As an address made by the President of the Federal republic of Nigeria It is not a good morning in Nigeria, its’ been long we had a good morning- and yesterdays happenings cannot give today a good morning. Years back, you choose me to lead you, to lead away from unemployment, bad power supply, away from poverty, away from insecurity - It was huge the support I had, and was the parents of the Chibok girls, the good people of Baga and other thousands that have met insignificant death due to something, one thing that has not been right, one thing I don’t know. I have failed myself, I have failed my people- and I have failed still, my failure is not a result of not acting, or of not giving my best, or of not consulting with elders- my failure is as a result of me, just me. When I approached been your leader- I thought of what great honor, fate has bestowed upon me- that my name will be printed in time sands, I knew the road wouldn’t be smooth- for I knew how bad the road was but I desired foremost to repair the road but that road is covered in rut and I take the blame for it. We all have made sacrifices, from the fuel subsidy removal to having to work more to feed your family, to the students who were home for months- we all have made sacrifices and for that you earn my reverence- many of the sacrifices although unnecessary, some even were result of the unwillingness of your government but now it all has approached an end. This is Nigeria and corruption don’t thrive in our veins, the system may have made it seem so, that in our dealings- unfair dealings we have failed God- but that also is not your fault, it is mine and I take the blame for all of it, for the death of your sick daughter, for your hungry mother in the village, for your husband who lay dying because of our health system paralyzed for months. It has been the most trying years for my family, my family only- we have veiled our faces with smile when all was falling apart, sometimes we even sought to demean the media and froze the internet, your freedom- but these thoughts were one of those we couldn’t keep with, it did cross our minds to murder our political foes and silence our critics but we did not let the thoughts thrive our minds or define our will- I should have done this earlier, but I hoped I’d get it right- in secrecy I have visited world leaders, security experts, electricity experts outside the shores of this country but my fellow people, they do not bother about your lives, no one does, except your brother, your wife, your kids, your mother. Perhaps there advices which I took has brought us deeper in this crisis - let me state clearly, they wouldn’t help us with electricity because they will lose their markets, they wouldn’t help us curb insecurity because they will lose their markets, neither would they help with our roads because no one then would by their “spare parts”- only us, Nigerians, only us, can help ourselves. And what about the academic institution, I see what it has come and weep, my failure, the failure of my administration- I have fallen lots of times on this journey and as I fall, you bear the brunt- so I shall take this easy decision and hope it wash away my inadequacies, my failures. Do not bother about ethnicity, let the Ijaws see the Hausas as his brother, let the yorubas see the efik as his wife, let the igbos see the fulanis as husband- we are a people, we have seen and felt the venom of poverty, of illiteracy and of religion- we have felt the venom of all of it and even more they have made us stronger- Truly Islam is a religion of peace and it is not only in Nigeria that it has been misinterpreted, we hear of Charlie in France, we know of the Talibans and we know they are all black sheep, -let all of us unite against Boko Haram, the moslem, the Christian, the atheist- all of us and maybe then we would be victorious, let you with two cars give one to your neighbor who has no job, I have seen Taxi drivers send their children to become doctors, build houses- let the fed give the hungry and truly then perhaps we would be at peace. What an honor it has been to have led you this far- but I must step aside for faster progress, I must render the wheels of our fate to a man- capable, one who has the strength- so my people- I won’t be returning as your president, I would be around and always be there for all of us- but that would not be as your president- I want our nation to move forward not backward, to move onward and that has foster this decision. I implore that we give our best to our dreams and we fulfill the duty to generations unborn- the duty of a better Nation, I have looked around, consulted former head of state, From President Obasanjo, to General Buhari and I have followed their counsels to the core and this is the result, the Baga massacre, the 20 billion dollars thrown away- so I implore, Nigerians, that you make the right decision for there is no Moses to lead us, only us. In that, I have sought for myself- a man of will, of strength- one whose aura I trust can lead us from this earthen “mud”, I present to you, my people chance, change and hope. There is the need to understand, that no single individual without team can help, so I implore you, Nigerians- that if you can, get the form, contest elections and to those that can’t, let us pray that our choice is right- but you’d agree with me, that this choice logically would be change -So when you vote for the senators- vote for change, when you vote for the local government chairman, vote for change. You know change is in that man, who wills nothing or all, he gave his best- that man who without holding a position in the government, who without reward - joy gave to your community, who without ambition, value your life- that is him, you should vote for- And as the leader of the People Democratic Party, I have suspended all of its active members and will retrench individuals capable of change, I understand- that the senate may eject me but you are my people, do what is right, vote for change and know that change is not in the past. I wish all of us, the very best- Thank you for listening to me, for reading and for absorbing. Thank you all, to Patience Jonathan, who have been with me- when I had no shoes and even now- she may have been the best first lady, and even if in your judgment she is not, to me she is the best wife, the best mother, the best first lady and I love you Patience- I love you, to my kids- I love you all and to you Nigerians, I love you most and I will join in the booth to cast my vote for change. We pray the merciful God, strengthens Nigeria. What If Jonathan Said?- A Better Nigeria
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 09:57:57 +0000
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