President Goodluck Jonathan
has finally responded to the
letter by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo, Full letter
on display below.
His Excellency,
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR
Agbe L'Oba House, Quarry Road,
Ibara, Abeokuta.
RE: BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
I wish to formally acknowledge your letter dated
December 2, 2013 and other previous
correspondence similar to it.
You will recall that all the letters were brought
to me by hand. Although both of us discussed
some of the issues in those letters, I had not,
before now, seen the need for any formal reply
since, to me, they contained advice from a
former President to a serving President.
Obviously, you felt differently because in your
last letter, you complained about my not
acknowledging or replying your previous letters.
It is with the greatest possible reluctance that I
now write this reply. I am most uneasy about
embarking on this unprecedented and
unconventional form of open communication
between me and a former leader of our country
because I know that there are more acceptable
and dignified means of doing so.
But I feel obliged to reply your letter for a
number of reasons: one, you formally requested
for a reply and not sending you one will be
interpreted as ignoring a former President.
Secondly, Nigerians know the role you have
played in my political life and given the
unfortunate tone of your letter, clearly, the
grapes have gone sour. Therefore, my side of
the story also needs to be told.
The third reason why I must reply you in writing
is that your letter is clearly a threat to national
security as it may deliberately or inadvertently
set the stage for subversion. The fourth reason
for this reply is that you raised very weighty
issues, and since the letter has been made
public, Nigerians are expressing legitimate
concerns.
A response from me therefore, becomes very
necessary. The fifth reason is that this letter
may appear in biographies and other books
which political commentators on Nigeria's
contemporary politics may write. It is only
proper for such publications to include my
comments on the issues raised in your letter.
Sixthly, you are very unique in terms of the
governance of this country. You were a military
Head of State for three years and eight months,
and an elected President for eight years.
That means you have been the Head of
Government of Nigeria for about twelve years.
This must have, presumably, exposed you to a
lot of information. Thus when you make a
statement, there is the tendency for people to
take it seriously. The seventh reason is that the
timing of your letter coincided with other vicious
releases. The Speaker of the House of
Representatives spoke of my "body language"
encouraging corruption. A letter written to me
by the CBN Governor alleging that NNPC, within
a period of 19 months did not remit the sum of
USD49.8 billion to the federation account, was
also deliberately leaked to the public.
The eighth reason is that it appears that your
letter was designed to incite Nigerians from
other geopolitical zones against me and also
calculated to promote ethnic disharmony. Worse
still, your letter was designed to instigate
members of our Party, the PDP, against me. The
ninth reason is that your letter conveys to me
the feeling that landmines have been laid for
me. Therefore, Nigerians need to have my
response to the issues raised before the mines
explode. The tenth and final reason why my
reply is inevitable is that you have written
similar letters and made public comments in
reference to all former Presidents and Heads of
Government starting from Alhaji Shehu Shagari
and these have instigated different actions and
reactions.
The purpose and direction of your letter is
distinctly ominous, and before it is too late, my
clarifications on the issues need to be placed on
record. Let me now comment on the issues you
raised. In commenting I wish to crave your
indulgence to compare what is happening now
to what took place before. This, I believe, will
enable Nigerians see things in better perspective
because we must know where we are coming
from so as to appreciate where we now are,
and to allow us clearly map out where we are
going. You raised concerns about the security
situation in the country.
I assure you that I am fully aware of the
responsibility of government for ensuring the
security of the lives and property of citizens. My
Administration is working assiduously to
overcome current national security challenges,
the seeds of which were sown under previous
administrations. There have been some
setbacks; but certainly there have also been
great successes in our efforts to overcome
terrorism and insurgency. Those who continue
to down-play our successes in this regard,
amongst whom you must now be numbered,
appear to have conveniently forgotten the
depths to which security in our country had
plunged before now.
