons for the Army’s inability to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

    A Kaduna-based retired army officer, Capt. Abdulhakeem Adegoke Alawuje, spoke while fielding questions from reporters in Kaduna at the weekend.

    Capt. Alawuje, who served in the 29 Motorised Infantry Battalion said he participated in peacekeeping and the Army never failed to crush insurgents.

    Said he: “If there is anything worse than poor command, I will use such word. There is no effective command and no sincerity from the commanders. These are the two things I see. There is no sincerity in the command and it is very poor.

    “When you look at the Army of yesteryear compared to that of today, it is still the same Army. But in the past there was no serious politics. When you look it at it now, it is different. When there is politics in the Army, definitely it will be very difficult for it to deliver. This is the problem we are facing.

    “The chief security officer of the country is Mr. President. He is the one everyone will cry to in a time as this. But in a situation whereby the President is politicising security matters, there will be a serious problem. I am speaking from experience.

    “This Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast has been ravaging the country for almost five years. With my own experience, I don’t believe this thing is just happening. I don’t want to believe that. I want to believe that some people, even in the government, are involved in this thing. If not, the Nigerian Army, which has been in every part of the world to keep the peace, would have crushed the insurgency.

    “I thank God, I was part of the operation in Sierra Leone. I was involved in that operation. We know the order with which we left Nigeria. We know how we penetrated Sierra-Leone and we know how we dealt with the rebels there.    “But, to my greatest surprise, we are facing the same problem in our country. It is still the same here. I know the competence of the Army. I know what they can do. But in this situation, they find it difficult to solve the problem. Nigerians should unite. They should forget about their religious and ethnic differences. We should ask President Jonathan what he has been doing.

    “I discussed with a friend recently and he said the President has been doing his best. But, I said, if he has actually done his best, then it means his best has not yielded any positive result, he should re-strategise. The President said he knows those behind Boko Haram. Nigerians have failed to ask him to bring those behind the insurgency to book.

    “Let us ask them what they want. What are they up to? Nigerians have refused to do that and Mr. President has refused to bring them to book. They keep killing innocent people. If we keep quiet, the situation will worsen.”

     

  • ‘We won’t support Jonathan’

    Hundreds of Ijaw youths, under the aegis of Izon Ibe Global Policy Network (IGPN), have said they will not support the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The group also condemned statements by some Ijaw leaders that Nigeria will break up, if Jonathan loses the election.

    The group, whose membership is drawn from Edo, Ondo, Delta and Rivers states, in a statement by its spokesman, Ayubalayefa Dennis, said it would support the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

  • NANISC boss praises Jonathan

    NANISC boss praises Jonathan

    Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Indigenous Shipping Companies Isaka Adebayo has praised President Goodluck Jonathan for the establishment of the Calabar Channel Management Company.

    He said stakeholders were grateful for the company as its establishment would decongest the Lagos and Port Harcourt ports and open up new frontiers in Calabar.

    The chairman noted that prior to the establishment, maritime activities were restricted to Lagos and Port-Harcourt.

    He said with the Calabar company, activities in the Nigeria Export Processing Zone (NEPZ) and Tinapa would pick up.

    “This is a welcome development. Since the news came to us, there has been jubilation because this is an avenue to expand our activities,” he said.

  • Ebola, Boko Haram and Jonathan’s unity paradigm

    Ebola, Boko Haram and Jonathan’s unity paradigm

    SPEAKING at an interdenominational service in Abuja last week to mark Nigeria’s 54th Independence celebration, President Goodluck Jonathan described the containment of the debilitating Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) as an indication of what Nigerians could accomplish when they are united. This is an atrocious simplification of politics. “We were able to defeat Ebola because Nigerians agreed together to wage war against the disease,” he gloated. “That is the strength of unity. Some of the challenges we are having, whether kidnapping or the greatest problem which is terror, it is because all of us have not united to fight these challenges.” Even by his usual, sweeping and impressionable standard, this latest philosophical proposition is deeply puzzling.

