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Tag: Jonathan

  • Jonathan condemns Kaduna blasts

    Jonathan condemns Kaduna blasts

    President Goodluck Jonathan has condemned the explosions that rocked Kaduna State on Wednesday.

    In a statement issued by his media aide, Dr. Reuben Abati,  the President described the attack which appeared to have targeted former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and prominent Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, as an odious attempt to inflame passions and exacerbate disquiet in the land.

    “President Jonathan denounces the dastardly targeting of the prominent political and religious leaders by terrorists and enemies of the nation in an odious attempt to inflame passions and exacerbate disquiet, fear, insecurity and sectional divisions in the country,” the statement said.

    While thanking God for sparing the lives of Buhari and the cleric, the President also extended sincere condolences to the families of those who were  killed by the  blasts.

    “President Jonathan commiserates with all those who were injured in the twin bombings in this Holy Month of Ramadan which defy the tenets of Islam, and provide further proof that the terrorists are nothing but blood-thirsty extremists bent on undermining the unity and progress of the nation.

    “The President assures residents of Kaduna and all other Nigerians that the Federal Government will continue and further intensify its ongoing efforts to effectively curb the menace of terrorism in the country.

    “He has specifically directed the police and other national security agencies to take all necessary actions to apprehend the perpetrators of today’s attacks on Kaduna and urges all residents of the city to give them the fullest possible cooperation and support as they work to bring the terrorists to justice,” the statement added.

  • Jonathan versus Chibok girls’ parents

    President Goodluck Jonathan last week missed an opportunity to rub minds with some parents of the over 200 secondary schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State.

    Worried that the girls’ disappearance was causing great pain and psychological trauma to their parents, the Pakistani Girl-Child Education Campaigner, Malala Yousafzai, who met with President Jonathan last week Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja insisted that the President should see the parents.

    But the meeting could not hold on Tuesday as the parents did not turn up for the 4.p.m. fixture. They  were said to have left Abuja in the early hours of the day for Chibok, Borno State.

    Earlier on May 4, a similar meeting convened by First Lady on the abducction saga was fruitless, as many interested parties also failed to honour it. The development  twice drew tears from Mrs Jonathan.

    But it is not clear whether the President was also moved to that point as journalists were not opportuned to be where the news was broken to the President that the Chibok girls’ parents were shunning the meeting. Only his handlers would really know his immediate reaction.

    The President, however, at every given opportunity had claimed that the abduction of the girls is causing him so much pain as he is also a parent.

    Some Nigerians have however pointed out that the President did not need a Malala or needed to wait for three months after the abduction before making moves to see the parents of the abducted girls.

    Reliable sources in the Presidency had claimed that the President’s moves in the past to see the parents were thwarted.

    Speaking with State House correspondents on last Tuesday’s botched meeting, the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe blamed the BringBackOurGirls and the opposition for the development.

    He said: “The meeting was scheduled for 4p.m today at the instance of the request that was made by Malala and the President graciously agreed within 24 hours to meet with them but unfortunately the BringBackOur Girls leadership prevailed on the parents of the girls, stopped them from coming therefore what happened was that they actually shunned the meeting with Mr. President because the foreign media and everybody was waiting for this meeting and since they were no longer coming and they made it expressly clear that they were no longer coming, infact that the girls were just few minutes away from Chibok, the meeting was aborted.”

    “It was the leadership of BringBackOurGirls that brought them to Abuja and that gives them some leverage, they accommodated them, it is obvious now that the BringBackOurGirls in Nigeria are interested in showmanship not genuinely concerned with the plight of the children and that of their parents.”

    Continuing, he said: “That is was has become clinically clear by this action because if the parents of the girls travelled so much from Chibok to get to Abuja, why will it be impossible for them to meet with the President who has graciously agreed to give an appointment within less than 24 hours to meet with them.”

    “We are just coming from the President and he has authorized that an official letter be written to the parents inviting them to formally to come and meet him and it is going to be sometime next week.” He said

    But the #BringBackOurGirls Coalition, which had always insisted that the Federal Government was not doing enough to rescue the girls, last week denied aborting the Jonathan, parents’ meeting.