At a stage, almost the entire North-East of
Nigeria was under siege by insurgents. Bombings
of churches and public buildings in the North
and the federal capital became an almost
weekly occurrence. Our entire national security
apparatus seemed nonplussed and unable to
come to grips with the new threat posed by the
berthing of terrorism on our shores. But my
administration has since brought that very
unacceptable situation under significant control.
We have overhauled our entire national security
architecture, improved intelligence gathering,
training, funding, logistical support to our armed
forces and security agencies, and security
collaboration with friendly countries with very
visible and positive results. The scope and
impact of terrorist operations have been
significantly reduced and efforts are underway
to restore full normalcy to the most affected
North Eastern region and initiate a post-crisis
development agenda, including a special
intervention programme to boost the region's
socio-economic progress.
In doing all this, we have kept our doors open
for dialogue with the insurgents and their
supporters through efforts such as the work of
the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and the
Peaceful Resolution of the Security Challenges in
the North-East. You also know that the
Governor of Borno State provided the items you
mentioned to me as carrots. Having done all
this and more, it is interesting that you still
accuse me of not acting on your hardly original
recommendation that the carrot and stick option
be deployed to solve the Boko Haram problem.
Your suggestion that we are pursuing a "war
against violence without understanding the root
causes of the violence and applying solutions to
deal with all the underlying factors" is definitely
misplaced because from the onset of this
administration, we have been implementing a
multifaceted strategy against militancy,
insurgency and terrorism that includes poverty
alleviation, economic development, education
and social reforms. Even though basic education
is the constitutional responsibility of States, my
administration has, as part of its efforts to
address ignorance and poor education which
have been identified as two of the factors
responsible for making some of our youth easily
available for use as cannon fodder by insurgents
and terrorists, committed huge funds to the
provision of modern basic education schools for
the Almajiri in several Northern States.
The Federal Government under my leadership
has also set up nine additional universities in the
Northern States and three in the Southern
States in keeping with my belief that proper
education is the surest way of emancipating and
empowering our people. More uncharitable
persons may even see a touch of
sanctimoniousness in your new belief in the
carrot and stick approach to overcoming
militancy and insurgency. You have always
referred to how you hit Odi in Bayelsa State to
curb militancy in the Niger Delta.
If the invasion of Odi by the Army was the stick,
I did not see the corresponding carrot. I was the
Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State then, and as I
have always told you, the invasion of Odi did
not solve any militancy problem but, to some
extent, escalated it. If it had solved it, late
President Yar'Adua would not have had to come
up with the amnesty program. And while some
elements of the problem may still be there, in
general, the situation is reasonably better. In
terms of general insecurity in the country and
particularly the crisis in the Niger Delta, 2007
was one of the worst periods in our history.
You will recall three incidents that happened in
2007 which seemed to have been orchestrated
to achieve sinister objectives. Here in Abuja, a
petrol tanker loaded with explosives was to be
rammed into the INEC building. But luckily for
the country, an electric pole stopped the tanker
from hitting the INEC building. It is clear that
this incident was meant to exploit the general
sense of insecurity in the nation at the time to
achieve the aim of stopping the 2007 elections.
It is instructive that you, on a number of
occasions, alluded to this fact. When that
incident failed, an armed group invaded
Yenagoa one evening with the intent to
assassinate me.
Luckily for me, they could not. They again
attacked and bombed my country home on a
night when I was expected in the village.
Fortunately, as God would have it, I did not
make the trip. I recall that immediately after
both incidents, I got calls expressing the concern
of Abuja. But Baba, you know that despite the
apparent concern of Abuja, no single arrest was
ever made. I was then the Governor of Bayelsa
State and the PDP Vice-Presidential candidate.
The security people ordinarily should have
unraveled the assassination attempt on me. You
also raised the issues of kidnapping, piracy and
armed robbery. These are issues all Nigerians,
including me are very concerned about.
While we will continue to do our utmost best to
reduce all forms of criminality to the barest
minimum in our country, it is just as well to
remind you that the first major case of
kidnapping for ransom took place around 2006.