    Nobody can accuse Sierra Leoneans and Liberians of not being united behind their governments in fighting Ebola. They are united in anxiety and grief, as they are in spirit in fighting it. But they lack the know-how and efficiency. While it is true that the Federal Ministry of Health and the Lagos State Government joined forces to fight the scourge, it is also true that the federal government was at first remiss in its responsibility in preparing for and anticipating the coming of Ebola. Other than publicity, it did not nothing to prepare the entry ports for or against Ebola’s arrival. Had Lagos healthcare system not been transformed earlier, and had Lagos health and administrative officials not been studiously proactive and aggressively reactive, containing Ebola would probably have required a more herculean effort. Indeed, after the scourge had been contained, it is only the Lagos State governor that has acted like a leader, meeting with the survivors and funding research into the disease.

    In any case, the thought of remembering and exploiting political divides in fighting a scourge as undiscriminating as Ebola was the last thing on anybody’s mind. It was neither possible for Lagos nor the federal government to exploit the scourge for political reasons. If it had been possible, President Jonathan, given his style, not to say his parochialism and unstatesmanlike lack of scruples, would be too glad to seek political advantage. He sought and still seeks political advantage in the case of Boko Haram, as shown by his lethargic and confused response to the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls.

    The dangerousness of the Jonathan proposition on unity and Ebola looms much larger in the way he has tried to explain away his failures and inaction in the fight against Boko Haram. How on earth could he suggest that Boko Haram remains undefeated because of lack of unity? Hear the president’s proposition: “If we are united there is no problem we cannot conquer. We were able to defeat Ebola because Nigerians were united and agreed that we should fight it. We have not defeated Boko Haram because Nigerians are not all united yet…When I listen to some comments by some highly placed individuals, I feel sorry for this country.” Apart from this statement being a huge fallacy and his feeling of sorriness quite regrettable and undignified, it was also the unflattering and plaintive cry of an impotent leader. He controls the budget, the army and the secret service, and he exercises more presidential power, much of it unlawfully, than even the United States president.

    Who is refusing to unite behind the president in the fight against Boko Haram? Did he lead and no one followed? Did he equip and pay his troops and they did not fight? Is it not true that for many years we urged him to make up his mind to fight the terrorists, and he kept balking and waffling? When he reluctantly visited the Northeast, the epicenter of the Boko Haram revolt, did he not insult the region’s elite and talked down on them? Indeed, does the president know how to motivate and inspire those he leads? Except in the minds of his supporters, aides and federal contractors and jobholders, the plain truth is that President Jonathan is his own worst enemy on the Boko Haram war. He has fought it hesitantly, clumsily, unprofessionally, and with a constantly wary eye on political advantage.

    Let him not give us the buncombe that the anti-terror way fails for lack of unity. The war fails because of his appalling leadership. Unity is desirable, and it helps in the prosecution of many causes, but it is not an end in itself, for it does not always guarantee success or prevent defeat. Indeed, it is hard to resist the feeling that the unity President Jonathan describes and desires is one in which everyone, ruling party and opposition, will surrender their souls and perspectives to him, and treat him like a potentate.

  • Jonathan, Obiano, Ngige, Obi condole with Senator over sister’s death

    Jonathan, Obiano, Ngige, Obi condole with Senator over sister’s death

    PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Senator Chris Ngige and former Governor Peter Ob all paid tributes during the burial of Senator Ben Ndi Obi’s younger sister, late Prof. Josephine Obiananma Anagbogu, yesterday in Awka, Anambra State. Obiano, who read the message from Dr. Jonathan, prayed God to grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

    The church service, which was conducted by the Anglican Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Alexander Ibezim, held at the Cathedral Church of St. Faith in Awka. More than 50 Priests were in attendance, including prominent men and women in the society.

    There was heavy traffic, while security operatives had hectic time clearing the way for easy movement. Also in attendance was oil mogul, Prince Arthur Eze, who gave the church the sum of N5 million. The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, was also attended the event.

