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Tag: Jonathan

  • Why Nigeria, others remain poor, by Jonathan

    wHY is Nigeria and other countries in Africa still poor? They are poor because their citizens have not added value to the natural resources they are endowed with, says former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    In his presentation titled: “Local content as a driver for technological development,” delivered at the local content conference in Houston, United States, Jonathan said the continent’s natural resources, forest and farm produce were exported raw and, by so doing, jobs and wealth were exported to other countries.

    According to him, the oil-rich Niger Delta region is characterised by activities around the petroleum industry, which remains the mainstay of the economy. Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), he said the industry constituted 8.69 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year, while crude oil export still brought in about 90 per cent of foreign exchange (forex) earnings.

    He said: “Nigeria, before the local content law, had remained to a large extent, a source of mainly primary commodities, hardly adding value to the natural produce and mineral resources the nation exported. The sector lacked indigenous players to exploit the industry’s massive value chain between exploration and the end products. Back then, about 90 per cent of the equipment and personnel found in the industry were procured from outside the country. The high technological and huge capital nature of the industry meant that the big oil players and their expatriate staff carried out most of the key functions.

    “There is no doubt that production and fabrication of equipment in the oil and gas industry deliver sizeable sustainable jobs. And until a few years ago, only the multinationals had the capacity to invest huge sums of money in the industry.  However, back then, two questions were pertinent: What percentage of this investment went into the local economy, and could we say that the oil industry had created the number of jobs commensurate with the income it was generating, particularly in the areas where these multinational companies were domiciled? All these pointed to the fact that a deliberate policy and paradigm shift was needed for rapid industrialisation in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria and in Africa.

    “My decision to sign the Nigerian Local Content Bill into law without hesitation was informed by my experience in China in 2000.

     

  • Jonathan inaugurates Ekiti flyover tomorrow

    Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan will, tomorrow, inaugurate the Ado-Ekiti Flyover, Governor Ayo Fayose has said.

    He spoke yesterday at a rally by commercial motorcyclists from the 16 councils in support of Deputy Governor Kolapo Olusola.

    Overwhelmed by their solidarity, Olusola said: “I will not ban Okada riders from plying Ekiti roads when I become governor.”

    Fayose condemned a statement allegedly credited to President Muhammadu Buhari that youths were lazy.

    He urged youths to vote out All Progressives Congress (APC) next year.

    The governor said youths and women constituted huge votes, regretting that a President could allegedly utter a statement disparaging the younger generation.

    He said Buhari promised to create three million jobs, but criticised him for allegedly deriding the youth rather than creating jobs.

    Fayose said: “When you stand here, we see the category of people here, they are mostly young people. Our President went abroad and said Nigerian youths are lazy. By 2019, we have to vote against the President. You must vote for people who believe in youths, not people who condemn and call youths lazy persons.

    “Elections are won by youths and women in Nigeria. How can our President go abroad and condemn our youths? They promised three million jobs every year, they did not provide one. Anybody that calls you lazy people must be removed.

    “We believe in you, we will stand by you and support you. We will inaugurate the flyover on April 25. Jonathan will come to inaugurate the bridge. Jonathan is my own president.”

    Olusola said: “I will not ban Okada from plying Ekiti roads, if I become the governor. Those who will chase you away from the roads must not become governor. When they were in government, they messed up our economy and left a huge debt.

    “We must not let them come back. APC is cancerous. We must not allow their cancer to infect us. They have dismissed the flyover, but it has not only beautified Ado- Ekiti, it will also herald development.”

    Chairman of the Commercial Motorcycle Riders Association in Ekiti State Niyi Dahunsi said they held the rally in support of Olusola “to enable the good work continue.”

    He said: “We have tasted other governments, but none has done well as this one. This is why we are not ashamed to troop to the streets in solidarity with Olusola.

    “Over 10,000 motorcycle riders, mostly youths, have resolved to support the deputy governor so he can continue from where Governor Fayose will stop.”

  • Jonathan charges youths not to repeat past mistakes of leaders

    FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has advised Nigerian youths, especially aspiring young leaders, not to repeat the mistakes of the past, charging them to revolutionize a new paradigm shift in leadership and citizenship.

