By Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
December 20th 2013
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 See hard copy of the 1st and last page of the letter below:
