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Tag: Jonathan

Jonathan inspects Abuja rail, road projects

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday inspected ongoing works at the Abuja Light Rail project, the Abuja Airport Road and Kubwa Expressway in the Federal Capital Territory.

He expressed confidence that the incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari will continue ‎with government’s efforts at reviving and expanding the nation’s railway network.

The President said he intends to brief Buhari on the issue before the May 29 handover date.

He harped on the need for a robust railway network in the country to reduce the cost of transportation in Nigeria.

The President thanked the FCT authorities and the Chinese ‎Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) for bringing the project to fruition, just as he congratulated Abuja residents who will enjoy the facility.

He said: “I emphasise the need to develop an effective mass transit system in the country. We cannot talk about mass transit using taxis, small cars, ‎ small buses and even the luxury buses.

“It will be too‎ expensive, until our rail system works, that is why we are emphasising on inter-city rail and intra‎-city light rail systems.”

“Of course, this government is leaving on May 29 but definitely the incoming government will have to continue. This is a noble project, it will benefit Nigerians‎, especially residents of the FCT.”

Continuing, he said: “I am quite appreciative of the level of completion, and I am quite impressed. I have‎ been wanting to come and inspect this project for a very long time but it has been so challenging in terms of my commitments.‎

“I think this period I really need to so that when I am‎ having conversation with the incoming President, I know‎ exactly what to tell him.

“I have seen it myself. I have seen the level of completion and of course, we know the usefulness of this project for us in terms of easing the movement of people in the federal capital territory. I have to congratulate Nigerians for this project.”‎

Before the President and his entourage embarked on a train ride to Idu terminus, the Minister of FCT, Bala Mohammed, disclosed that the entire stretch of the rail line will be completed in August.

May 7, 2015
My administration empowered youths – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has charged the incoming government to retain and sustain all youth programmes for the benefit of the country.

In a message to the 2015 batch ‘A’ corps members at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp, Asaya in Kabba/Bunu local government area of Kogi State, the President who was presented by the state governor, Capt. Idris Wada, said the outgoing administration had introduced training programmes, provided grants and loans as well as encouraged entrepreneurship to make youths self-reliant.

President Jonathan his administration put in place many beneficial interventions that have increased the skills, self-confidence and self-sufficiency in Nigerian youths.

He expressed delight over the unprecedented youths’ response to agriculture, adding that the youths have rediscovered their potentials thereby making adequate income and producing more food with modern, exciting techniques and equipment.

He said, “Our government had been committed to supporting the NYSC scheme and positioning it firmly as a leading light of youth organization in the world.

“I will expect that the necessary appropriation will continue to be provided to sustain the gains of the service corps and also provide the welfare and security need of all corps members throughout the nation.”

He urged the incoming administration to sustain the youths’ programmes to reduce unemployment and restiveness.

May 7, 2015
Jonathan okays huge NPA contracts for ghost firms

Two companies have won multi-million dollars Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) contracts, The Nation has learnt.

But there are questions over the towage contracts. Some of the issues are:

•are these companies genuine?

•was due process followed in awarding the contracts? and

•who are the people behind the companies?

The award of the contracts to Messrs CTOW Terminal & Marine Services and Ibejige Services Limited, allegedly after President Goodluck Jonathan’s instruction, is causing concern among port regulators and operators.

Sources close to the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMOT) in Abuja said the award of the contracts by NPA to the two firms did not follow due process. It was also learnt that the companies are not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

The contracts were meant for the provision of Third Party Towage Services (TPTS) at Warri and Onne ports pilotage districts.

The deals were approved by the President, according to sources, without proper investigation about the status of the companies.

The President’s approval, investigations revealed, was contained in an August 11, last year letter to the NPA through the Federal Ministry of Transport on August 14, 2014 – in three days (a record, said a source, considering the bureaucracy that slows down normal transactions.

The four firms approved for the contracts at Rivers, Calabar, Onne and Warri ports are: Messrs Slowater Nigeria Ltd, Port Harcourt, Messrs Global Spectrum Energy Services Ltd, Messrs Cyow Terminal & Marine Services, Have 1025-Scheldedijk, Belgium and Messrs Ibejige Services Ltd, which is said to be at Lekki Peninsula Scheme I.