    Jonathan gave the charge yesterday in Yenagoa while receiving the New Nigeria 2019 Group, (#NN-2019) and the Young Professionals of Nigeria, YPN, led by Chima Nwafor and Moses Siasia. He also commended the youth groups for trying to chart a new course for the socio-political development of the country.

    The former president, who described youths as the pillar of any society, stressed that anybody who meant well for the society will not downplay the role of the youths, noting that the political history of the country was replete with youths who have played leadership positions and performed creditably well.

    He also went on to urge the youths not to make the fundamental mistakes of past leaders which included mistakes of tribalism, nepotism, and mistakes of religious intolerance.

    He said: “I am happy that you cut across all parts of the country, you are not here because you are Christians or Muslims, you are not here because you are from the South-South, or from the North-East, or North West or South West, but because you are Nigerian youths that are committed to a particular cause and you want to make an impact for a better society for us and the future generations.”

    A statement issued by his media adviser also noted that Jonathan identified himself with other leaders who had advocated for young people to be fully involved in leadership. According to the statement, former President Jonathan said further that he believed in the philosophy of Late Maitama Sule who posited “that the young breed without old breed will breed greed.” I believe that both old and young people must come together.

    He noted that there was a time young people played dominant roles in the nation’s politics. He said: “All the big historical names you hear; Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Sarduana of Sokoto, Michael Okpara, all of them got involved in governance at very young age. Some of them were ministers in their twenties.”

     

     

    He stressed that the situation was similar up to the time of the military heads of state, starting from Yakubu Gowon who was 32 and Ibrahim Babangida and President Buhari who became heads of state as

    young men.

    He said further: “I am not envisioning a government that every actor will be below thirty-five years old, but I share the aspiration of those who want young people to be fully involved in governance.

    “I remember when Alfred Diette Spiff was the military governor of the then old Rivers State, though most of the members of his cabinet were older than him and even referred to him as “my son,” together they achieved much in infrastructure and human development.

    Jonathan stated that during his political career as a governor and president, he encouraged young people and women to play key roles in governance.

    “Before I leave let me charge the young people in two key areas; the young must reform the young for us to grow positively. Some of the challenges like cultism, kidnapping and terror that we are have in the society are perpetrated by youths who have been used negatively.

    “A group like yours constituting of CEOs must create platforms to re- orientate the thinking of our young people. I am glad that you mentioned setting up similar bodies, across the country. At least even if you start from the universities and secondary schools, to change the mindset of the youths.  Youth movements like Boys Scout, Boys Brigade and Girls Guide, developed from this kind of thinking. He went on to note that the growth of society should not be marked by flashy cars, sky scrapers and beautiful roads but by the people, the way they think and the way they do things.

    Earlier, the Convener of NN-2019, Dr. Chima Anyaso and Chairman NYPF Moses Siasia, said they are consulting with elder statesmen all over the country to seek their blessings and support, and mobilizing young minds to advocate for democratic inclusion come 2019, stressing that they have taken up the challenge to participate actively in the democratic process of the country.

  • Why Jonathan should be docked, by Oshiomhole

    PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan should be docked if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) insisted that prosecution of suspected looters were selective, former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said.

    Oshiomhole noted that Jonathan should be docked for approving money beyond his powers and spending same in a way that was not accounted for.

    He spoke to reporters in Benin City at the weekend after attending the wedding ceremony of the daughter of the member representing Ikpoba Okha/Egor Federal Constituency, Ehiozuwa Agbonayima.

    The former governor faulted the calls by the PDP that the National Assembly should approve the $1b approved by the Federal Government to battling insurgency.

    He said the PDP spent well above that sum without going to the National Assembly.

    On the condemnation that trailed the release of looters’ list, Oshiomhole said names of looters should be made public as it was the right of Nigerians to know the level of rot that transpired.

    Oshiomhole urged President Muhammadu Buhari to be ruthless in going against those alleged to have looted the nation’s resources.

    He stated that hired writers were made to challenge him when he first raised alarm over the money that was looted from the treasury.

