14
SATURDAY SUN
August 11, 2012
Cover Story
‘Confrontation not panacea for terrorism’ Continued from Page 13 means which we are also adopting. Confrontation is the first attack to reduce the damage they will cause. Confrontation does not solve terror problem anywhere in the world. You must have seen how long it took America with the sophistication in killing Osama Bin Laden even at that they are still fighting terror.” While updating the gathering on some of the successes he has recorded since he assumed leadership as the president of Nigeria, Jonathan said he has succeeded in building a foundation for stabilizing the nation’s democracy through credible, fair and free election. In his words: First when the issue of my contesting election came up, a lot of Nigerians said all we wanted was a free and fair election because it is the beginning of development in any society. A situation in which the voter’s card has no potency to remove an officer of government that is not performing, of course, people will be frustrated. “When I came in as a Vice President, our elections in 2007 were perceived to be flawed and whenever I travelled out, I was made to feel so guilty and that had made me to vow that should I find myself in a position to conduct a free, fair and credible election, I would not hesitate to do so. I did just that and insisted that the power of the people must not be usurped by anybody because when you do that, you are creating a situation where people will revolt, because if voter’s card cannot change government, you are courting the gun. It is only when our voter’s card can change government that you can keep the military in the barracks. “I always say we know what happened in the First Republic but that of the Second Republic is more vivid, three months after election the military struck, yes people said it was as a result of corruption and all that but note that the way the elections were conducted was quite frustrating, people realised that their voter’s cards could not change a bad government and so they looked for alternative way to change government. “That is why we said in this era where the whole world is celebrating democracy that Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind. We have been able to achieve that because when we came in 2007, it was even difficult for other heads of state to congratulate us because they felt the elections were flawed, but that of 2011 we received calls from everywhere and we promised that subsequent elections will be better than that. The Edo election has come and gone and up till now nobody is in court to contest it and I believe that we should not go back to where we were before. “I had to start with elections because there are number of things that are not right in our country and to start to fix them, anything you try to do properly, you will offend so many people. And these people will not keep quiet, they must come after you, they must look for reasons and means of discrediting you. There is nothing you will not read, especially in the social media about the government. But let me encourage you to come back home, you will see that most of those things are fabrications. We will continue to do our best, we have sanitised the electoral system. The fertilizer procurement processes, before now, every year, Nigerian government spent billions to procure fertilizer and less than 12 per cent got to the farmers. Where did the rest go? And even the ones that got to the farmers, some of them were mixed with sand. “We also wanted to do the same thing with fuel subsidy, but of course, they moved the civil society against us and unfortunately we couldn’t get to where we want to. But at least to some extent we have gone very far to ensure that the sector is sanitized and some of those with shady deals are being properly examined. We have also vowed to bring crude oil stealing to zero. It started years back, not in Jonathan’s time, but people refused to confront it frontally then. In some of the companies, the amount of oil being
stolen are more than what we produce, how can we continue that way? The oil belongs to all of us, is our own common resource and is for us and our children and people are stealing it. That will also come to an end. In his response to a demand for direct air flight between Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago, Jonathan assured the Nigerian community that his administration is working on how to solve the problem. “On having a direct flight, one of the reasons both countries have not been able to have a very viable airline, is that in the case of Nigeria, poor management has deprived us of having a viable airline. We hear all sorts of name like Okada Air, Oriental Air before you know it they are no more. Now we have Arik and we hope they will continue for a long time. That is one of the problems we have in Africa, to travel within Africa is so cumbersome, at times travelling to other African countries you might have to get to London first or Dubai. This, at times, is attributed to the population of those countries. So, at times the foreign air lines have to go these longer routes in order to break even. “But these are areas we are working on and we had agreed with the government of Trinidad and Tobago when we were in Australia to look into and explore ways we can resolve it. You must first make travelling within Africa easy if you must encourage trade and investment and also we have a lot of things in common with some of the Caribbean countries and even other American countries. For some that came with me, they had to travel through London before getting here and that is waste of resources but the issue is quite germane and we are going to address them. “On the Nigerian Embassy funding, we are of the view that there is no reason it should be dilapidated. I have to thank you for speaking for the Embassy because at times they find it difficult to complain about the challenges they face. You are complaining for them, this is a situation where another man has headache and another is taking phensic for him. “It will encourage us to have good links culturally with our brothers and sisters from Trinidad and Tobago, so we will look into that”.
Speaking earlier at the forum, Professor Edwin Ekwe, who is the president of the Nigerian community, had said the interaction provided an opportunity for them to air their problems, seek government’s intervention in whatever challenge they are facing in their host country, consular problems, and also to hear first-hand from President Jonathan what he is doing to erase the wrong impression in the outside world about Nigeria. While the Nigerian High Commissioner, Musa John Jen and president of the Nigerian Community, Edwin Ekwe chose to eulogise President Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience for their achievements back home, a member of the audience, Oritse Thiemeyin U. Mewe-Pira chose to seize the moment to outline their challenges. “Our major problem is the immigration problem. For a Nigerian to come to Trinidad and Tobago, you must pay for the visa and also to pay a bond that is $21,000 which Nigeria does not require of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago if they are visiting Nigeria. “The other hurdle is that those that overstay their visa are put in jail, two years, three years. Some years I think it should be during Obasanjo’s time, Nigeria was trying to break relationship with Trinidad and Tobago because of the same immigration problems. The government of Trinidad and Tobago must be made to deport them or take them to court. Some of them are married to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago and have kids but all these they have chosen to ignore. “So, I am asking Mr. President to use his good offices to look into that aspect, this bond thing and if the government of Trinidad and Tobago cannot and would not desist, then the Nigerian government should impose same on Trinidad and Tobago citizens in Nigeria. But besides these two issues, the country has been good to us. “Also, it is high time we told our government back home to remove politics when it comes to diplomatic postings. I have been looking for a telephone number of any media organisation in Nigeria to tell them that the quality of ambassadors and the diplomats that are being posted should be devoid of politics because these men
and women cannot serve. This is 2012, if they want Nigeria to be a progressive state, they must not do it on the basis of tribe and politics. They must be able to choose people on the basis of merit and competence”. Earlier, Ambassador Jen had commended President Jonathan for his commitment to implementing the transformation agenda. “We have experienced relative stability in spite of the efforts of sectarian elements in Nigeria to bring instability and try to rubbish the gains of the democratic dispensation. Mr. President has continued undeterred and we want to express our appreciation for that”. Jen praised Jonathan’s administration for bringing stability to the political arena, saying, “for the first time in the history of Nigeria we have had peaceful transfer of power and one of the freest and fairest elections that were conducted. Whenever I pass through the US, some of our friends in the US will be congratulating us for making good progress in our democratic dispensation by conducting a free and fair election that was acceptable to all, including the international community in Nigeria.” President Jonathan, accompanied by his wife, Patience, arrived at South Terminal of Piarco International Airport, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago after 10-hour flight to a royal welcome. He was met by President George Maxwell Richards and his wife, Dr. Jean Ramjohn-Richards; Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and almost all of her cabinet, many of them in African wears; Chief Justice Ivor Archie; House Speaker Wade Mark; Senate President Timothy Hamel-Smith; High Commissioner of Nigeria to Trinidad and Tobago, Musa John Jen; and other members of the diplomatic corps and other officials. Other notable members of the delegation were Emeka Offor, the CEO of Chrome Oil, who is also the patron of the Nigeria/Trinidad and Tobago Chamber in Nigeria, co-chair of the Nigeria/Trinidad and Tobago Chamber. There was Hon. Awwal Bamanga Tukur, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, and former Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode and some senior aides of President Jonathan.