President Jonathan has finally replied former
president Obasanjo's 18-page letter where he
accused Jonathan of taking actions calculated at
destroying Nigeria. President Jonathan's reply 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.
Continue...
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.
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