The letters of award of contracts to the four companies were signed by the NPA General Manager, Procurement, T.S Izokun, an engineer, on behalf of its Managing Director, Habib Abdullahi.

The firms, it was learnt, won the contracts after the payment of N100,000 registration fee and $20, 000 licence fees to the NPA.

But, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), actingon a request made by The Nation, said it had no records of two of the four firms.

The Nation also discovered yesterday that Messrs Ibejige Services Ltd, which claimed to be on plot 16, Block 128B, New Creation Street, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1, has no physical presence in the area.

The address does not exist at Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1. But there is New Creation Street, off Remi Olowude Way, which is buried inside another location opposite Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1.

Plot 16, Block 128B, which the promoters of the company claimed to be its address does not seem to exist.

There are only 10 buildings and two empty plots on the street.

The only visible company on the street is on Plot 1, Block 128B, opposite New Creation Cathedral. Security officials and others on the street said Messrs Ibejige Services Ltd was not there.

The sacked NPA Managing Director announced in March, last year, during the introduction of the Electronic Ship Entry in Lagos that the authority would partner the private sector for provision of towage services at the Port Harcourt, Onne, Warri and Calabar ports.

The discovery that two of the four companies were unregistered, it was learnt, stunned senior officials of the ministry, who questioned how the companies were pre-qualified for the projects.

One of the ministry’s senior officials, who craved anonymity, said the award of the contracts to the two unregistered companies was against national interest.

The official said: “Was the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) involved before the President gave his approval and the contract was awarded by NPA? What was the role of the supervising minister in this regard? Answers to these questions are very essential because if I am approving a contract to any company and my minister and the officials of the agency cannot verify for me whether the company is registered; then I don’t know what they are doing as the head of that organisation.

“If the President, who awarded the contract did not know, the Managing Director of NPA ought to seek confirmation from CAC and his head of legal department.

“With the award of this contract, the President, his minister and the sacked managing director of NPA have created a wrong impression before the in-coming administration that many other unregistered companies got multimillion dollar contracts under the out-going administration to siphon public fund.”

Also yesterday, The Nation learnt that the unregistered companies belong to “a powerful woman”, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). She is said to have the ears of the Presidency.

The source alleged that “the ghost contract companies did not have certificates of incorporation or tax receipts. Neither were they registered with the ministry”.

Another official, who spoke with The Nation under the condition of anonymity, said the methods adopted in awarding the contract were alarming.

He noted that the towage service, which was the core function of NPA after ports were concessioned, was awarded by its management after receiving presidential approval without verifying the companies to which these contracts were awarded.

The official urged the in-coming Gen. Muhammadu Buhari led-administration to investigate the method adopted in awarding the contracts by the management of NPA and the services so far rendered by the companies that won the contracts.

May 7, 2015
Drama as Jonathan marks fifth year as president

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday marked his fifth anniversary as a substantive leader at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with a touch of drama.

Jonathan, following the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua and his declaration as Acting President through the doctrine of necessity introduced by the National Assembly, became substantive president on May 6, 2010.

Jonathan, when he arrived for the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday, took all the ministers in attendance by surprise.

After the national anthem and national pledge have been rendered, Jonathan threw a poser at the ministers that one of them was marking his birthday and the national prayer would be replaced by prayers by Christian and Muslim members.

Jonathan said: “Today, we will not say the national prayer. Somebody is celebrating birthday. So, we will offer special prayers for him. Two very Godly people will pray, Nebo and Yuguda. Do you know the person?”

When they could not answer, he said: “On May 6, exactly five years today, I was sworn-in as substantive president.”

They all responded by clapping their hands before the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo said the Christian prayer. The Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda said the Muslim prayer.

May 7, 2015
Presidency to APC: Jonathan not running economy aground

THE Presidency yesterday fired back at the All Progressives Congress (APC) for saying the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan government has crippled the nation’s economy.

Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali described the allegation as ”immature, reckless and out of tune with the President’s desire and patriotic commitment to a peaceful transfer of power”.

He added: “Nigerians will recall that shortly after the results of the presidential elections were announced, President Jonathan inaugurated a high powered transition committee to plan and organise a hitch-free transition programme for the inauguration of the incoming administration.

“Surprisingly, it took the APC more than three weeks to wake up to its responsibility to constitute its own transition committee. How then can they turn round to accuse the government of frustrating the transition programme?

“Since the setting up of the committee, the president and the entire machinery of the Federal Government have been put on the transition mode and all government officers have been giving maximum cooperation to the incoming transition committee.

“By the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Jonathan remains in office up till May 29, 2015, when he formally hands over to the incoming President. The machinery of the government cannot be put on hold or frozen because the country is in transition.”

Prof. Alkali added: “Governance is a serious business. Their recent, frequent and unnecessary attacks on the President clearly shows that they are losing their nerves and are beginning to lay foundation to justify their failures in the near future and we want to remind them that Nigerians are not ready to accept any excuses for their failure.

“They promised to bring change. So, they must bring positive change to the well-being of Nigerians and urgently too.”

May 7, 2015
Drama as Jonathan marks 5th anniversary as President

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday marked his fifth anniversary as a substantive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Jonathan, following the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua and his declaration as Acting President through the doctrine of necessity introduced by the National Assembly, became substantive President on 6th of May, 2010.
President Jonathan, who arrived for the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting took all the Ministers in attendance by surprise.
After the national anthem and national pledge have been rendered, Jonathan threw a poser at the Ministers that one of them was marking his birthday and the national prayer would be replaced by prayers by Christian and Muslim members before the Council can settle for the business of the day.
The Ministers looked round at one another in awe to see the particular Minister who was marking his birthday.
When they didn’t know the name of the person, the President then reminded them that 6th of May, 2015 marks his 5th year anniversary as substantive President.
They all responded by clapping before the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo said the Christian prayer while the Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda said the Muslim prayer.

After the national pledge, Jonathan said: “Today, we will not say the national prayer. Somebody is celebrating birthday so we will offer special prayers for him. Two very Godly people will pray, Nebo and Yuguda. Do you know the person?”

When they could not answer, he said: “On May 6, exactly five years today, I was sworn-in as substantive President.”

May 6, 2015
2015 polls: Nigerians owe Jonathan debt of gratitude – Anyaoku

The former Commonwealth Secretary-General and Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku on Tuesday maintained that Nigerians owed President Goodluck Jonathan a debt of gratitude for the successful conclusion of the 2015 elections.

He spoke with State House correspondence after a breakfast meeting with the President.

According to him, the gesture of Jonathan picking up the telephone and congratulating the President-elect, Gen. Mohmammadu Buhari, even before the final results of the elections were announced was commendable.

According to him, that singular act earned the country a great deal of admiration and respect abroad.

Stressing that the meeting would be the last Jonathan would hold with members of the council, he said: “We had an excellent valedictory meeting. It is the last for our council, it is the last we are meeting with the outgoing President.”

“We told him that our nation Nigeria owes him a huge debt of gratitude for what he has done in terms of the success of the elections and above all the gesture of picking up the telephone and congratulating the President-elect even before the final results of the elections were announced.

“That singular act has earned our country a great deal of admiration and respect abroad. We thanked him and congratulated him and wished him well in his future endeavour.”

May 5, 2015
Jonathan battles withdrawal symptoms

Few things are more addictive than tobacco because of the chemical – nicotine – that it contains. Once it takes a hold on the smoker it requires super-human effort, even divine intervention to break free.

In that transitional period between the decision to quit and total abstinence, the repentant smoker’s body begins to make the forced adjustment to tobacco denial. The internal chemical reactions as a brain that wants to quit battles a body that longs for its normal nicotine fix results in anything from irritability, anxiety, insomnia to depression – a collective known as ‘withdrawal symptoms.’

