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I’m under probe, says Jonathan

By Seye Olumide, Bertram Nwannekanma and Uchenna Ezeh
07 June 2016   |   3:47 am
Although the President Muhammadu Buhari government has not publicly admitted a direct investigation of his predecessor for corruption, the latter thinks he is under probe.
Goodluck Jonathan. PHOTO: bloomberg.com

Former Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan

• Ex-president explains how he fought corruption
• Former leader seeks bill of rights for Nigerians

Although the President Muhammadu Buhari government has not publicly admitted a direct investigation of his predecessor for corruption, the latter thinks he is under probe.

Erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan declared yesterday: “Of course obviously, we’ve been investigated, and I’m being investigated.”

Insisting that his successor should be allowed to do his work, Jonathan said: “After all these investigations, the whole stories will be properly chronicled. I’ve just left office, and I should allow the president and his team to do what they believe is good for the country.”

Jonathan who spoke in an exclusive interview with the New York-based Bloomberg TV, after a speech he delivered at Bloomberg Studios, London, the United Kingdom yesterday declined to make further comments on the Buhari presidency, saying: “As the immediate past president, it is improper to make certain statements when the government is working.”

Many aides and associates of the former president are under investigation with many of them currently in detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for $2.1billion meant for the procurement of arms for the fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country with some Nigerians calling for Jonathan to be investigated as well.

But contrary to the perception in some quarters that the administration of Jonathan was abjectly corrupt and inept, the former leader said his government took many steps to curtail graft in the areas of finance, agriculture and petroleum.

In his speech, Jonathan said beyond job creation, Nigeria like other developing countries, faced the challenge of corruption, which is a stumbling block to the development of nations.

On how his government tackled corruption, Jonathan said: “I think it is important to let you know my administration took many steps to curtail this scourge, in the areas of finance, agriculture and petroleum.

“To take just one example, we drastically reduced corruption in the agricultural sector with the help of a simple mobile phone.
We achieved this by providing an e-wallet to farmers, which grew the percentage of registered farmers receiving subsidy from 11 per cent to 94 per cent.  And in the process we were also able to save billions of naira in fertiliser subsidies.

“Through our Agricultural Transformation Agenda, we greatly boosted food production and saved almost a trillion of naira on food imports.

“This one initiative had the benefits of improving food security, creating more jobs and reducing inflation to its lowest levels in over five years.”

He also explained that the ambition of his government was to check the corruption in petroleum subsidies by completely deregulating the sector but lamented that unhealthy political resistance frustrated the efforts.

“Consolidating democracy and the effective war against graft should be the collective responsibility of all citizens,” he said.

He acknowledged that there had been corruption right from the country’s independence but defended his administration’s anti-graft war.

“I cannot say the country from the beginning of our independence, that there was no corruption, yes there has been corruption. I did very well also, to curtail corruption,” he said.

Explaining how he approached the fight against corruption, Jonathan said: “My approach to corruption, was ‘don’t make money available for anyone to touch.’

While he expressed commitment to good governance, effective stewardship and transparency, the former president insisted that for Nigeria to further develop, it needs peace, freedom and unity, saying: “These values need to be deeply, strongly and irreversibly entrenched in Nigeria for all time. For this to happen, it is imperative for both the executive and the legislative arms of government to institute a Bill of Rights.”

He said: “Such a Bill of Rights will end discrimination and tribalism, and promote equality, enabling everyone to work towards the common goal for the development of the nation.

“A Bill of Rights, which like the British Magna Carta, some 800 years ago, enshrined the principle of habeas corpus so that no person is deprived of his liberty without a trial of his peers.

“A Bill of Rights, like that introduced by America’s Founding Fathers, which stated that ‘the people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.’

“There is a statement by Cicero going back to ancient Rome.

He said: ‘Civis Romanus Sum’ meaning : ‘I am a Roman citizen.’

But it meant much more than that. It meant that every Roman was entitled to all of the rights and protections of a citizen in Rome. It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor or even a prisoner, you were still a citizen of Rome and protected by the state. Wouldn’t it be good for us to aspire to a Nigeria where we too could apply that same principle: ‘Civis Nigerianus Sum?’

“Each of us could say, ‘I am a citizen of Nigeria!’ We would be able to look beyond where each of us comes from, and look past our tribal origins.

“We would be able to evaluate each other on our merits, rather than our religion, or region. We would be free to think or do as we wished, as long as we observe the laws of the land, without fear that the land would withhold our rights under the law.

“What would it mean to be able to declare ‘I am a Nigerian citizen?’ You would be judged on your own merits, not your tribe.
You would have access to education that can help you succeed on whatever path you choose. You would be part of a proud culture, one that others want to invest in.

“You would be safe in knowing that society judges you by your successes and failures, rather than your place of origin. You would be equal before the law and your protection is enshrined in the laws of the country.