    Other dignitaries included the Anambra State deputy governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke, members of the state executive council, senators and House of Representatives members. In his Sermon, the Anglican Bishop of Awka, Rt Rev. Alex Ibezim, told the congregation that this was the right time to seek the face of God.

    He said that people live their lives today as if nothing would happen. Ibezim, however, prayed for the repose of the departed, adding that God would guard the family to bear the irreparable loss.

  • Northerners to Jonathan: You’ve failed

    Northerners to Jonathan: You’ve failed

    Prominent voices from Northern Nigeria have replied President Goodluck Jonathan’s self appraisal in his Independence Day address, where he said, he has performed well in the last five years of his government.

    They disagreed with the President on the claim, saying he has failed woefully with his inability to put his feet on the ground and deal with those who had been the cog in the will of Nigeria’s progress.

    The northern public also faulted the celebration of the country’s independence, saying only those looting the nation’s treasury had reasons to celebrate.

    Shehu Sani, a prominent human rights activist, said, “The Jonathan administration has been able to appease the yearning of people of South South to produce the President of Nigeria. But all that has is that he ended up enriching a gang of militants and he has become so inept and incapable of prosecuting corruption.

    “The nation has never been divided like we have been under Goodluck Jonathan and the worst of all today, we are faced with a serious problem of insurgency and kidnapped to which the reputation of his government damaged.

    “The President has failed woefully, especially with his inability to put his feet down and deal with some certain persons in his government who had been seen to be cog in the will of Nigeria’s progress.”

    On the nation’s independence, he said, “You can categorize Nigeria’s history into four segments namely the colonial era, democratic era, military rule, civil war and now insurgency. To assess the journey so far, you can also sub divide it into three or four sub sections.

    “You can assess the journey so far politically, economically, socially and the journey so far historically. Politically, you can say that we have spent most of our period of independence under military rule and that had denied Nigerians the opportunity to rise and fall and learn from the democratic process.

    “The military rule was a period characterized by human right violations, tyranny, depression and unaccountable government. It was also a period of political prosecution. The military rule was an aberration, it was a moment in which individuals took up arms against the will and the constitution of the country and impose themselves as political leaders. In the process, they amass wealth, stylishly the socio-political and economic development of the country.

    The Spokesman of Northern Elders’ Forum, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, said, “There is nothing to say than telling Nigerians that there is no reason to celebrate Nigeria at 54.

    While, a former federal lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, said, “Nigeria is not in the right direction towards development. We are only in the direction towards mayhem and confusion, poverty, corruption and irresponsible governance. Therefore, there is nothing celebrate about our being 54. And those who go out of their way to loot our treasury to celebrate know within themselves that, there is nothing to celebrate.”

     

  • She was a trailblazer, says Jonathan

    She was a trailblazer, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan has described Dame Felicia Remi Oyo as a trailblazer in journalism.

    He expressed sadness on the death of Mrs. Oyo, who he said was one of the most eminent Nigerian female journalists.

    In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, President Jonathan extended condolences to her husband, Vincent, her children, Otome and Okiemuote, her siblings and other relatives.

    He also commiserated with the Nigerian Guild of Editors, who Dame Oyo served as a two-term President in the course of her trail-blazing journalism career, the management and workers of NAN as well as the colleagues, friends and protégés she garnered in her life.

    President Jonathan  joined them in mourning Dame Oyo, who having attained great success in a profession hitherto dominated by men, entered national service as the Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003 and served with great distinction as the first female press secretary to a head of state until 2007.

    The President believed that although she was already much honoured in life with accolades and awards, including Officer of the Order of the Niger, Dame Oyo would always be remembered and honoured in posterity for her exemplary professional life, her inspiring leadership qualities, motherliness and generosity, her immense patriotism and her remarkable transformation of the News Agency of Nigeria during her tenure as the managing director.

  • Sagbama, Ekeremor defy rain, forego churches for Jonathan, Dickson

    The rain initially drizzled. Eventually, it got to a torrential level pounding roofs and drenching whatever and whoever stood in its way. Most people in Sagbama, the local government area of Governor Seriake Dickson in Bayelsa State ran helter-skelter scrambling for shelter.