And the Boko Haram crisis dates back to 2002.
Goodluck Jonathan was not the President of the
country then. Also, armed robbery started in
this country immediately after the civil war and
since then, it has been a problem to all
succeeding governments. For a former Head of
Government, who should know better, to
present these problems as if they were
creations of the Jonathan Administration is most
uncharitable.
Having said that, let me remind you of some of
the things we have done to curb violent crime in
the country. We have reorganized the Nigerian
Police Force and appointed a more dynamic
leadership to oversee its affairs. We have also
improved its manpower levels as well as
funding, training and logistical support. We have
also increased the surveillance capabilities of the
Police and provided its air-wing with thrice the
number of helicopters it had before the
inception of the present administration.
The National Civil Defence and Security Corps
has been armed to make it a much more
effective ally of the police and other security
agencies in the war against violent crime. At
both domestic and international levels, we are
doing everything possible to curb the
proliferation of the small arms and light
weapons with which armed robberies,
kidnappings and piracy are perpetrated. We
have also enhanced security at our borders to
curb cross-border crimes.
We are aggressively addressing the challenge of
crude oil theft in collaboration with the state
Governors. In addition, the Federal Government
has engaged the British and US governments for
their support in the tracking of the proceeds
from the purchase of stolen crude. Similarly, a
regional Gulf of Guinea security strategy has
been initiated to curb crude oil theft and piracy.
Perhaps the most invidious accusation in your
letter is the allegation that I have placed over
one thousand Nigerians on a political watch list,
and that I am training snipers and other militia
to assassinate people. Baba, I don't know where
you got that from but you do me grave injustice
in not only lending credence to such baseless
rumours, but also publicizing it. You mentioned
God seventeen times in your letter.
Can you as a Christian hold the Bible and say
that you truly believe this allegation? The
allegation of training snipers to assassinate
political opponents is particularly
incomprehensible to me. Since I started my
political career as a Deputy Governor, I have
never been associated with any form of political
violence. I have been a President for over three
years now, with a lot of challenges and
opposition mainly from the high and mighty.
There have certainly been cases of political
assassination since the advent of our Fourth
Republic, but as you well know, none of them
occurred under my leadership. Regarding the
over one thousand people you say are on a
political watch list, I urge you to kindly tell
Nigerians who they are and what agencies of
government are "watching" them.
Your allegation that I am using security
operatives to harass people is also baseless.
Nigerians are waiting for your evidence of proof.
That was an accusation made against previous
administrations, including yours, but it is
certainly not my style and will never be. Again,
if you insist on the spurious claim that some of
your relatives and friends are being harassed, I
urge you to name them and tell Nigerians what
agencies of my administration are harassing
them. I also find it difficult to believe that you
will accuse me of assisting murderers, or
assigning a presidential delegation to welcome a
murderer.
This is a most unconscionable and untrue
allegation. It is incumbent on me to remind you
that I am fully conscious of the dictates of my
responsibilities to God and our dear nation. It is
my hope that devious elements will not take
advantage of your baseless allegation to engage
in brazen and wanton assassination of high
profile politicians as before, hiding under the
alibi your "open letter" has provided for them.
Nevertheless, I have directed the security
agencies and requested the National Human
Rights Commission to carry out a thorough
investigation of these criminal allegations and
make their findings public.
That corruption is an issue in Nigeria is
indisputable. It has been with us for many
years. You will recall that your kinsman, the
renowned afro-beat maestro, Fela Anikulapo-
Kuti famously sang about it during your first
stint as Head of State. Sonny Okosun also sang
about corruption. And as you may recall, a
number of Army Generals were to be retired
because of corruption before the Dimka coup.
Also, the late General Murtala Mohammed
himself wanted to retire some top people in his
cabinet on corruption-related issues before he
was assassinated. Even in this Fourth Republic,
the Siemens and Halliburton scandals are well
known.