    In a statement jointly signed by former Minister of Education and coordinator of the group, Oby Ezekwesili, and Hadiza Usman, the group said it was merely informed about the decision of the parents and was not in attendance when the invitation to the Presidential meeting was extended to the Chibok parents.

    The group expressed surprise at what it called “the escalation of the pattern of the campaign of calumny by the government officials on our citizens’ movement, advocating for the rescue of the abducted 219 schoolgirls from Chibok Secondary School, 93 days ago.”

    While maintaining that the parents did not request to see the President, Spokesperson of the Abuja Chibok Community, Dauda Iliya last week said that they only received the invitation from the Presidency after the parents had left Abuja for Chibok.

    He said: “These parents and escaped girls did not come to Abuja at the instance of government or its representatives for a meeting with Mr. President but on the full understanding that they were coming to meet with Malala.”

    “In the course of their interactions with Malala, neither the parents nor escaped girls asked for a meeting with the President or any government functionary, rather the narrative back home was to persistently ask why the President has not visited them in Chibok since the abduction. It is obvious that 12 fathers and 5 girls only constitute about 2% of the parents of the abducted girls and the 57 girls that escaped.” He said

    While the ongoing accusations and counter-accusations would immediately stop as soon as the girls are safely rescued, it is hoped that the next meeting with the parents billed for this week will actually hold and go a long way to ameliorate the problems that followed the abduction.

     

  • Jonathan has declared war on Nigeria – Buhari

    Jonathan has declared war on Nigeria – Buhari

    Former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), has said President Goodluck Jonathan has declared war on his own country.

    Buhari in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Kaduna said he has never seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as it is being witnessed now.

    He said, ”Our country has gone through several rough patches, but never before have I seen a Nigerian President declare war on his own country as we are seeing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President deploy federal institutions in the service of partisanship as we are witnessing now. Never before have I seen a Nigerian President utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes.”

    The former head of state said the developments in the polity have become an unwelcome distraction for the nation’s ongoing survival battle against the Boko Haram sect, which has put Nigeria on tenterhooks, with innocent citizens being killed daily.

    ”In my capacity as a former head of state, rather than a politician, I have spoken to President Jonathan in private over these issues, but indications are that the strategy has not yielded positive fruits. I cannot, just because I am an opposition politician, fail to do what is expected of me as a former head of state to help rescue our nation in times of great trouble and palpable uncertainty.

    ”History will not be kind to me if I sit back while things turn bad, just so that no one will accuse me of partisanship. Yes, I am a politician. Yes, I am in the opposition. Yes, there is the tendency for my statement to be misconstrued as that of a politician rather than a statesman. But I owe it as matter of duty and honour, and in the interest of our nation, to speak out on the dangerous trajectory that our nation is heading.

    ”I can say, in all sincerity, that I have seen it all, as an ordinary citizen, a military officer, a state Governor, a Minister, a Head of State, a man who has occupied many other sensitive posts and a politician. I have been a close participant and witness to Nigeria’s political history since independence in 1960.”

     

  • Jonathan meets Adamawa acting Governor

    Jonathan meets Adamawa acting Governor

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday met behind closed doors with the Adamawa State Acting Governor, Ahmadu Fintri, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, the Acting governor said he was at the Villa to see the President as the leader of the country in order to give him the details of situation in Adamawa State.

    He denied the allegation that members of the state House of Assembly were given money to remove Governor Murtala Nyako.

    He said: “Who gave the money? There must be an evidence of the person who gave the money. In this country, people are used to whatever situation that happened, it is about money. Who gave the money?”

    On whether Nyako was removed to retrieve Peoples Democratic Party’s mandate in the state, he said: “You saw the allegations and they have been proven by the panel, so that cannot be the reason why we removed the man. There were even so many other issues that we could not bring as part of the allegations that formed his removal.”

    “But definitely as a PDP man that has taken over as acting governor in Adamawa State, I have to say that I brought back to my party the stolen mandate by the former governor.”

    Asked to speak on the allegation that the President was trying to muscle the opposition by way of impeachment, he said: “Nyako is not an opposition man. He only stole the mandate of the PDP into the APC. How did the President get involved in this local issue in Adamawa? The man has stolen our money. That is the bottom line of it.”

