Aminu Tambuwal and Goodluck Jonathan
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan believes that unseen forces are manipulating Nigerians against the government, judging by what he observed during the protest against the withdrawal of petrol subsidy, but he has said that he cannot be intimidated by anyone.
Similarly, he has blamed those he called the “political media” for overheating the polity because of their interest in the politics of 2015.
He spoke on Tuesday, during a lecture organised as part of activities marking this year’s Nigeria Independence anniversary celebrations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.
“For me, if I see somebody is manipulating anything, I don't listen to you. But when I see people genuinely talking about issues, I listen. I am hardly intimidated by anybody who wants to push any issue he has. I believe that protest in Lagos was manipulated by a class in Lagos, [and] not the ordinary people,” he said.
President Jonathan, who spoke of what he termed “political insecurity” in the country in response to a lecture on the cause of insecurity in Nigeria delivered by former Ghanaian president, John Kufuor, regretted the way insecurity in the country was being portrayed in the media.
He said: “I believe political security is a big issue. There is this axiom that the pen is mightier than the sword. The sword is used to kill and destroy but what we use the pen to do is also very critical. When you have, a society with these unending political conflicts, it is there in the media whether print, electronic or social media. It brings a lot of insecurity to the system and, sometimes, people begin to doubt your government.”
Besides the media, President Jonathan also identified three types of Boko Haram which he said were also making things difficult for his administration.
According to him, “I believe it is not just the media. Like when we talk about the Boko Haram, we have political Boko Haram, religious Boko Haram and criminal Boko Haram. So, also in the media, you have the professional media and the political media.
“That is why I talk about the political media. Because of the interest of 2015, whatever you do is immaterial. The government must be brought down. And that mentality cuts across most African countries and even outside Africa.
“So, addressing insecurity is critical in developing African state. When you have this unending political conflict, especially in a country like Nigeria that is highly religious and with high ethno-tribal sentiments, it becomes very potent to even create a lot of problems for government.”
President Jonathan, who conceded that it was the responsibility of government to provide the environment for progress and transformation while the people are the implementers, regretted that citizens were misusing their freedom and privileges.
According to him, “That is why I am a bit worried that sometimes when government creates the environment, whether economic, social or even the media, but how the citizens use those privileges matters so much.
“Take the media environment for instance. We signed the Freedom of Information bill into law. It became the Freedom of Information Act but are we using it in the way it we are supposed to use it? Are some of us not abusing the privileges? The media environments that should have helped our transformation agenda are being used negatively. These are some of the issues we need to address.
“The way Nigerians challenge and abuse me, yes, the president has enormous power but if you use that enormous power, to some extent, you will look like a dictator. In a democratic setting, you want to create an environment where people can create their opinions and that is why people are allowed to talk freely and demonstrate. But are we doing so properly?”
The president, therefore, pleaded with Nigerians that “whenever we elect government into power at whatever level, at least for the sake of the country, allow the government to work before going into unnecessarily overheating the system.” Speaking on the petrol subsidy protests, President Jonathan pointed to unseen hands which he alleged were responsible for the protests, because of their interest to see the downfall of government.
President Jonathan stressed his determination to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections, citing his offer of himself as a guinea pig in the last presidential election just to ensure that it was credible.
He appealed for patience as he noted that the provision of infrastructure was a gradual process which could not be achieved overnight.
In his remark during the lecture, the former Ghanaian leader identified imbalance in development as a major cause of insecurity in Nigeria, which, he said, was costing the country the opportunity to be the giant nation that it ought to be.
In his lecture, entitled “Nigeria: Security, Development and National Transformation,” he said “naturally, imbalanced development that involves horizontal inequalities is an important source of conflict and that is costing Nigeria the opportunity to be the giant nation that it can and should be.”
Noting that any government that was able to deliver on security and development could earn the right to remain in office, he observed that despite diversity, Nigerians were proud as individuals, intelligent, industrious and entrepreneurial.
Mr Kuffour regretted that the resourcefulness had not yet impacted fully to the advantage of the nation or to the rest of the continent, but added that if appropriate policies and institutions were put in place, Nigeria could fulfil the expectation
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