BY 'Fisayo Soyombo
Coming on a day that would have been three days before the presidential election (had it not been postponed), Wednesday’s presidential media chat was expected to be heavy on electoral matters. It was, as expected; and the opening questions centred on the matters relating to the postponement.
The usual suspects – abducted Chibok girls, insecurity in the northeast, hate speeches in the polity – were discussed as well.
Here are 10 highlights of the chat.
As expected, the media chat was kick-started by a question on the postponed elections and the president was asked to speak on the real factors that triggered it.
“People are not being fair to me,” he said, and went on to explain that the election was only “rescheduled” – not that there was a “change of date”.
The constitution, he maintained, states clearly that the election should be conducted with 30 to 150 days before the handover date. The summary is that as far as the president is concerned, any election within this range is fine; it’s a rescheduling and it’s not fair on him for anyone to say the “date” was “changed”.
By inference, we all knew this before: if Jega was the type of person who always consulted the president, there would never have been rumours that he would be sacked or forced to proceed on three-month terminal leave.
Read the president’s lips, he has no hand in the polls shift: “I was not consulted, and I don’t want to be consulted. In 2011, INEC did not consult me.”
If he knew the election would be postponed, he wouldn’t have made his last trip to Bayelsa.
“I wouldn’t have wasted my time and government resources. For every trip I make, I know what federal government pays,” he said.
“I’m not the chief of defence staff that wrote the letter,” the president said as he began responding to a question on the real motives behind the postponement of the elections. “But as the chief security officer of the federation I have an idea.”
No more insinuations that the president wrote the script acted by the security chiefs; he is not the chief of defnce staff!
One way or the other, we have all suffered from the devastation of the northeast by Boko Haram. But Jonathan is assuring us that our sufferings are all but over, because Boko Haram no longer has a hiding place.
“Chad has moved in now, Cameroon as moved in now, so I really don’t think there is a hiding place for the Boko Haram again.
“In a place like Adamawa, we had seven local governments that were taken over by the Boko Haram. As we are talking, only Madagali is remaining; and I believe in the next few days, we will retake Madagali.”
Cheer up Nigerians, victory is nigh!
This is serious warning to those hooligans who pelted the convoy of the president when he visited their states to seek their votes. Trying to attack the president – just trying – is treasonable offence. If one of the president’s soldier-guards shoots you, “nothing will happen”.
The president delivered this warning himself: “Attempting to attack the president is treasonable; it’s treasonable offence.
“The president is protected by soldiers, not even police. The president is the only office holder that is guarded by soldiers. Every other person, including the vice president, it’s police.
“The idea is that an attempt on the president president is treasonable; and you could be killed and nothing happens.”
Stop the violence; you could be killed. You have been warned!
Just in case you’re still mad with Attahiru Jega for postponing the elections and you’re bent on personally expressing your grievances to him, do not be misled by the magnitude of his office to think he would be so impossible to access. Well, the truth is: “Jega doesn’t travel much”. You only need to find your way to the INEC headquarters, locate his office, and present your case.
“I am a sitting president; that is the difference between me and other candidates. Whatever happens in the country is on my head,” Jonathan said while answering a question on the tension-soak campaign environment.
“If political parties behave poorly, the international community phones me. The UN secretary-general calls me regularly, other presidents call me regularly. It’s just like INEC. If INEC conducts this election poorly, it’s on my head.
“If INEC conducts this election like they did in 2011, I’m the one who takes the glory. Jega doesn’t travel much. Wherever I go, heads of states appreciate what Nigeria did in 2011, so I smile.”
If you are one of those expecting the president to publicly censure militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo (popularly known as Tompolo), for his many threats of violence if the president is not re-elected, quit dreaming! Wake up; smell the coffee! Asked on Wednesday if he was bothered by the utterances of Tompolo and others, the president answered the question without answering it. He did mutter some words, but he did not mention the name ‘Tompolo’. End of discussion.
Sometimes, it is amazing the scale of vitriol dotting the social media from supporters of the two leading presidential candidates. Of course, some of these social-media supporters are ‘just doing their job’. They’re only earning their daily bread. But so many others are not even registered members of any political party.
Let me help Jonathan pass a message to this second category of people in a manner he never intended but is apt nevertheless: It would be tragic for you to lose prized friendships or even your life because of humans who are only after their interests.
These are the president’s exact words: “At any particular time, a politician’s interest may change. And if he feels that if I go to the left, it is easier for me to realise my interest, then there’s a tendency for the politician to go to the left.”
While you’re busy screaming about the opponent of your preferred candidate, your candidate is busy crossing from left to right and back to left!
If you were expecting to hear that “stealing is not corruption”, I am sorry to disappoint you. What I have to tell you is that “stealing is not good”.
Jonathan has been harangued and pilloried for saying at the last chat that “stealing is not corruption”. But has he ever said stealing is good? This is one of the reasons he considers himself the world’s most criticised president.
Asked to speak on the matter during the chat, he said: “The good thing is that those who are making that statement have not told me that the president said stealing is good. I made that statement because I quoted the former CJN, Dahiru Musdapher…
“I quoted him; it is not as if I said it… He said that because of this corruption, he took the files that were talking about corruption, and when he looked through the files, more than 80 percent of them were just stealing.
“Got to a typical state in the south-west, even in Lagos, and say that man is corrupt, they would let him walk away. But when you say this person is ole, they start stoning that person… Ole should be called ole, thief should be called thief.”
As long as the president has not said stealing is good, we must all accept that “stealing is not corruption” and “corruption is not stealing”!
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