The seed of corruption in this country was
planted a long time ago, but we are doing all
that we can to drastically reduce its debilitating
effects on national development and progress. I
have been strengthening the institutions
established to fight corruption. I will not shield
any government official or private individual
involved in corruption, but I must follow due
process in all that I do. And whenever clear
cases of corruption or fraud have been
established, my administration has always taken
prompt action in keeping with the dictates of
extant laws and procedures. You cannot claim to
be unaware of the fact that several highly
placed persons in our country, including sons of
some of our party leaders are currently facing
trial for their involvement in the celebrated
subsidy scam affair.
I can hardly be blamed if the wheels of justice
still grind very slowly in our country, but we are
doing our best to support and encourage the
judiciary to quicken the pace of adjudication in
cases of corruption. Baba, I am amazed that
with all the knowledge garnered from your
many years at the highest level of governance in
our country, you could still believe the spurious
allegation contained in a letter written to me by
the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), and surreptitiously obtained by you,
alleging that USD49.8 billion, a sum equal to our
entire national budget for two years, is
"unaccounted for" by the NNPC. Since, as
President, you also served for many years as
Minister of Petroleum Resources, you very well
know the workings of the corporation. It is
therefore intriguing that you have made such an
assertion.
You made a lot of insinuations about oil theft,
shady dealings at the NNPC and the NNPC not
remitting the full proceeds of oil sales to the of
CBN. Now that the main source of the
allegations which you rehashed has publicly
stated that he was "misconstrued", perhaps you
will find it in your heart to apologize for
misleading unwary Nigerians and impugning the
integrity of my administration on that score.
Your claim of "Atlantic Oil loading about 130,
000 barrels sold by Shell and managed on
behalf of NPDC with no sale proceeds paid into
the NPDC account" is also disjointed and
baseless because no such arrangement as you
described exists between Atlantic Oil and the
Nigeria Petroleum Development Company. NPDC
currently produces about 138, 000 barrels of oil
per day from over 7 producing assets.
The Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) of the
NNPC markets all of this production on behalf of
NPDC with proceeds paid into NPDC account. I
am really shocked that with all avenues open to
you as a former Head of State for the
verification of any information you have
received about state affairs, you chose to go
public with allegations of "high corruption"
without offering a shred of supporting evidence.
One of your political "sons" similarly alleged
recently that he told me of a minister who
received a bribe of $250 Million from an oil
company and I did nothing about it.
He may have been playing from a shared script,
but we have not heard from him again since he
was challenged to name the minister involved
and provide the evidence to back his claim. I
urge you, in the same vein, to furnish me with
the names, facts and figures of a single
verifiable case of the "high corruption" which
you say stinks all around my administration and
see whether the corrective action you advocate
does not follow promptly. And while you are at
it, you may also wish to tell Nigerians the true
story of questionable waivers of signature
bonuses between 2000 and 2007. While, by the
Grace of God Almighty, I am the first President
from a minority group, I am never unmindful of
the fact that I was elected leader of the whole
of Nigeria and I have always acted in the best
interest of all Nigerians.
You referred to the divisive actions and
inflammatory utterances of some individuals
from the South-South and asserted that I have
done nothing to call them to order or distance
myself from their ethnic chauvinism. Again that
is very untrue. I am as committed to the unity
of this country as any patriot can be and I have
publicly declared on many occasions that no
person who threatens other Nigerians or parts
of the country is acting on my behalf. It is very
regrettable that in your letter, you seem to
place sole responsibility for the ongoing intrigues
and tensions in the PDP at my doorstep, and
going on from that position, you direct all your
appeals for a resolution at me.
Baba, let us all be truthful to ourselves, God
and posterity. At the heart of all the current
troubles in our party and the larger polity is the
unbridled jostling and positioning for personal or
group advantage ahead of the 2015 general
elections. The "bitterness, anger, mistrust, fear
and deep suspicion" you wrote about all flow
from this singular factor. It is indeed very
unfortunate that the seeming crisis in the party
was instigated by a few senior members of the
party, including you. But, as leader of the party,
I will continue to do my best to unite it so that
we can move forward with strength and unity of
purpose. The PDP has always recovered from
previous crises with renewed vigour and vitality.
