Jonathan: corruption blown out of proportion President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday in Windhoek, Namibia, that corruption in Nigeria is being blown out of proportion thereby affecting the image of the country. He also said the government would no longer treat the Boko Haram insurgency with kid gloves. The President spoke at two events a in the southern African country –when he met with host President Hifikepunye Pohamba at the Conference Hall of the Namibia State House and during a meeting with the Nigerian community at the Country Club, Windhoek. He told the Nigerians that “corruption is everywhere but it is over-celebrated in the country to the extent that the nation and its people are stigmatised.” The president stressed that while his administration would not condone the menace, using big stick would not be a solution to end corruption. He said in fighting corruption, government had continued to strengthen the relevant institutions. The president said that with the promulgation of decrees and laws stipulating capital punishment for armed robbery, the menace had not stopped. The president called on every Nigerians to resolve to do the right thing and support the government in its efforts at building a new Nigeria. He assured that if all hands were on deck and the citizens cooperated with the government, the nation would be completely transformed in the next 10 years. “The green passport should be a symbol of honour, respect and dignity, not humiliation,” he said. He described Nigeria as a great country, adding that with certain definite steps the administration was taking, it would take its rightful position in the globe. Jonathan assured the gathering that with all the political tension being created by the opposition in the country, he would not play politics with the development of the nation. He said the government had taken pragmatic steps to end the challenges of oil theft and piracy before 2015. According to him, the Federal Government has decided to put more force into curtailing the activities of the Boko Haram group that is unleashing terror in the Northeast region. He solicited the support of his Namibian counterpart and world leaders in stamping out terrorism globally. He said: “The issue of global terror is worrisome and in Nigeria, we believe that a terror attack on anywhere in the world is a terror attack on everyone. It may be more in one country compared to the other, for instance, in the Northeastern parts of Nigeria, three states out of 36 states, we are having incidents of terror. “Initially, we handled it with kid-gloves but now we have decided to be a little more forceful because we must thrash out these terror groups. We must not allow it to continue to slow down economic growth in that part of the country. “With the terror attacks in that part of the country, the rest of the country feels it because Nigerians live everywhere. In these other parts, there is always the fear that if you do not tackle it, it will infiltrate into other parts. “We will work together to ensure that terror attack is stamped out globally and in Nigeria we are committed,” he said Dr. Jonathan thanked Pohamba for his country’s support for Nigeria’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN). Dr Jonathan on a two-day visit, stressed the need for at least two seats in the UN Security Council for Africa. “I also believe in your philosophy that if by God’s grace, the UN Security Council will be restructured, that is, if the super powers will allow it to be restructured, Africa should be considered at least for two positions to represent the interest of African people. “I always say it that we cannot talk of democracy when the strongest institutions globally are not democratic but dictated to by one country alone. “If we must practice democracy and emphasise that all countries must be democratic, we need to start from these powerful UN institutions that all parts of the globe must have a say there,” he said. President Jonathan underscored the need for African leaders to promote intra-African trade for jobs creation and the development of the continent. He noted that the continent must consolidate the regional economic blocs for economic integration. “If we can consolidate the regional economic blocs to become solid, then, we can integrate the economic blocs before going to political integration. “I always believe that our founding fathers in the days of OAU, their vision was for Africa to become a single big continent. “I remember the late President of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, his dream was that political boundary should collapse for Africa. “But we believe that it is good to envision that kind of development, but first, we must consolidate the regional economic blocs,” he said. Pohamba said that his country would forever remain grateful to Nigeria for the contribution and sacrifice towards the attainment of independence.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 12:41:50 +0000
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