    He said: “I hear them say prosecution is selective. Maybe they are right because if they are not maybe President Jonathan should be in the dock. He approved money beyond his powers and spent it in a way that is not accounted for.

    “I think that if other Nigerians don’t understand the power of transparency, the right to know, the media should uphold that right and defend it. What was stolen was not from private purse; the house that was destroyed was not a private residence.  We are talking of resources, which if it is distributed on basis of equality and divide by 180 million people, you will be a lot richer.

    “I think my only complaint is that the Federal Government should go more ruthless because there are a lot of people who should be in court who are not there because when I was still in the office and I said the kind of money they stole was huge in dollars, they paid hired writers to say how do I know.

    “I know that we cannot be lamenting today without understanding that the treasury was burgled yesterday. It is like someone sneaked into your kitchen and took everything out and you woke up he tells you am sorry I stole the pot of soup, in fact, I broke the pot. Should we continue like that?”

    The former governor said: “I think the promise of democracy is that good or bad the people have the right to know and that is the starting point and particularly important when armed robbers of yesterday are trying to do face surgery so that he looks different. Some are jumping the boat to wear new face, to change identity, and to change their fingerprints so that they can come back.

    “I think the people have the right to know and if any of them think that what has being said is not true, they can go to court.

    “All of them, who are involved and those who they are looking for, they should put everything in public domain and that is the promise of democracy. Just by virtue of being in a winning party, they helped themselves so much. One of the acting chairmen of PDP, Ahmed Makarfi, I used to respect him so much, I heard him saying that the reason they did not indict Diezani was that the money missing and everything that was done Goodluck approved. If President approved that money, should it be stolen and not go into the federation account. Is that the reason the PDP-led Senate and a sub -committee led by Makarfi cannot say it is not the minister but President Jonathan?

     

  • I’m not aware of alleged Cambridge Analytica fraud, Jonathan insists

    FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has insisted that he was  not  aware of the alleged electoral fraud raised against Cambridge Analytica.

    The President Muhammadu Buhari administration is said to be scrutinising the reports of the data mining firm, which stole the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections in many country, including Nigeria.

    The firm was said to have waged a campaign to perpetuate discord and hack into personal records of the then leading opposition candidate, Buhari, in 2007.

    But a statement yesterday by Jonathan’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, said: “My attention has been drawn to a trending story entitled: ‘Jonathan unaware PDP used Cambridge Analytica, spokesman claims’.

    “I write to clarify that there is an element of mischief in the story, with the reporter disingenuously seeking to drag the Peoples Democratic Party into the report, and make the party look like an accomplice, in a case it was not even mentioned.

    “The truth is that in my reaction to a question from an AFP reporter in a telephone chat on whether the former President knew about the alleged involvement of Cambridge Analytica in the 2015 elections, I had simply responded thus: “All the stories written about the subject so far had all clarified that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was not aware of such attempt, if there were any.”

    “Although I was correctly quoted, to the effect that “former President Jonathan was not aware of it”, I consider the attempt to link my response with an orchestrated PDP involvement in the allegation as simply preposterous. This is because the PDP was neither mentioned in the scandal nor came up in my chat with the reporter.

    “It is instructive that the whistleblower who originated the allegation has been consistent in associating it to an unnamed businessman, who was neither linked to the party nor to the Jonathan campaign.

    “It is, therefore, deceitful for any pundit to blame the allegation on the PDP or anybody close to the former President, even before investigations were concluded.”

     

     

  • Grand corruption under Jonathan cannot be forgotten- Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has justified the continued reference to the extent of corruption under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Osinbajo spoke at the 10th birthday colloquium held in Lagos in honour of a National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu.

    According to him, there need to highlight what he described as grand corruption in the last administration because of the impact on the present state of the country’s economy.

    “Nigeria is where it is today because of the corruption that was perpetrated by previous administration.

    “We will talk about grand corruption, ” recalling the Yoruba proverb that translates thus: Frog says when discussion gets to the issue of tail, we should skip it. He says we must ensure Nigeria never takes such road (of corruption) again!.