Like tobacco, power is an even more addictive opium. It produces in men changes that the most mind-warping chemicals can’t. It is not for nothing that the famous English writer and politician Lord Acton wrote: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”

Those addicted to exercising power don’t give it up easily – even if hanging on could cause them to wind up in a casket. That addiction is what has produced the likes of Robert Mugabe who has been president of Zimbabwe since 1980. Cursed with uncommon longevity he has outlived a long line of conspirators and conspiracies. If he had his way he would probably want to govern from the grave.

It was the power addiction that drove Laurent Gbagbo to do stupid things in Cote d’Ivoire after it became evident that his rival, Abubakar Ouatarra, had defeated him in the elections. Rather than go quietly his supporters tore the result sheets on national television.

It was the same thing that seduced former President Olusegun Obasanjo to succumb to the third term scheme. He only gave up when the whole fraudulent arrangement collapsed on the Senate floor. Many still argue that his reluctance to surrender power led him to install Umaru Yar’Adua who he thought would be a pliant president – allowing him to drive things from the back seat.

Now in outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan we see the classic case of withdrawal symptoms manifesting. In the last four weeks we’ve seen two sides of the man manifesting. First, he meekly surrendered and conceded victory to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari. The implication of that act was that he had accepted the outcome of the elections – warts and all – and was willing to allow the process play out in the national interest.

In the last two weeks, however, a totally different side has been unveiled. It is that of an irritable and angry man. As the reality of losing the power of almost life and death sinks in, he’s suddenly having second thoughts about the results of the March 28 polls.

We can make our guesses about a man’s thoughts and body language, but when he begins to verbalise his innermost feelings then it is time to take him seriously. While receiving the report of the Dr. Ahmadu Ali-led Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation at Aso Villa, Abuja, Jonathan said: “the Peoples Democratic Party couldn’t have got those kinds of scores” it had in some places.

This sort of statement isn’t something to be dismissed lightly. For while his concession phone call has been credited with dousing tension that had built up as the nation followed the long-drawn process of releasing the presidential election results, this latest outburst not only draws a cloud over the transition – it restores some of that dissipated anxiety.

It doesn’t make sense that a man would aspire to wear the toga of statesman and at the same time be doing things that make him no better than the average politician driven only by selfish interests. What exactly is Jonathan trying to achieve with his recent actions and statements?

Briefing journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, last week, National Planning Minister, Abubakar Suleiman, accused the APC leadership of trying to stampede the administration out of office because of some terms of reference given to the transition committee of the incoming government.

To underscore the depth of anger felt by the current regime, the minister warned that the president’s ‘magnanimity should not be mistaken for cowardice.’ Anyone reading those words would think that Buhari and Jonathan had a wrestling match scheduled for the village square.

But nothing that entertaining is on the agenda this May. The issue at stake is managing a transfer of power from a lame-duck administration to its successor. So what does ‘magnanimity’ have to do with it? Since the minister is educated his choice is very revealing.

Has the president been magnanimous in constituting a transition committee to interface with that of Buhari? Whoever thinks so needs to be reminded that 2015 isn’t the first time power has changed hands between administrations in Nigeria, and whenever this has occurred teams from both sides have dealt with the business of the hour without drama.

In what way does conceding defeat translate to magnanimity? Was this a personal favour from Jonathan who owns the presidency as a birthright to Buhari the undeserving? Isn’t there the little matter of the expressed will of millions of Nigerians that must be respected and upheld by all? Some may suggest that the minister misspoke but I am unconvinced. This sort of misplaced arrogance has been evident in PDP ranks for months. We’ve heard some of its governors boasting before the elections that they would not hand over power to ‘blackmailers and supporters of terrorism’ – whoever they meant by that. In that loose talk there was no room made for voice of the ordinary voter.

After March 28 Jonathan always had two choices: accept defeat or contest the results. For me, he chose the first option in his best interest. Even if he had decided to challenge the outcome the sky wouldn’t have caved in over Nigeria.

It wouldn’t have been the first or last time a loser would challenge the result of a Nigerian election. From the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo over the twelve two-thirds verdict in 1979 to Buhari in recent years, candidates have contested poll outcomes and the system always resolved things. Even when 1,000 plus were killed following post-election violence in 2011, there was a resolution and the country moved on.