I am very optimistic that that will be the case
again this time.
The PDP will overcome any temporary setback,
remain a strong party and even grow stronger.
Instigating people to cause problems and
disaffection within the party is something that
you are certainly familiar with. You will recall
that founding fathers of the Party were
frustrated out of the Party at a time. Late Chief
Sunday Awoniyi was pushed out, Late Chief
Solomon Lar left and later came back, Chief
Audu Ogbeh and Chief Tom Ikimi also left. Chief
Okwesilieze Nwodo left and later came back. In
2005/2006, link-men were sent to take over
party structures from PDP Governors in an
unveiled attempt to undermine the state
governors.
In spite of that, the Governors did not leave the
Party because nobody instigated and
encouraged them to do so. The charge that I
was involved in anti-party activities in
governorship elections in Edo, Ondo, Lagos, and
Anambra States is also very unfortunate. I
relate with all Governors irrespective of political
party affiliation but I have not worked against
the interest of the PDP. What I have not done is
to influence the electoral process to favour our
Party.
You were definitely never so inclined, since you
openly boasted in your letter of how you
supported Alhaji Shehu Shagari against Chief
Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe and
others in the 1979 presidential elections while
serving as a military Head of State. You and I
clearly differ in this regard, because as the
President of Nigeria, I believe it is my duty and
responsibility to create a level playing field for
all parties and all candidates. Recalling how the
PDP lost in states where we were very strong in
2003 and 2007 such as Edo, Ondo, Imo, Bauchi,
Anambra, and Borno, longstanding members of
our great party with good memory will also
consider the charge of anti-party activities you
made against me as misdirected and hugely
hypocritical.
It certainly was not Goodluck Jonathan's
"personal ambition or selfish interest" that
caused the PDP to lose the governorship of
Ogun State and all its senatorial seats in the last
general elections. You quoted me as saying that
I have not told anybody that I will seek another
term in office in 2015. You and your ambitious
acolytes within the party have clearly decided to
act on your conclusion that "only a fool will
believe that statement" and embark on a
virulent campaign to harass me out of an
undeclared candidature for the 2015
presidential elections so as to pave the way for
a successor anointed by you.
You will recall that you serially advised me that
we should refrain from discussing the 2015
general elections for now so as not to distract
elected public officials from urgent task of
governance. While you have apparently moved
away from that position, I am still of the
considered opinion that it would have been best
for us to do all that is necessary to refrain from
heating up the polity at this time. Accordingly, I
have already informed Nigerians that I will only
speak on whether or not I will seek a second
term when it is time for such declarations. Your
claims about discussions I had with you,
Governor Gabriel Suswam and others are wrong,
but in keeping with my declared stance, I will
reserve further comments until the appropriate
time.
Your allegation that I asked half a dozen African
Presidents to speak to you about my alleged
ambition for 2015, is also untrue. I have never
requested any African President to discuss with
you on my behalf. In our discussion, I
mentioned to you that four Presidents told me
that they were concerned about the political
situation in Nigeria and intended to talk to you
about it. So far, only three of them have
confirmed to me that they have had any
discussion with you.
If I made such a request, why would I deny it?
The issue of Buruji Kashamu is one of those lies
that should not be associated with a former
President. The allegation that I am imposing
Kashamu on the South-West is most
unfortunate and regrettable. I do not even
impose Party officials in my home state of
Bayelsa and there is no zone in this country
where I have imposed officials. So why would I
do so in the South West? Baba, in the light of
Buruji's detailed public response to your "open
letter", it will be charitable for you to render an
apology to Nigerians and I. On the issue of
investors being scared to come to Nigeria,
economic dormancy, and stagnation, I will just
refer you to FDI statistics from 2000 to 2013.
