I’m calm ‘cos I’m not desperate, says Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan says he remains calm in the face of attacks by the opposition because “I am not desperate to continue in office”.

He was speaking in Abuja on Friday at the launch of “The People’s Choice: The Story of President Goodluck Jonathan”, a four-part biography written on him by Charles Imokhai, a reverend father.

Jonathan said: “[My message] to politicians is that for all of us who want to serve, we should ‎be ready to serve but we should not be desperate to serve our people.

“Sometimes, people ask me that Mr. President, from what we read and what we see, we see you still smiling and unruffled.

“Yes, nothing will really ruffle me because I am willing and ready to serve but I am not desperate to serve. That is what keeps me going.

“All of us who want to hold offices from the least, a counsellor of a ward or a chairman of a council, a member of the state house of assembly or member of house of representatives, senate, governor or the president, if all of us are always ready and willing to serve our people but we are not desperate in our mission, then of course Nigeria will be a better place for all of us.”

He said most accounts of his life so far published “are not accurate” but that he would write the most accurate one after leaving office.

Jonathan also explained his passion for education, saying: “My dream is that one day, a product of almajiri school will stand here as a president of this country.

“That is why I have been very passionate about education and I tell people that I grew up from a very poor background. But luckily Nigeria does not operate a caste system. If I was to be an Indian, I probably wouldn’t even dream of being a commissioner in my state.

“This is because in a caste society some people permanently belong to a lower class‎ but Nigeria is an open society, so you can move from the lowest level to the top. But for you to do that one key thing  is education and that is why I lay so much emphasis on education.

“That was why when I came here, I decided that every state must have a federal university.”

Yakubu Gowon, a retired general and former head of state, acted as the chairman of the book launch after Yusuff Maitama Sule had to travel back to Kano reportedly to attend to his ailing wife.

Over N170 million was realised from the launch “for social projects nationwide”, according to the author.