News has it that President Goodluck Jonathan
today admitted, for the first time, that his
government ground to a halt before it could take
the first step, and he blamed Boko Haram for it.
Mr. Jonathan made the confession at the 60th
National Executive Committee of the Peoples
Democratic Party.
"During [the electoral] campaign, our emphasis
was more on job creation, power but now what
worries us most is security," he said. "This is
because you must be alive before you will eat
food"
He described security as "very, very
fundamental," saying, "If you are not safe, you
can't even think of hunger because a dead person
does not need food."
The President told senior party members that
although he had promised to focus on job
creation and power, he had been forced to
change government policy to focus on security
due to the activities of the violent militant sect.
In convoluted remarks, he said, "If you look at
this issue of Boko Haram, for the past three
weeks, except the incident in Plateau State, which
of course is unfortunate but has nothing to do
with Boko Haram, we will continue to work with
Governor Jonah Jang and other leaders from the
state to make sure that we resolve the crisis in
Plateau State. That has nothing to do with Boko
Haram.
"But outside that, we would see that there are
some trends, there is some hope and God
willing, the issue of Boko Haram will also come
down."
Mr. Jonathan did not comment on his promise in
April to vanquish the militants by June, a promise
which he did not fulfill. He did not apologize for
that, either.
"Did Boko Haram also persuade him not to give a
damn about corruption, for which both his
government and his party are the most famous?"
a political analyst asked in Abuja today. "If he
says Boko Haram brought him to a standstill, did
they also tell him he should not provide personal
example, such as declaring his assets or telling his
wife it is a shame to live in Abuja and claim a job
in Abuja she cannot possibly honour?"
A newspaper columnist, commenting on Mr.
Jonathan's confession, reminded SaharaReporters
that it was only recently at the "Media Chat" that
Jonathan told Nigerians they will start enjoying his
success in 2013.
"The cows are coming home to roost now," he
said. "Boko Haram did not stop him from buying
himself executive jets or budgeting nearly
N1billion for feeding himself or repeatedly
traveling with hundreds of hangers-on to foreign
capitals to collect huge estacode payments. He is
now telling Nigerians the militants are the ones
stopping him from fulfilling his electoral
promises!"
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