    He also said that he didn’t know if Nyako is on the run.

    On the present situation in Adamawa, he said: “Adamawa is fine, Adamawa is calm. We are into confidence building, having removed Nyako and the destruction of infrastructure and moral of our people.”

     

  • Boko Haram: Outrage over Jonathan’s $1b loan request

    Boko Haram: Outrage over Jonathan’s $1b loan request

    APC, Tinubu, lawyers to lawmakers: say no

    Minister defends plan

    There is outrage over the proposal by President Goodluck Jonathan to secure the National Assembly’s nod to obtain a $1billion loan to buy arms and ammunition to strengthen the fight against Boko Haram.

    Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro, said at the weekend during his tour of Naval formation in Delta and Bayelsa states, said major military equipment had not been procured by successive governments in 25 years – to justify the need for the loan.

    Obanikoro, accompanied by the Commanding Officer, NNS Delta, Navy Captain Musa Gemu, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Naval Engineering School, Rear Admiral Sidi H Usman and Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Peter Agba, said the war against terrorism would soon be won.

    On the state of the military, the minister said: “So far so good, but in real terms and given the goals that we have set for ourselves as a nation, there is the need for more investment. No doubt about that.

    “Funding will forever remain an issue. I schooled in the U.S. Anywhere, funding is a problem in terms of the military. It is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. I recognise the fact that if you have a responsibility to somebody, the person must be equipped to carry out such responsibility.

    “The Federal Government has resolved that within the limited resources available, the military is properly kitted to deal with the challenges confronting the country for now and the future.

    “The president is committed to that and he has taken practical steps. As I speak to you today, some of the acquisition we are doing to beef up military capacity have not been done in the last 25 years. That, to me, is what progress is all about.”

    Speaking in Yola, Obanikoro said: “It is not true that the military is not well motivated. We must recognise and appreciate the effort of President Goodluck Jonathan since he came on board.

    “I can tell you that in the last 25 years, we have not made major acquisitions in terms of platforms for the Navy,  amunition and equipment generally for the military.

    “It is Jonathan that has started doing that now and it is as a result of neglect that we are suffering today. But that we are also trying to overcome with this new acquisition.

    “There is no doubt that we have both men and women who can deliver under any situation and they are acclaimed worldwide to be among the best. If they can solve issues outside, why will they not be able to solve issues at home.”

    The pattern of Defence Budget in the last 25 years showed a sharp increase, but most of the funds reportedly went to personnel and overhead costs.

    This year’s budget has the highest allocation to Defence N968.127 billion  out of total budget of N4.962 trillion.

    The capital budget has always been spent on buildings, uniforms, some ammunition and vehicle spares parts.

    It was learnt that there was a little improvement in 2012 when the Navy bought two offshore patrol vessels and six coastal patrol boats and some spares.

    It was gathered that in the same year, the Air Force acquired 12 Augusta 109 helicopters and some uniforms, reactivated C-130 and G222 Alpha Jets.

    A military source said: “The military budgets over the years were not meant for massive equipment. They were meant for administration, logistics,training and day-to-day running of the establishment.

    “Nobody envisaged a war of this magnitude. This matter should not be unnecessarily sensationalised or politicised. These are facts Nigerians should be made to know.

    The source spoke on the telephone and pleaded not to be quoted.

    In an article in 2012, which drew the ire of the Presidency, a former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, gave an insight into the nation’s defence budget.

    He said: “Military spending the world over averages about 2.5 per cent of GDP, with the USA being the highest spender – about $700billion, which is about 5 per cent of GDP. In Africa, the leading military spender is Algeria, ranked 29th in the world, with 3.8 per cent of GDP, followed by Egypt (41st, 2.1 per cent), Angola (42nd, 4.2 per cent), and South Africa (43rd, 1.3 per cent). Nigeria is ranked 57th in the world then earmarking $1.724billion – about 0.9 per cent of our GDP on defence. Even a smaller country like Morocco, ranked 48th with 3.4 per cent of GDP out-spends us! In contrast, countries at near state-of-war like Lebanon (58th, 4.1 per cent) and Sudan (56th, 4.1 per cent) are in our neighbourhood in terms of defence outlays.

