December 20, 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
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