Let’s stop making a monument out of Jonathan conceding victory. He wouldn’t be the first to do so neither would he be the last in Nigeria or on the African continent. I have pointed out on this page that former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi conceded after losing the gubernatorial election last year.

All the self congratulation over tension that was doused by the singular act of concession is just overdone. Elections always generate tension and anxiety anywhere. A people’s temperament could result in this occasionally spilling into violence. But even then this tension never lasts forever. Such situations are not sustainable and people invariably return to peace and normalcy.

In any event it is not too late for Jonathan to recant. Instead of boring us with his bellyaching he can still take his grievances to the tribunal. He’s still well within the 180-day window for doing so. If he truly has the courage of his convictions he should be consulting his lawyers now.

At the same event where he questioned Buhari’s victory, the president expressed his belief that PDP was still the ‘dominant’ power and would bounce back in 2019. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming. Politics, on the other hand, is a game of numbers.

How can you be the dominant party when you opponent now controls 22 of the nation’s 36 states – leaving PDP and APGA with 14 states between them. How can you claim to dominate the landscape when APC now has a healthy majority in the Senate, and a bomb-proof difference in the House of Representatives?

The president also sniffed at the 2.5 million votes that separated him and Buhari when the dust settled on March 28. He’s within his rights to do so. But even if the gap had been 2,500 votes – as long as the APC candidate met the constitutional requirements in 24 states, he was duly elected.

It is not only when the difference is 10 million votes that a mandate is valid. In the 2000 United States presidential election, the Republican candidate George Bush didn’t win the plurality of votes. However, because his then Democratic Party’s rival Al Gore didn’t win the Electoral College contest Bush was still adjudged the winner after a recount and legal challenge at the Supreme Court.

In the light of all of the ruling party’s well-documented shenanigans and attempts to hang on to power, 2.5 million votes is enough to secure this country a fresh start.

A final evidence of Jonathan’s battle with withdrawal from power is the frenzy of sackings and appointments of the last fortnight. The only thing he’s not done is name a cabinet for Buhari just to prove that he’s still in charge for the next four weeks. But the president also knows that everything he’s doing can be undone in a couple of weeks by the man taking over. So what’s the point?

After his dignified conducted in the days after the presidential elections, it looked like Jonathan wanted to exit office with his head held high. But we appear to have misread his intentions once again: with every new move and utterance the man seems determined to ride into the sunset as the caricature of a president.

May 3, 2015
Severance allowance, so severe

Plans to pay more than N3.4 billion as severance allowance to public officials should be reviewed

About one month to the inauguration of the Buhari administration, news of heavy draw-downs on the national treasury has become frightening. The latest is the plan to pay senior officials of the departing Jonathan government as much as N3.4 billion as severance pay, after just four years of service. Many were in office for much less. This has called to question the principles that govern disbursement of public funds.

How it became a culture that office holders who only served for four years are qualified for such whopping sums is difficult to determine. In the First Republic, realising that there was so much to do if the country was to bridge the gap with the developed countries and shore up the living standard of the people, Nigeria opted for a part-time legislature. The parliamentary system of government adopted ensured that ministers were also members of the parliament, thus reducing the cost of running the administration. After the death of the first set of leaders, it was discovered that they lived for the country. Men such as Sir Ahmadu Bello, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa, Alhaji Inuwa Wada, Alhaji Muhammadu Ribadu and Sir Kashim Imam in the North did not live on the state.

Similarly in the East, even the great Zik, given his accomplishment, lived modestly as evident in the estate he bequeathed to the beneficiaries at death. Sir Akanu Ibiam, Professor Eyo Ita, Mazi Mbonu Ojike and Dr. Michael Okpara, too, left worthy legacies in imperishable ideas and concern for the public.