    “Our current budget for defence has climbed slightly to just over 1 per cent of GDP.”

    From N1.2 billion in 1988, the defence budget moved to N968.127 billion in this year’s budget.

    The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday urged the National Assembly not to give its go-ahead for the President to take the loan.

    It urged the government to account for the “missing” $20 billion oil money, saying “massive corruption and lack of accountability is behind the government request for loan”.

    To APC national leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “the loan is dubious”, “Nigerians must reject it,” he said.

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) urged the National Assembly to reject the President’s request, saying there was no justification for the loan.

    The activist recalled that between 2010 and 2013, over N3 trillion was budgeted for defence.

    “Under the Appropriation Bill signed into law on May 23, 20 per cent of the entire federal budget i.e the sum of N968.127 billion out of N4.962 trillion, was earmarked for defence,” Falana said.

    He advised the Senate to find out what happened to the defence budget in the middle of the year to warrant a supplementary budget of N160 billion.

    Other senior lawyers urged the National Assembly to scrutinise the request.

    Joseph Nwobike and Sebastine Hon (both Senior Advocates of Nigeria) said, the legislature should monitor the application of the funds – if it gives the go-ahead.

    Nwobike said in view of the growing insecurity in the country, no amount was too much to spend on a secured environment for the people.

    Hon urged the National Assembly to extract, undertaking from the President to assure the country that the money would actually be spent for the purpose for which it was being sought.

    Nwobike said:”With the growing security challenges in the country; insurgency in the Northeast, as well as oil theft and sea piracy and other maritime crimes in the southern part of the country, I think there is a need for the government to acquire sophisticated military hardware and training for our military to be able to combat these crimes.

    “We should not ground in the argument about whether money had been spent in the past or not. What we should be concerned with is how to tackle these challenges, which are not only threatening the fabric of our nation, but also interfering with our economic life.

    “In other words, we all know how much Nigeria has lost since this insurgency, oil theft and other maritime crimes started. What we have lost in a year is more than $10billion. So if we spend $1b to equip our military so that they can stop or nip in the bud, this escalating criminality, I think is a welcome development.”

    “The only thing that I will ask the National Assembly to do in approving the loan is to improve  on their oversight function, such that they will be able to monitor in great details, where the money will be spent, what it will be spent on, and the benefit capital, which the money will be able to generate in the area of security of lives and property in the country,” Nwobike said.

    Hon said : “The question that will arise is, what has been the effect of the spending on the military so far? Is it that it has not been fully utilised or there are some extraordinary measures requiring external borrowing, in addition to what has been budgeted for to take care of the military?

    “I think as the Commander-in-Chief, he is the person wearing the shoes and he knows where they are pinching him.

    “The National Assembly should extract an undertaking from the President to the effect that if this amount is approved, he will tackle the insurgency that is ravaging our country.

    “The National Assembly should audit the military in view of the fact that there have been allegations flying here and there that substandard equipment are being supplied to soldiers fighting the insurgents and that heavy money has been misappropriated or taken away outrightly.

    “So, I advise that there should be probity and accountability to make Nigerians appreciate the imperative for looking for additional funds,” Hon said.

  • Jonathan, Shettima meet over Boko Haram’s Damboa massacre

    Jonathan, Shettima meet over Boko Haram’s Damboa massacre

    •Military: we won’t allow hoisting of strange flags in any part of Nigeria

    Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima met with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Friday, pleading for assistance to stop the rampaging Boko Haram insurgents.

    More than 300 peoples, including a Lieutenant-Colonel, have been killed by the insurgents in the last  three weeks in Damboa.

    The daring insurgents have also served notices of attacks on nine other towns.

    But the military yesterday stepped up activities against the sect and ordered troops to rout out Boko Haram from Damboa.

    The Defence Headquarters said it would not allow any group to annex any part of Nigeria or hoist a strange flag.

    According to sources, Shettima had a closed door session with the President at night on Friday on the security challenges facing the state.

