THREE months after leaving office and
amid accusations of misdeeds by his government, former President
Goodluck Jonathan has said he worked with a great team.
Jonathan’s appraisal of his cabinent was
contained in separate congratulatory letters to the new President of
the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina; and the
Vice-President of the World Bank, Ms Arunma Oteh.
Akinwunmi served as agriculture minister
under the Jonathan administration while Oteh served as the
Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jonathan said Adesina’s appointment
“attests to the fact that my administration had a good team that managed
the affairs of the country.”
But the National Leader of the All
Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, said it would have been
disastrous for Nigeria if Jonathan had been re-elected in the March 28,
2015 presidential poll won by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu, in an article to mark Buhari’s 100 days in power, said Nigeria would have collapsed if Jonathan had won re-election.
In his letter to his former aides, Jonathan however celebrated his time in government.
To Adesina, he wrote, “Given your
exemplary record of performance, while serving as the Honourable
Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in my cabinet, I have no
doubt that you will deploy your energy and the bank’s resources to
ensure that Africa experiences a new era of accelerated development.
“You were not only a critical voice in
my economic team, you also walked the talk and earned the praise of our
countrymen and women by ensuring that Nigeria’s quest for
self-sufficiency in food production became achievable dream.”
The former President, in his letter to Oteh, praised the former SEC boss’ knowledge of capital markets.
He described her as being conversant with the challenges of the economies of emerging markets.
He stated, “I am delighted that you are
going to your new job, fresh from the experience of having led the
recovery and growth initiatives of the Nigerian Bourse in the wake of
the decline, occasioned by recent global economic recession and
financial crisis.
“This is a clear testimony to your
capacity, high integrity, and tenacity of purpose. It is also a
vindication of the decision of my administration to stand by you,
believing in your abilities and competence, even when questions were
being raised in some quarters over your choice.
“I am convinced that the experience you
gathered as Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission
of Nigeria gave you deep insights on how to tackle the peculiar
challenges of a developing nation.
“The World Bank can draw from this to
ensure that its future partnerships with emerging economies in Africa
and other parts of the world are anchored on policies that will lead to
sustained growth and development, which is a sine qua non for lifting
millions of people in the developing world out of mass poverty.”
It will be recalled that the House of Representatives had in July 2012 asked the Federal Government to remove Oteh.
The lawmakers made the call in their
adoption of the report of the House ad hoc committee, which probed the
near-collapse of the capital market.
The report was debated and adopted
barely 24 hours after the Federal Government recalled Oteh from the
suspension slammed on her on June 12 by the Board of the SEC, which
indicted her for mishandling the Project 50 of the commission.
The report faulted Oteh’s appointment as
DG on the grounds that she was not qualified and that she lacked the
competence to manage human and material resources.
But the Jonathan Presidency had said
that the government’s decision to bring back Oteh was independent of the
House decision and that due process was followed in her recall.
Tinubu, who is a former Governor of
Lagos State, said the banking system and the entire economy would have
collapsed due to the several acts of corruption perpetrated by
Jonathan’s men.
He said, “Change means fighting
corruption in all of its manifestations instead of consorting with it.
No longer shall the public treasury, meant for the wellbeing of the
many, be treated as the private reserve of the few. Nigeria is now 100
days into President Buhari’s leadership.
“I shudder to think where we might be
had the prior administration been allowed to govern even 100 days more,
let alone another four years.”
He said Jonathan’s refusal to intervene
in the economic crisis in different states showed a lack of
understanding of the economy.
He added, “By approving a package of
emergency fiscal and financial relief, he (Buhari) has stopped the slide
of numerous states into economic depression and imminent bankruptcy. By
enabling the payment of back salaries to state government civil
servants, he has saved millions of Nigerians from sinking into hunger
and poverty.
“The former government should have taken
these step months ago, even before the election. However, it let a bad
situation fester into impending calamity. Had that government remained
in office, it would have allowed the states to slide into bankruptcy,
triggering a financial crisis that would have engulfed the banking
system if not the entire economy.”
But the Peoples Democratic Party has
supported Jonathan’s assessment of his administration, saying, “The
former President has hit the nail on the head.”
National Publicity Secretary of the
party, Mr. Oliah Metuh, said that Jonathan’s assessment of his team and
administration was based on evidence.
According to him, the international
appointments given to members of the Jonathan team are pointers to the
fact that those in the team are not only competent, but also capable.
He said that the achievements of the
Jonathan administration were practical and could not be politicised and
that they were evident in all sectors, including agriculture, economy
and communications.
In his reaction, the Executive
Secretary, Anti-Corruption Network , Ebenezer Oyetakin, said that
Jonathan’s self-assessment was meant to achieve image redemption.
He said, “We should however appreciate
Jonathan for conceding defeat. No doubt, someone like Adesina is an
exceptional person among the former President Jonathan’s team. No doubt
too, some others would be good persons in his team. The Jonathan’s
letter to them, while we can see it as deserving and in good will to the
duo, smacks of a desperate attempt at cheap image redemption.”
On his part, a United States-based activist, Smart Ajaja, described the assessment as an affront to Nigerians.
“Nigeria needs to be told the truth in
very harsh and caustic language. This statement from ex-President
Jonathan is an affront on the sensibility of Nigerians, taking
cognizance of the crass corruption that dogged his presidency,” Ajaja
said.
But Kayode Ajulo, a legal practitioner
and Executive Director of the Egalitarian Mission Africa, said,
Jonathan’s administration “paraded some of the best brains in the land
as he also made some unfortunate appointments.”
“In fact, his team could be best
described as a cacophony of personalities, an amalgamation of the good,
the bad and the ugly appointees. Today, what should be of concern is the
review of the gains and the mistakes of the administration and to use
same to chart a new course for the Buhari’s new administration to ensure
a better Nigeria,” he added.
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