In the Mid-West, the first premier, Chief Dennis Osadebay, followed the same path with members of his cabinet and the legislators. A few who stepped out of line such as Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh who was the finance minister, could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

And, in the West, Chief Obafemi Awolowo rather worked very hard to live decently. Others who were either for or against him were not found to have engaged in looting spree or lived flambouyantly. Chief S.L.A. Akintola, Chief Jonathan Odebiyi, Chief Ayo Rosiji, among others, were engaged in political disputes only on the basis of principles and values.

The fundamental principle behind occupying high offices of state is public service. It should not be a means of fleecing the people. Many of those who worked as President, Vice-President, Senators, members of the House of Representatives, ministers and presidential aides are people who have lived on the state for years, if not decades. President Goodluck Jonathan was deputy governor in 1999, then Governor, Vice President, Acting President and President. Senate President David Mark has been in the senate, benefitted from the monetisation policy of the Obasanjo administration that enabled him buy off his official residence, only to be settled in another when he was re-elected the Senate President. Before then, he had served in the military, attaining the Major-General rank; he was a minister and governor in a military administration Does he draw his pension as a retired General? Was he similarly paid huge severance pay in his previous assignments?

The truth is, the Nigerian state cannot survive these huge liabilities. This is the time to focus on baking the cake. Nigeria is one country where there is abundance of solid and liquid minerals, yet more than 70 per cent of the people live on less than two dollars a day. They are forced to work out formulae for the feeding pattern of their families. Granting 300 per cent of the annual basic salaries of office holders to them at the point of departure is to take out values from the service they were meant to render. It is unfair that public officers who have consistently argued that payment of the minimum wage could cripple governance would now turn around to make such scandalous provisions for themselves.

We call on the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to take another look at the rule. It is patently anti-people. It is even the more so when it is realised that most of the legislators do not even show up at plenary let alone participate in law making. At the committee level, too, they show no interest in playing their constitutionally assigned roles.

This is perhaps the point to review the size and emoluments of the executive and legislative office holders. They should be paid only what is commensurate to their contribution to governance. No more.

As it is at the federal level, so it is at the state level. At both levels, hundreds of aides are engaged as public officials. In some states, there are more than 1,000 special assistants. The constitutional provision that mandates the President to appoint at least one minister from each of the states of the federation should be reviewed. Equity and justice could be better served by other means.

The in-coming Buhari administration has a duty to revamp the value system. Good governance starts from ensuring that public fund is dispensed judiciously.

May 3, 2015
Religious politics is bad for Nigeria – Bishop Ighele

Bishop Charles Ighele is The General Superintendent of Holy Spirit Mission (Happy Family Chapel) read Political Science at the then University of Ife. He spoke with David Lawal on the lamentable roles of religion in the just-concluded general elections. Excerpts:

How have you been able to use your background in political science to advance religion?

After graduating in 1980, I have seen that my background in political science and history has helped me to see how decision-making brought about a lot of suffering to families in different parts of the world.

You now see that the way government is run, the way government is advised to do things, the quality of the citizens and how much the citizens are ready to be a part of the system. All these helped me. When I studied bureaucracy in the university, it made me understand bureaucratic bottlenecks.

It is helping me so much in the ministry, and when you look at the bible; in the New Testament, in the Acts of Apostles, you will see people sell parts of their properties to take care of the poor and this is what the church has always stood for.

This is how it supposed to be because it is not about we men of God getting extremely rich and the people getting extremely poor. We were not anointed just for us to feel good and be rich. We were anointed because God has other people in mind. That is what I keep telling people, it is not about us – it is about the people.

Can religion and politics walk together for the good of the people?

Well (smiles) you know as a preacher when you look at the Old Testament, you would see the mixture. You see religion and you see politics or should I call it governance. People like King David. You can’t divorce the two but the church has to be interested in the quality of the leaders that are arising.

So you can’t separate the two. As far as I am concerned, I don’t believe in this is spiritual and this is secular; everything goes together.

So, you are saying that religion and politics go together. You didn’t mention that clearly enough.

Well, I didn’t really talk about partisan politics. Consequently, there is something known as partisan politics. What is politics? I don’t want to go into defining what politics is. But you see, man critically cannot be divorced from governance; man cannot be divorced from the people in charge unless you want to live on an island like Robinson Crusoe.