    The two leaders locked themselves up for about 45 minutes without any of their aides present.

    A source said: “The meeting had to do with the security situation in the state, especially attacks on Damboa and the withdrawal of troops from the area by military authorities.

    “The death toll had made the governor sad, in spite of the huge investment in security apparatchik in the state.

    “The military is unhappy that some local collaborators played key roles in the ambush of troops on July 4 which led to the killing of a Lieutenant Colonel in a tank by some suicide bombers.

    “The governor came to beg for more military intervention to save the state. No leader will be happy seeing his people being killed like fowls. And the President reassured the governor that more actions will be taken.

    “As if the assault on Damboa was not enough, the insurgents have served notices of attacks on nine more towns. It is like a part of Borno is under siege again after the gains made by the military.

    “I think they also had discussions on the fate of the Chibok girls and the President’s proposed meeting with some of the parents of the abducted girls and those who escaped.”

    Neither the Presidency nor Borno State government was willing to reveal the details of the meeting.

    When contacted, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati confirmed that the President met with the governor.

    Also, a top government official in Borno State confirmed that the governor met with the President on Friday night.

    Barely 48 hours after the meeting, the military yesterday stepped up activities against the sect and ordered troops to rout out Boko Haram from Damboa.

    The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, who spoke with our correspondent,  said the military had ordered troops to firm up activities against the sect in Damboa and other vulnerable areas.

    He said: “We have put in place necessary machinery, including the patrol of vulnerable areas, to check the insurgents. Activities are being stepped up to curtail the menace.”

    Asked in what manner the activities had been stepped up, he replied: “I won’t go into details on the actions we have taken. I cannot disclose military plans.

    “We will not say when troops will take charge of Damboa to avoid a repeat of the last ambush of these committed and loyal soldiers. But we are firming up deployment of troops to Damboa and other places.

    “We are ready for the insurgents but we will prefer to keep our strategies to ourselves because of the nature of the battle ahead.”

    Pressed to talk on the hoisting of flags in Damboa by Boko Haram, Brig.-Gen. Olukolade said:”From intelligence report, no hoisting of the flags was noticed in the sense that people are creating the impression. One or two persons may have hoisted flags in their compounds

    “The Nigerian military will deny them any freedom of action against the people this country.

    “Let me assure you that the military will not allow any portion of this country to bear any strange flag.”

  • Don’t torment opposition governors, NLC tells Jonathan

    Impeachment and threats of impeachment of All Progressives Congress (APC) governors is suspicious, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) National Vice-President Isa Aremu has said.

    The labour leader said the sanctity of tenure is needed to sustain democracy.

    Aremu, who was a member of the National Conference, spoke yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on the state’s radio programme, The Platform.

    The labour leader urged President Goodluck Jonathan not to use his office to torment governors in the opposition.

    He said: “What is worrisome to me is that of Nasarawa. The impeachment notice was served just at the time the President, who comes from another party, was visiting the state. I mean we should not give it the impression that the President is using his office to torment a governor in an opposition state. I don’t think this is the intention of the President.

    “What I am saying is, even the timing alone makes it to be suspicious. The President is an elected President. Currently, he is our President. He has the right to relate with elected governors but he cannot relate with you when, as he is arriving at the state, the governor’s job is being threatened.

    “I want President Jonathan to use his office to re-direct our political discourse along the line of statesmanship. He has done it before and I think he can do it before. Several times, he was threatened with impeachment and Nigerians stood up to say no.

    “I am not a fan of some of these governors. Some of them are known for recklessness and a lot of executive impunity. But a good number of them engage in self-help for themselves rather than public service for their people. Of course, there are some governors who have also performed, who endeared themselves to the electorate in their states.”

  • ‘Jonathan’s re-election non-negotiable’

    ‘Jonathan’s re-election non-negotiable’

    The Members of the National Executive Committee made the declaration shortly after arriving Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, for a meeting.

    NYC also called on security agencies to prosecute persons and groups calling for the nation’s dissolution.

     

  • ‘Jonathan, PDP not behind Nyako’s removal’

    ‘Jonathan, PDP not behind Nyako’s removal’

    The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, has described the impeachment of the former Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, as an act of democracy.