Within the last three years, Nigeria has emerged
as the preferred destination for investments in
Africa, driven by successful government policies
to attract foreign investors. For the second year
running, the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Investments (UNCTAD) has ranked
Nigeria as the number one destination for
investments in Africa, and as having the fourth
highest returns in the world. Today, Nigeria is
holding 18 percent of all foreign investments in
Africa and 60 percent of all foreign investments
in the ECOWAS Sub-Region. Kindly note also
that in the seven years between 2000 and 2007
when you were President, Nigeria attracted a
total of $24.9 Billion in FDI.
As a result of our efforts which you disparage,
the country has seen an FDI inflow of $25.7
Billion in just three years which is more than
double the FDI that has gone to the second
highest African destination. We have also
maintained an annual national economic growth
rate of close to seven per cent since the
inception of this administration. What then, is
the justification for your allegation of scared
investors and economic dormancy? Although it
was not emphasized in your letter of December
2, 2013, you also conveyed, in previous
correspondence, the impression that you were
ignorant of the very notable achievements of
my administration in the area of foreign
relations.
It is on record that under my leadership, Nigeria
has played a key role in resolving the conflicts in
Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Guinea Bissau and
others. The unproductive rivalry that existed
between Nigeria and some ECOWAS countries
has also been ended under my watch and
Nigeria now has better relations with all the
ECOWAS countries. At the African Union, we now
have a Commissioner at the AU Commission
after being without one for so long. We were in
the United Nations Security Council for the
2010/2011 Session and we have been voted in
again for the 2014/2015 Session. From
independence to 2010, we were in the U.N.
Security Council only three times but from 2010
to 2015, we will be there two times. This did not
happen by chance.
My Administration worked hard for it and we
continue to maintain the best possible relations
with all centres of global political and economic
power. I find it hard therefore, to believe your
assertions of untoward concern in the
international community over the state of
governance in Nigeria With respect to the Brass
and Olokola LNG projects, you may have
forgotten that though you started these projects,
Final Investment Decisions were never reached.
For your information, NNPC has not withdrawn
from either the Olokola or the Brass LNG
projects. On the Rivers State Water Project, you
were misled by your informant.
The Federal Government under my watch has
never directed or instructed the Africa
Development Bank to put on hold any project to
be executed in Rivers state or any other State
within the Federation. The Rivers Water Project
was not originally in the borrowing plan but it
was included in April 2013 and appraised in
May. Negotiations are ongoing with the AfDB. I
have no doubt that you are familiar with the
entire process that prefaces the signing of a
Subsidiary Loan Agreement as in this instance.
Let me assure you and all Nigerians that I do
not engage in negative political actions and will
never, as President, oppress the people of a
State or deprive them of much needed public
services as a result of political disagreement I
have noted your comments on the proposed
National Conference. Contrary to the insinuation
in your letter, the proposed conference is aimed
at bringing Nigerians together to resolve
contentious national issues in a formal setting.
This is a sure way of promoting greater national
consensus and unity, and not a recipe for
"disunity, confusion and chaos" as you alleged in
your letter. Having twice held the high office of
President, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed
Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I trust
that you will understand that I cannot possibly
find the time to offer a line-by-line response to
all the accusations and allegations made in your
letter while dealing with other pressing
demands of office and more urgent affairs of
state.
I have tried, however, to respond to only the
most serious of the charges which question my
sincerity, personal honour, and commitment to
the oath which I have sworn, to always uphold
and protect the interests of all Nigerians, and
promote their well-being. In closing, let me
state that you have done me grave injustice
with your public letter in which you wrongfully
accused me of deceit, deception, dishonesty,
incompetence, clannishness, divisiveness and
insincerity, amongst other ills.
I have not, myself, ever claimed to be all-
knowing or infallible, but I have never taken
Nigeria or Nigerians for granted as you implied,
and I will continue to do my utmost to steer our
ship of state towards the brighter future to
which we all aspire. Please accept the
assurances of my highest consideration and
warm regards.
GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN.
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