Elder statesmen should not talk like motorpark touts —Jonathan 7 hours ago •Says he does not hate northerners PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has responded to the recent tantrums thrown at him by former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, warning that elder statesmen must refrain from talking like “motor park touts.” Speaking at an audience with a delegation of the Northern Elders Council (NEC), led by Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, which visited him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday, the president also rejected attempts to project him as hating northerners. Without naming Obasanjo, an obviously furious president observed that “any elder statesman who uses his position to fan the ember of disunity, including telling lies to discredit this administration, could best be described as a motorpark tout.” The former president had, on Monday, attacked Jonathan over what he said was the present administration’s depletion of the nation’s foreign reserves. “Some people call themselves statesmen but they are not, they are just ordinary politicians. To be a statesman is not because you have occupied a big office before, but the question is what are you bringing to bear? “Are you building this country or are you a part of people who tell lies to destroy the country? Are you part of the people who create enmity and make people who ordinarily would have been living together to fight themselves? Are you planning to set the country ablaze because you did not get that particular thing you want? “At the appropriate time, Nigerians will know all of us, even though I know most of you know us, but the younger ones do not know. Some people are hiding under some clogs, some big names and creating a lot of problems in this country, making provocative statements that may set this country ablaze and you tell me you are a senior citizen? You are not and you can never be. You are ordinary motorpark tout. “If you are a senior citizen, you will act like one. It is not because of the offices we occupy, it is by divine grace and providence that some of us occupy these offices,” he said. While thanking the delegation of NEC for the leadership they had shown, the president assured them that government would continue to work and protect the people. Jonathan, who regretted that the youth of the country were being deceived by reckless utterances from politicians, commended the northern elders for their efforts to ensure the country remains united, noting that without unity there could never be development. “I feel sad that our younger ones are beginning to see a Nigeria as if we are so divided, a Nigeria that a Muslim and a Christian cannot sit down together. “I was told that even the driver of Tafawa Balewa was a Christian. Our people lived together in those days. Why not now that we have even modern ways of life? “Our children leave us and go abroad. They stay together and do a lot of things together. But when we come back home, we begin to build walls, this is a southerner, this is a northerner, this is a Muslim, this is a Christian, this is a Yoruba man, this is an Hausa man, this is an Ijaw man, this is a Nupe man. Is that the way we are going to develop our country? “America is great today because it is made up of various cultural groups. Everybody makes America because ethnic lines have been so weakened that people think about America. Any country that begins to see itself through tiny tribal enclaves cannot go anywhere. “If I’m sick today and the best doctor that can treat me is from Zamfara or Enugu or Ekiti, they will bring that doctor to treat me. Until we get to that level where we begin to use people based on their competences, that, of course, will be the beginning of our development,” he said. Addressing his perceived hatred for the North, the president said “some people say Jonathan hates the North. I have heard that statement and I use to ask (Vice President) Namadi Sambo; National Security Adviser (Colonel Dasuki Sambo) and my Principal Secretary (Hassan Tukur) the same thing. In fact, my Principal Secretary has been my friend since I was deputy governor. I never knew I was going to come here as vice president not to talk of president. “I use to tell Nigerians I come from the downtrodden, what you call the Talakawas, I come from that level and I am here today talking to you because I went to school. And I said the only thing that can liberate an individual or a group of individuals is education. “If I did not go to school, I wouldn’t have been here to talk to big people like this. If you didn’t go to school, you wouldn’t have spoken the way you spoke. You would have looked for somebody to interpret. This is what I believe I don’t play politics with it. It has been my policy that I don’t play politics with education. “When I came on board, I said though as a country we have the policy on paper, every state must get a Federal Government university. Out of the 12 federal universities created, nine was in the North, while three were in Southern Nigeria. The only three states that had no federal university were Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Ekiti. “Those who were in charge of the university establishment were not fair. For us to liberate ourselves we must go to school. If I hate the North, would I have done that? “We talk about Almajiri education, we felt we must change it. Luckily, we initiated it but now states governments are keying into it, because I know that it was education that liberated me. I would have been a local canoe builder like my father and grandfather. “But I’m here because of education and I feel if we must liberate Nigerian children. Whether they are from Zamfara, Bayelsa, Kebbi or Delta, they must be educated. I feel we must enter the North by aggression through education,” Jonathan said. He vowed that his government would reverse the statistics on school drop-outs in the North, adding that “somebody who hates the people cannot talk about educating the children, because the people we are educating are the future leaders of this country.” Also speaking on allegations that his administration had favoured the South against the North in project implementation, Jonathan said: “Today I saw a publication in Daily Trust showing projects that have been awarded by the Federal Government. The ones for the North-East is very small, that of South-South are many. “I had to make photocopies and distribute to all the ministers and I asked is it true this is how projects are skewed by this government, or is it because somebody wants to play politics? Because I am a president from the South, have I taken all the projects to the South? I asked all the ministers to come up and tell me how the projects are being distributed across the country and if it is skewed, you must tell me why it is so. “One of the ministers incidentally is from the North, she is in charge of water resources and she said the publication cannot be true, because the Kashimbila Dam alone, the value is more than the amount quoted in that paper. “This is to show you how mischievous Nigerians are because you want to paint Jonathan bad. All of the lies that have been told about this government, I promise you that I am working with your son and I will not cheat any part of this country. “The ministers can attest to how they run their budget, how many of them have I met and say you must put this in my village or my zone? The ministers are here you can ask them. “For the people who want to paint us in all kinds of colour, we will explain to Nigerians. There are a lot of documentation we will show Nigerians. “Let me reassure you again and again that this present administration will not exploit any part of this country, we will not cheat any part of this country,” the president stated. Earlier in his remarks, chairman of NEC, Alhaji Yakasai, had observed that Nigeria was passing through a critical time, noting that the reality was that no region could do without the others. While advising that Nigerians must continue to respect the principles to sustain democracy, he added that insulting, blackmailing and castigating others would not be beneficial to the country. “Mr President, Nigeria is passing through political transformation and it is important to all Nigerians and indeed northerners to appreciate the fact that this country was crafted in such a manner that no one section can rule the country without support of the other. “It was indeed the North, in its characteristics culture of fairness and equity, that endorsed the principle of power shift which brought about the presidency of Chief Obasanjo and your humble self. It behoves on us as northerners and, indeed, all Nigerians to continue to respect the principles and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. “Northern Elders Council believes in peaceful co-existence by extension of hands of fellowship to brothers and sisters from the other side of the nation. “It is unpatriotic for anybody to instigate people against any person or peoples because of a temporary gain. Politics of insult, blackmail and castigation of individuals shall not take this country anywhere. We, therefore, believe in peaceful co-existence among Nigerians and by working together, shall we move the country forward,” he said.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 06:41:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015