    ” If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us,” Osinbajo stated.

    While admitting that the best times of the country are yet to come in accordance with the change promised by the APC, Osinbajo said “we are getting better and better”

     

  • ‘N130b loot’: Govt may release more evidence against Jonathan

    More evidence of corrupt practices by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration may be tendered following a challenge by the former leader, it was learnt yesterday.

    Federal Government sources said although there was no immediate plan to arrest or quiz the former President, the government had not ruled out the option.

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo last week said N150 billion was withdrawn by the Jonathan administration two weeks before the 2015 election.

    A fact-sheet by the Presidency revealed how some funds were illegally transported from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the private residence of the former President.

    A former National Security Adviser (NSA) personally supervised the physical transfer of the money from the CBN vaults to the private residence of the former President.

    The document said: “In one particular instance, over N70 billion was released in parts from the national treasury between January 8 and February 25, 2015. The over $289m, which was also referenced last week by the Vice-President, is said to be included in this particular series of illegal transactions.

    “Besides that, in another illegal disbursement, the minutes of the Central Bank board meeting of 25th August 2014 indicated the board endorsed another N60billion requested by the former President and released by the apex bank.

    “The sum which was okayed by the CBN board, was not tied to any project or procurement, and was meant and disbursed purely for campaign purposes, through the office of the then NSA and the DSS leadership at the time.

    “Specifically that N60billion that was okayed by the CBN on August 25, 2014 was said to have been shared between the two security agencies thus: N40billion went to the NSA while N20 billion was released to the State Security Services (SSS).”

    A top government source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The Federal Government will release more evidence of looted funds either approved or traced to ex-President Jonathan if he continues to play to the gallery. The government is not out to persecute Jonathan  but it may be compelled to lay the facts bare before the public.

    “We have more evidence of approvals, withdrawal of funds, diversion of cash and other financial misdemeanors committed during Jonathan’s administration. The N130billion or N150billion in the public domain is a child’s play. And some past government officials did not even waste much time in returning looted funds to the treasury through plea bargain in court.

    “There will soon be more revelations and more trials in the next few months. The official records are there for Nigerians to judge.

    “Jonathan has been accorded enough respect due to his status as a former President but if he wants this administration to prove beyond reasonable doubt, he might have to face the consequences.

    “While there is no clear plan to either arrest or quiz him, we cannot say that the option is not off- the-table completely. Some of the suspects on trial for $2.1billion arms deal have confessed that they acted on Jonathan’s instructions.”

    The source added: “The disclosure by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on looted funds during Jonathan administration were only to point out the fact that this President Muhammadu  Buhari’s administration is different.

    “It is incontrovertible that Jonathan administration made more money and wasted a lot. But the Buhari government has earned less but it is doing much more.”

    Dr. Jonathan alleged a plot to tarnish his reputation.

    In a post on his Facebook page, he said:

    “It has been brought to my attention that while I am away promoting democracy in Sierra Leone, a campaign will be unleashed against me to falsely impugn my name, using both faceless and identified persons.

    “When I was in power, I said my ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. Even out of power, I continue to hold that belief.

    “What I will say, however, is that no matter how far and fast falsehood has travelled, it must eventually be overtaken by truth.”

    The source also clarified that while Jonathan was busy defending himself, his wife, Dame Patience had reached out to the government for “amicable resolution of all suspicious transactions and funds traced to her”. “We may be forced to release this evidence of rapprochement,” he said.

    “In fact, the wife of the ex-President at a stage opted for an out-of-court settlement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC). This is incontrovertible because her lawyer wrote the anti-graft agency. About 31 individuals and companies paid  over $11,489,069.03 into her two domiciliary accounts.

    “Besides the cash, the EFCC traced 12 choice properties and a plot of land under construction to Mrs. Jonathan.

    “This government has been modest in managing issues relating to looted funds identified with the former First Family. If Mrs. Jonathan had not gone to court to challenge the freezing of her accounts, she would have concluded the out-of-court settlement by now.”