“You would be an asset and a valued member of your country; one who is worth investing in; who can return that investment tenfold within your lifetime. Ultimately, it means that you would be an ambassador for Nigeria, and you would be able to proudly go around this world and say: ‘I am a citizen of Nigeria,” he added.

According to the former president, his administration decided to invest in people because “if we did not invest in our people, then we will not be ready to manage.

“Our money, he said, must go towards providing education for all, because we know that once our citizens are educated, they have futures.

“Those futures lead to safer cities, stable economies, and more businesses. When a young person does not have access to education, their future is jeopardised and statistics show that they may be prone to antisocial and criminal activities.”

He said: “I am proud of the fact that my administration established a federal university in every one of the 12 states that did not previously have them. Now, for the first time in our country’s history, every state has a university established by the Federal Government. Despite it not being the responsibility of the Federal Government to develop primary and secondary schools, we built hundreds of these schools across Nigeria.

“Yet we need to build on these achievements by changing our mindset to investing in the resources above the ground, rather than below the ground. Once we invest in our citizens, it will be our time to confidently enter the international stage.”

On the issue of same-sex law, which he said was one area in which some members of the international community disagreed with him, the former president said he signed it into law because the bill was put forward in the context of polls that showed 98 per cent of Nigerians did not think same sex marriage should be accepted by the society.

“This was the highest percentage of any country surveyed. The bill was passed by 100 per cent of my country’s National Assembly.

“Therefore, as a democratic leader with deep respect for the rule of law, I had to put my seal of approval on it,” he added.

16 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    Resipiscence… Leaders always wisest when from the seat of power farthest.

  • Author’s gravatar

    I wise all citizens of this wonderful and beautiful country, would read this article from the beginning to the end; then our perception about the bigger picture of our country be unraveled.

  • Author’s gravatar

    GEJ should be respected for having stabilised our democracy regardless of his numerous shortcomings.

    • Author’s gravatar

      Many shortcomings.
      Actually many, many, many….shortcomings

    • Author’s gravatar

      The Question is does respecting GEJ means to allow his allies to go free with all that load of money that was looted? Recall that just 2 days ago we were informed on what was so far recovered from kleptomaniac Vagabonds who are still narrating their innocence despite the glaring testimony.

      • Author’s gravatar

        The respect for Jonathan is not respect for those in his cabinate who became deviants. A child’s moral depravity does not represent the character of the father. It is a choice,and so the respect the father has can not totally be erased because a son chose to be an out law.
        Note;There is nothing like kleptomaniac vagabond. You may have a kleptomaniac thief–ie;stealing compulsively. But these men did not steal compulsively because they showed no regret nor remorse.

    • Author’s gravatar

      My dear Seun, Corruption is not a short coming but a heinous crime that if found guilty, he should be sent to prison.

    • Author’s gravatar

      Ye, he is a man with flesh and blood, not an angel. Even angels offended at a time,making themselves at that time not to be trusted. So we all have shortcomings.

  • Author’s gravatar

    I don’t see how my post is offensive at his time. I will take it elsewhere for post.

  • Author’s gravatar

    “My approach to corruption was ‘don’t make money available for anyone to touch’

    “There’s no way he would have inherited an empty Treasury,” ”It’s not possible”
    which one can we take My President?

    • Author’s gravatar

      Does do not make money available for any one to touch the same as there is no way he would have inherited an empty treasury? Is here any ambguity in the two statements? Ok, believe any of the two.

  • Author’s gravatar

    How did GEJ not make money available for anyone to touch, when so many got their hands on so much? What was the mechanism for keeping people away from money, anyway?
    Give credit where it is due though. The data does back-up his claims of low inflation and jobs created from 2006/7 – 2015 were lower figures than we have now. Something I am unclear about is, how does more Universities improve the quality of existing one where standards have fallen so far to be unrecognizable? Does anyone understand this?

  • Author’s gravatar

    Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in His holy place, he that has clean hands and a pure heart… In my view Mr Jonathan you have a pure heart but not clean hands judging from the myriad of accusations trailing your lieutenants. Anyway, let us wait until the end of the investigation. We must not pre-empt justice.

  • Author’s gravatar

    I will only give you 1 credit: You make your government transaction very easy: Even in United States Al-gore dragged Gorge Bush into court and the battle continued for many months. I witnessed a serious test to a democratic-in crisis even in an advanced country(U.S. A). Mr. President, until you come clean to Nigerians that your administration was full of corruption and your wife—-is another problem in your administration. Had it be, you are surrounded by good people, history would have recognized you like Muritala Mohammed or Chief Obafemi Awolowo-1x commissioner for finance under military rule of Yakubu Gowon. During that time Nigeria has three level of poverty- as in United States- Upper-class, Middle-Class and Lower-Class(not poor). But today- We have 419-class-(Jaguda-class) and Poor-class. You are the youngest-man ever ruled in Nigeria and you mess-it up for people like me. I don’t think I will ever smell that position in my generation time. Oma see OOO. But God—-deeeeeeeeeee ooooooo.