So, there is also one known as partisan politics. Personally, I am interested in politics; I follow it to the minute details, just as I also follow football. I am not a footballer but I follow it and then I am not a politician but I follow it. I am interested in politics but I am not in partisan politics.

What do you really mean when you say partisan politics?

Well, partisan politics is when you decide to join a party then be a politician in that particular party, which I have personally said I will not go into. Now, I’m not saying that some of my colleagues who have gone into it have done anything wrong. As far as I am concerned, there are two groups of pastors, two groups of preachers.

There is a group of pastors called to go into partisan politics just like somebody can also be a journalist and a pastor. Somebody can be a medical doctor and also a pastor. Somebody can be a pharmacist and also a pastor; somebody can be a footballer and a pastor. So, somebody can be a pastor and also be into partisan politics.

I don’t condemn them at all but there is yet another group. This particular group, God has taken them to a status and God has put them in a place whereby their own is to act as fathers in the land but it does not mean that a father cannot support any of the children. People like Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Bishop Mike Okonkwo would not go into partisan politics; they belong to this other group I am talking about.

How do you assess the last general elections?

I did not like the last elections. I am not talking about those who won and those who lost. I am not going into that at all but you see the forces of religion and ethnicity. These two forces played a major role. Jigawa state governor, Sule Lamido, said during the campaigns that if you were campaigning for Jonathan in the north they will call you a pastor.

In the north, people were told to vote for Buhari. Now in many churches in parts of the south, there was a lot of campaign also in the churches. People were told not to vote for a Muslim. In the north, Muslims were told not to vote for Christians.

So, that is what I didn’t like at all and you see this is taking us back to the days of Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), NCNC and Action Group when the election was terminated through the January 16, 1966 coup. That is the element I did not like at all. I liked what happened during the SDP and NRC days when Abiola and Tofa contested. I like it that way because religion did not play a role. When religion become a major issue in campaigning in any nation, it is dangerous. I didn’t like it at all.

I cannot see what happened during the 2015 election as political progress. It is not political development. I didn’t like it. I don’t want this country to turn to another Lebanon.

Our two main parties have been stained with religious garbage. Those clothes need to be washed. I am not a preacher of doom but all I am saying is that corrections can be made. The APC-led federal government can begin to see how it can fill the religious gap for us.

This is what I believe would be in the interest of our nation. Religion is worse than Indian hemp; it makes people go crazy and makes people not to think again. Religion is more than opium. It makes people to kill.

Were you pleased with the roles religious leaders played in all of these?

What happened in the last elections was that APC was smarter than PDP in playing the religious card. Both parties played the religious card heavily. They were able to re-brand General Buhari from the way he had been known even four years ago. So they were able to put their hearts together.

He brought his brain box and put it in APC to iron the whole thing. They did a very smart campaign and played a better job with the religious card.

It was silently played in some sections of the north while some of the Christians were busy making noise about it. You won’t see the Muslim core North, you won’t see the Imams talking in papers vote for this. It was not so but here it was so because you will find out that the Muslims were highly well organised and I really commend them for that. The Christian community does not know how to move as one body under Christ to achieve what they want to achieve.

What will be your advice to the incoming government?

My advice for this incoming government is that they should make sure they deliver what they promised during campaigns. When I look at their package, I look at the area that they lay emphasis on being corruptions and that seemed to have struck a chord in an average Nigerians because there is corruption in this land. And so many Nigerians have now seen General Buhari as a symbol of fighting corruption.

So hopes are high. The people are beginning to see that perhaps within six months corruption should be off from Nigeria. The first 100 days, there should be light everywhere but I think that as I speak as a leader and I want to plead with Nigerians to go and learn how to speak as leaders.

If this government really means business, instead of just handling corruption from the top, there should be what I will call a socialisation progress – from the grassroots. In the village there is corruption, secondary school there is corruption, everywhere there is corruption. So there should be a team of think tank that should be quietly assembled and this team should be asked to produce a blueprint on how to fight corruption.

May 3, 2015