  • Yar’Adua, Jonathan never prepared for presidency, says Mbu

    •Late minister  in autobiography: politicians need primary profession  

    FORMER Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mathew Mbu has revealed in his autobiography that ex-Presidents Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan did not prepare for presidency, leading to their failure to perform in office.

    He said it was unfortunate that former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili, who was ready to lead the nation in 2007, lost to the “antics of a mischievous individual”.

    Mbu said Jonathan became myopic with Ijaw agenda and could not tackle corruption.

    The former minister said corruption was one of the leading reasons for the nation’s political and economic failures.

    He said politics should not be treated as a profession in Nigeria but as a vocation.

    Mbu’s views are contained in his autobiography which will be launched post-humously on April 10 in Abuja.

    The book is titled: “M.T. Mbu: Dignity in service.”

    The ex-minister, who died on February 6, 2012, had left the manuscript of his autobiography which the family decided  to publish to honour him.

    The family confirmed that the autobiography was ready for publication before he passed on.

    The excerpts said: “The South-South got recognition when I championed the South-South People Assembly. We campaigned for the presidency. It was clear to everyone that Dr. Peter Odili from the South-South zone was ready to provide leadership.

    “However, the PDP primaries of 2006 was a fiasco of internal democracy. Jonathan was made the running mate to Umaru Muas Yar’Adua in that convention. Dr. Peter Ofili, our prepared candidate was betrayed by the party hierarchy.

    “Personally, I was sick because of the antics of a mischievous individual, who had hoped that things would degenerate to a level that would lead to crisis and a declaration of a state of emergency.

    “We are all mortals, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua could not accomplish much, not just because he was sick, but also because he was not prepared for the demanding office of president. That was equally of Jonathan as vice president.

    “When Yar’Adua eventually passed the way of all mortals and an unprepared Jonathan became president, Jonathan suddenly forgot that he was the president of Nigeria and became obsessed with the Ijaw nation propaganda with a selected few. That was not the idea of the South-South presidency I championed. It does not mean a narrow agenda, rather a national service from this forgotten zone.”

    The book added: “The obsession of Jonathan with certain characters kept me away from the presidency. A Yoruba man, Olusegun Obasanjo influenced his nomination as vice president; Dora Akunyili, an Igbo woman, intervened in the Federal Executive Council for the transfer of power to Jonathan. Pastor Tunde Bakare of Save Nigeria Group, made the Senate headed by someone from the Middle Belt, to initiate the doctrine of necessity. So, why the obsession with a myopic agenda based on Ijaw propaganda?

    “I deliberately wanted to stay away from the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. In the game of politics, you only engage in exclusion when you fail to fight for your rights. Jonathan was excluding himself and his presidency was heading for precipice. He needed to reorganise himself and strategise. Politics is not a charity, if you fight for what is your right, and you cannot protect it, it will be taken from you.”

    But Mbu said he sent advisory to Jonathan when it was necessary in order to guide him.

    He said: “My distance from Jonathan was not complete incommunicado. I did advise him to properly articulate his agenda and reduce the bogus listed items to three: (1) free and fair election, (2) security and (3) reduce the quantum of corruption that is visible within the corridors of power.

    “If these are achieved, Nigerians in their ingenuity will fashion out the rest in no time. I proposed this to him because these are intrinsically democratic dividends. No other system of government can deliver them thoroughly with checks and balances.”

    On corruption, the ex-minister said it was behind the nation’s political and economic failures.

    The excerpts said: “The second point I proposed to the administration of Jonathan to be tackled immediately was corruption. Corruption is one of the leading reasons for the ongoing political and economic failures. In our active days, corruption like it is today, never existed. In broad terms, corruption is the abuse of public office for private gains.”

    He said politics should not be treated as a profession in Nigeria but as a vocation.

    Mbu said: “Politics to me, is not a profession, it is a vocation… I have always maintained that all those who aspire to elected public offices need a primary profession. Most of the time I served in public offices, I did return to my profession as a lawyer.

    “So, I cannot comprehend why someone will claim politics as a profession and accept being introduced as a politician. If you are called to serve, do not abandon your profession, whatever it is.

    “Politics is always there for you; it is not a profession, it is a calling, if you want to go into it.

