Why we declared Jonathan wanted – Bara Posted by Ejom paul Despite the seeming reluctance of President Goodluck Jonathan to throw his hat in the ring, the number of groups campaigning for his re-election keeps growing by the day. The House to House Campaign organization recently held a big rally in Abuja, declaring Jonathan ‘wanted’ for the 2015 election. Hon. Ogidi Ben Bara, the director general of the group, spoke with journalists after the rally. SAMUEL OGIDAN reports Why have you declared President Jonathan wanted? The President is wanted by millions of Nigerians who appreciate his good works. He is wanted by the vast majority of men, women and youths who appreciate the tremendous achievements of the transformation under this government. We are impatient. We can no longer wait. We want President Jonathan to continue in office for another four years, hence our resolve to declare him ‘wanted’. If we had our way, we will go into the Presidential Villa to drag him out to make a public pronouncement. You also said at the rally that you will soon deposit N19.5m at the PDP national secretariat of PDP. What for? The women wing of House to House campaign organization mandated me to make that announcement. As you know, we have more than a hundred thousand women and they resolved, on their own volition, to contribute the money to buy a nomination form for Mr. President. This is a demonstration of their passionate commitment to the re-election of President Jonathan, and we will soon deposit that money at Wadata Plaza to assist the President make up his mind quickly and join the race for re-election. Don’t you consider this a detraction to Mr. President in view of the many challenges he contends with? With due respect, this is a positive distraction, to borrow your phrase. We have the right to ventilate our views and convictions in a free society. We appreciate the enormous challenges experienced by the country at this time, but we believe in God that the wind of positive change will soon blow over this land. The problems we are facing, that of security, power supply etc. were not created by President Jonathan. We believe that in the last three years, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to tackling the problems he inherited. In concrete terms, we have seen great improvement in the management of the oil and gas sector; the power sector has attracted foreign investors owing to the transparent manner of deregulation; our airports have been upgraded to international standards; we have seen massive construction of roads, bridges and new railway lines; the mortgage system is now fully reformed and liberalized to enable more people gain access to decent housing; the education and health sectors have received massive funding more than we experienced in the past. With all these impressive record, you will agree with me that Nigeria will be better if President Jonathan continues in office in 2015. Is it not wiser to save your energy and resources till the president declares his intention to run? That is your own view, but let me assure you that we have enough steam and energy to last till the end of 2015 elections. And we shall not relent in asking President Jonathan to declare his readiness to run. For us at the House to House campaign organization, it is no retreat, no surrender. After this rally in Abuja, we will take the campaign to all nooks and crannies of this country, propagating the virtues of President Jonathan, mobilizing support for him and try to convince Nigerians why they should return him to office next year. How do you intend to convince Nigerians who are hungry and probably angry? Nigeria is a country of good people who appreciate a good leader when they see one. This is not the first time that the nation will be facing some difficulties. We have gone through bitter experiences as a nation. We have fought a civil war, experienced bloody religious riots and other national calamities. The nation has survived all these. The Nigerian spirit is strong and unassailable. Our socio- economic condition as a nation is not the worst. In fact this economy is growing impressively, now the biggest in Africa. That indicates that the future is bright with the continuation of the programmes and policies of President Jonathan. When we get to their houses, we will ask Nigerians to evaluate the benefits of You Win, the provision of loans and capital for small and medium enterprises, the transformation in agriculture with availability of fertilizer and pesticides at affordable rates, the establishment of more universities and building of primary health centres across the country. With all these and many more, we should be able to persuade them to join the campaign to return President Jonathan in 2015. Who is funding this nationwide campaign? We have taxed our members who are in hundreds of thousands across the country. But we are also reaching out to well-meaning Nigerians who believe in the mission and vision of Mr. President. We certainly have very good people listening to us. Have you gone for screening at the office of the Political Adviser to the President? The screening of the various groups supporting the President is at the instance of the Goodluck Support Group. It is only coordinated by the office of the Political Adviser to the President. I think such harmonization is necessary to achieve the desired results at the end of the day.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 14:31:06 +0000
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