    Metuh said the impeachment was a constitution right granted the people of Adamawa State and it was exercised through the State House of Assembly’s members.

    The PDP spokesperson, in a statement yesterday, added that the lawmakers “accorded rule of law and due process the rightful place in removing Nyako.”

    Metuh added: “Therefore, allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) linking the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan to this are purely escapist and can only come from revisionists and reactionary forces.”

    He added that it was unfortunate that the APC championing the rights of the people to choice of leadership was the same party turning against the constitutionally guaranteed right of the people to withdraw legitimacy through impeachment and recall.

    The statement advised the APC to look inwards in finding answers to its woes and leave the PDP out of it, saying that “if a sitting governor who has spent over seven years in office could be removed by more than two-third of the members of his state assembly, reasons should be located to fundamental factors within rather than the trite excuses of external influence.

    “While we state in no uncertain terms that neither the PDP as a party nor President Jonathan is remotely or otherwise connected to the impeachment in Adamawa or elsewhere, we also wish to ask the APC to locate the Sword of Damocles dangling in some of the states which they control to the expression of the collective will of the people against bad governance as the PDP believes strongly in separation of powers and the sanctity of the legislature.”

  • Jonathan, Malala and Chibok girls

    Jonathan, Malala and Chibok girls

    Newspapers missed both the strident tone and essence of the message Malala Yousafzai passed on to President Goodluck Jonathan during her visit last Monday. The Pakistani girls’ education advocate was in Nigeria for a two-day visit to further her global campaign, advocate urgent efforts to rescue the 219 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants, and ask the president to meet with the anguished parents of the abducted girls. She, however, managed in the process to lecture the president in surprisingly severe tones on his duties and responsibilities to his country and the girls in particular. Somehow, everyone seemed to have focused on her reprise of the discussions she had with the president, during which she donated $200,000 to girls’ education in Nigeria.

    Immediately after Malala met with the president, Dr Jonathan extended an invitation to the Chibok parents who had travelled to Abuja to meet the girls’ education advocate. But this invitation immediately became controversial because the Chibok parents declined to meet with the president due to extenuating circumstances. Prickly presidency spokespersons however misconstrued this snub as a plot by opposition forces who it claimed had hijacked the BringBackOurGirls protest. But it turned out that the few parents in question needed time to receive a fresh mandate from other Chibok parents to meet with the president. The meeting, it now seems, has been rescheduled.

    Two major issues come out of the Malala meeting with Dr Jonathan. First is the unfortunate fact, already highlighted in the ongoing controversy surrounding the presidential audience granted the girls’ education advocate, that it took Malala’s visit for the president to appreciate his obligation to meet with the Chibok parents. Second is the even sadder fact that the president does not appear to appreciate the irony, if not irresponsibility, of asking to meet a few of the parents in Abuja. Does he think a crash meeting in Abuja would obviate the need for him to visit Chibok? And does he hope that such a meeting, if it takes place, would atone for his unstatesmanlike behavior in abandoning Chibok?

    At the time of this writing, the Chibok parents do not appear to mind visiting the president in his office. But unlike the president, they give indication they know it is wrong to meet anywhere else but in Chibok. The Chibok parents travel to and fro Chibok, with all the security issues surrounding the trips. Why has it been impossible for the president to plan even a one-hour visit to the troubled town? The Chibok parents may be ashamed for the president and might honour his invitation, but they really do not owe him any obligation to save him from the global embarrassment of failing to visit the town, like any president would have done.

    More and more, Dr Jonathan proves himself unworthy of the country he presides over. First he didn’t believe there was any abduction, as if Boko Haram gave him the impression the sect was incapable of such overwhelming monstrosity. Then he rules out a swap arrangement to free the girls without replacing that option with anything tangible. Furthermore, citing security concerns, he has refused to visit the town or the anguished parents of the schoolgirls, and did not think it fit to invite those parents until Malala emotionally and almost disrespectfully spoke with him. Finally, he has started to blame his failure and negligence on the opposition, even as he plans four more undeserving years in office. But four more years of what?