     

     

  • Jonathan to Buhari: Revisit 2014 confab report to end agitations, killings

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to revisit the 2014 national conference report.

    He said the report of the conference remained the solution to myriads of agitations, protests, killings, provocations and clamour for reforms in the country.

    Jonathan spoke at a Mega Rally tagged: “Restructuring the Nigerian Federation,” organised by leaders of Pan Niger Delta Elders Forum (PANDEF), Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere and Middle Belt Forum under the aegis of Mass Alliance for Inclusive Nigeria (MAIN) Front.

    The former President insisted at the rally which was held at the Ox- Bow Lake Pavilion, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, that the implementation of the confab report was the only way out for Nigeria.

    Jonathan, whose address was read by Senator Nimi Barigha Amange, said: “Nigerians had to dialogue in order to avoid the opposite action which could bring about destruction to lives and property and the very thing that holds us together as members of the Nigeria federation.”

    The ex- President said he took the decision to convene the confab as a response to the yearnings of Nigerians for reforms to make the Nigeria federation work.

    He added:  “In convening the national conference, I had my mind trained on establishing a polity that would work for our people and further unite our country. I mean the system that would close the gaps along tribal, ethnic and religious lines.

    “Until Nigeria comes up with an acceptable way of running the country, there is every likelihood that our nation would continue to witness agitations and protests from groups and ethnic nationalities that believe rightly or wrongly that they have been handed the short end of the stick.

    “The goal of the 500 member conference made up of young and old; diverse people from all walks of life as true representative of different interest group in our country was thoroughly and fully discussed and agreed on every issue that has for long agitated the minds of Nigerians on how best to run the federation.

    “This they did to the best of their abilities and to the satisfaction of most stakeholders as decisions were uniquely reached by consensus. Recent agitations, clamour and proffer of solutions have not radically departed from those findings.”

     

     

  • Buhari, Jonathan and the Chibok —Dapchi duel

    THE presidency is unlikely to offer any explanation as to why President Muhammadu Buhari yielded to the temptation to compare his government’s response to the February 19 Dapchi abductions with ex-president Goodluck Jonathan’s hesitant approach to the 2014 Chibok abductions. He did it anyway, and spoke glowingly of the steps he took to address the disaster immediately it occurred. Both abductions had schoolgirls as victims, and the attackers were factions of the Boko Haram sect. However, that the latest attack in Dapchi took place at all is undoubtedly a significant embarrassment to the Buhari presidency which strangely believed, judging from the president’s words, that its peculiarly prompt response to the disaster offered some amelioration. It is not clear why he thinks so.

    Nigerians may disagree with the president, but here is how he defended and applauded his response: “The Federal Government’s response to the unfortunate abduction of the schoolgirls is a clear departure from the insensitivity of the past administration which looked the other way while the Chibok girls were taken away in 2014 and held in captivity for over three years. Due to our commitment, over 100 Chibok girls have been rescued and reunited with their families, sent back to school and empowered with requisite skills. You may recall that recently, our negotiation efforts led to the release of abducted University of Maiduguri lecturers, some women police personnel, students and even an NYSC member. We, therefore, have no doubt that the Dapchi girls will be rescued or released. I can assure parents, Nigerians and the international community that we will do all that is within our power to make sure that the girls are brought back safely to their families.”

    If the president hoped that the mere fact of a difference between his response and that of his predecessor offered proof of his assiduity and empathy, he must be strangely mistaken. The Boko Haram sect abducted some 219 schoolgirls from a girls’ school in Borno State in April 2014, some four years ago. The repercussions of that abduction are still felt today, both in terms of the tragic consequences to the victims and their families, seeing that over 100 of the girls are still in captivity, and the implications for the politics and image of the former president, Dr Jonathan. In the latest case, 110 schoolgirls were abducted in Dapchi, Yobe State about a month ago, virtually in similar circumstances, with the security agencies caught flat-footed. Somehow, the president, perhaps feeling awkward that a similar tragedy occurred under his watch, has selected an aspect of the abduction for a justificatory excursion.

