Jonathan Breaks Silence: My Administration Had A Good Team

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.

PUNCH