    But many others were not afraid of the rain. They trudged along the streets and roads that criss-crossed the ancient city in search of the venue for the grand endorsement rally organised on Sunday by the Bayelsa West Senatorial District.

    The district comprising Ekeremor and Sagbama local government areas  organised what it called the mother of all rallies  to drum support for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 and Governor Seriake Dickson in 2016.

    The party faithful apparently forego their churches and other worship centres to be counted among persons who gathered at the Sagbama Council Park for the event.

    Perhaps viewing the inclement weather as a shower of blessing, the political juggernauts, women of influence, youth leaders and masses from the district trooped to the event centre to take a stand for Jonathan and Dickson.

    They danced in the rains. Women dressed in Ijaw wrappers and blouses with headgears to match and different colours of beads hanging round their necks and festooned to their wrists danced in excitement.

    The district boasts of many political heavyweights and opinion leaders. Many of them were on parade that day. The Chairman, Ekeremor LGA Restoration Caucus, Chief Thompson Okorotie took the centre stage as one of the brains behind the ceremony.

    The former Acting Governor in the state and member of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Nestor Binabo; Governor’s Special Representatives, Sagbama, Mr. Collins Cocodia; his counterpart from Ekeremor, Mr. Pius Jonah and the pioneer state Chairman, PDP, Sir. Charles Dorgu, who is also the Chairman of Sagbama LGA Restoration Caucus, were in attendance.

    A member representing Sagbama/ Ekeremor Federal Constituency, Dr. Stella Dorgu who replaced Governor Seriake Dickson in the House of Representatives after his election as governor of the state in 2012 was also there. The chairmen of Ekeremor and Sagbama local government areas, Mr. Billy Tobiyei and Mr. Willy Oyadongha, we’re also present.

    It was, indeed, a gathering of who-is-who in the senatorial district as the list was endless. The youths swarm like bees around the venue as they held many placards declaring support for their candidates.

    Okorotie who is also the Chairman, Organising Committee, Bayelsa West Senatorial District Grand Rally, went spiritual in his address. He said leaders are chosen by God and that the people are divine vessels for the actualisation of God’s will.

    “The choice of President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriake Dickson are products of God and we are the divine vessels for His purpose.

    “During the campaign for the first term of our son, father and leader, we told Nigerians that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan whom we are presenting to Nigeria is a good product”, he said.

    He said Jonathan’s achievements in governance bore eloquent testimony to he veracity of that statement. He said that President Jonathan had recorded landmark achievements in different sectors of the economy especially in agriculture, education, road infrastructure, investment promotion, railway transportation and power.

    He claimed that Jonathan surpassed the achievements of past presidents in all the areas he mentioned.  He gave Jonathan kudos in his war against insurgency.

    Speaking about Governor Dickson, he said the governor was a special gift to the state just as he described him as a man of uncommon courage and a restoration giant.

    He said: “A man who came on board on February 14, 2011 with a development storm that has been persistent, robust and vigorous. In only two and a half years, our son father and leader has achieved much more than has been done by any previous administrations in the state”.

    He commended the people of the district for their political sagacity and vibrancy saying they have always shown such qualities right from their days in the old Rivers State. He said their consistent support to other parts of the state was rewarded by the emergence of Dickson as the governor.

    So, the speeches rang on. The Commissioner for Education, Mr. Salo Adikumo, mounted the podium. He said Jonathan and Dickson had performed and deserved a second chance. For instance, he said Dickson had shown strength of character in education and infrastructural revolution.

    The former Deputy Governor, Mr. Peremobowei Ebebi; the Paramount Ruler of Ebedebiri Federated Communities, King Anderson Esemokumo and many other speakers took turns to mobilise support for Jonathan and Dickson.

    The highpoint of the ceremony was when Okorotie and some leaders mounted the podium and moved a motion endorsing Jonathan and Dickson for a second term. The motion was unanimously supported by everybody in attendance.