    Nevertheless, the Buhari and Jonathan presidencies obviously put more confidence in negotiating the girls’ release than, according to them, risking a bloody rescue whose outcome is uncertain. The earlier abduction was consequent upon the carelessness of the Nigerian government, their lack of proaction, even their evident stupefaction. The latest abduction is also consequent upon the carelessness of the government, four years after the first; and it also exposes the current government’s enervating lack of proaction.  By all accounts, the so-called rescue of the first batch of Chibok girls was facilitated by payment of ransom. There is nothing President Buhari has said that gives any indication that both the second batch of Chibok girls still in captivity and the Dapchi 110 would not be facilitated by ransom payment. Indeed, hearing the president speak enthusiastically of getting the girls back home sooner than many think gives the impression that somehow the government fully understands the currency of Boko Haram’s trade in humans.

    The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to think the president is politicising the tragedy. No one can stop the Buhari presidency from actively negotiating the schoolgirls’ release, nor in taking the accolades if they are able to pull it off successfully. Such gloating goes with the territory. The Jonathan presidency had the opportunity to negotiate the girls’ release before the last general elections. Had they succeeded, they would have taken the glory and politicised the freedom of the abducted girls. Dr Jonathan never visited Chibok; President Buhari, after initially dithering, has managed to visit Dapchi. Though he said nothing inspiring in Dapchi, nor gave a big policy statement other than putting down his predecessor, at least he visited ground zero of the abduction.

    Could this be the last major abduction Boko Haram would orchestrate? It is hard to say. Despite the president’s self-congratulations, it is evident that his forces in the Northeast, particularly in Yobe and Borno States, have neither shown the operational fervour and proficiency expected of them nor displayed the instinctive preemption that should have stood them well in that volatile region where Boko Haram’s potential victims abound in excess. It took Boko Haram four years to plot another embarrassing abduction. They obviously have the luxury of time, having lost considerable ground, and are more inclined to restricting themselves to their newfound status of spoilers and wet blankets. The terrain is vast, and troops are spread thin. The Nigerian government will be hard put to find the right formula, amidst such territorial vastness, to knock the sect into a cocked hat. It is these new threats and general unknowns that should preoccupy the Buhari presidency rather than gloat in comparative fantasies.

    President Buhari may have responded with alacrity to the Dapchi abductions, but it is to his discredit that the lessons of both the Boko Haram revolt and the course of the insurgency have not been learnt in order to help him forestall a repetition of the tragic abductions. He has learnt to delegate responsibilities without supervising his men; and worse, he has seemed able to appoint officials he appears incapable of sacking. It can therefore be inferred that President Buhari does not seem to be running an inspired and motivated government but an administration of lackadaisical friends and family. He has indicated that a panel to find out what went wrong in Dapchi would help him get to the bottom of the disaster. If the panel musters the sense and skill to expose the rot that facilitated the Dapchi tragedy, would he have the gut to wield the axe? How much axe has he wielded over many of his patently incompetent and misspeaking appointees?

    Admittedly, there are some differences in the responses of the Buhari and Jonathan presidencies to the schoolgirls abductions in the Northeast. But those differences are not enough to make them duel, let alone for one of the parties to claim the moral high ground. After all, Dr Jonathan can also interpret the festering insecurity in the country as a product of President Buhari’s inexpert and even prejudiced and myopic handling of the crises bedevilling the land. Neither of the two presidents caused the outbreak of the revolt in the Northeast, and neither, it can be asserted with some fair degree of accuracy, gave it extra stimulus. Therefore, rather than revel in needless self-glorification and name-calling, President Buhari should have more appropriately focused on the pressing issues at hand, especially the Dapchi abductions, which required his entire concentration, genuine empathy, reform of the security forces, and absolute retooling of his waning politics.

    Dr Jonathan was roundly and probably soundly defeated in the 2015 polls, partly because of his awkwardness and complacency in the presidency; President Buhari, who campaigned on possessing more than an average talent in matters of statecraft, should restrain himself from exhuming those ghosts of Nigeria’s dreary past, especially when he has not shown himself capable of profiting from the lessons of their untimely demise.