Full Transcript: President Obama’s Speech On Immigration Reform

My fellow Americans, tonight, I’d like to talk with you about immigration.

For more than 200 years, our tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world has given us a tremendous advantage over other nations. It’s kept us youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. It has shaped our character as a people with limitless possibilities – people not trapped by our past, but able to remake ourselves as we choose.

But today, our immigration system is broken, and everybody knows it.

Families who enter our country the right way and play by the rules watch others flout the rules. Business owners who offer their workers good wages and benefits see the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by paying them far less. All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America. And undocumented immigrants who desperately want to embrace those responsibilities see little option but to remain in the shadows, or risk their families being torn apart.

It’s been this way for decades. And for decades, we haven’t done much about it.

When I took office, I committed to fixing this broken immigration system. And I began by doing what I could to secure our borders. Today, we have more agents and technology deployed to secure our southern border than at any time in our history. And over the past six years, illegal border crossings have been cut by more than half. Although this summer, there was a brief spike in unaccompanied children being apprehended at our border, the number of such children is now actually lower than it’s been in nearly two years. Overall, the number of people trying to cross our border illegally is at its lowest level since the 1970s. Those are the facts.

Meanwhile, I worked with Congress on a comprehensive fix, and last year, 68 Democrats, Republicans, and Independents came together to pass a bipartisan bill in the Senate. It wasn’t perfect. It was a compromise, but it reflected common sense. It would have doubled the number of border patrol agents, while giving undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship if they paid a fine, started paying their taxes, and went to the back of the line. And independent experts said that it would help grow our economy and shrink our deficits.

Had the House of Representatives allowed that kind of a bill a simple yes-or-no vote, it would have passed with support from both parties, and today it would be the law. But for a year and a half now, Republican leaders in the House have refused to allow that simple vote.

Now, I continue to believe that the best way to solve this problem is by working together to pass that kind of common sense law. But until that happens, there are actions I have the legal authority to take as President – the same kinds of actions taken by Democratic and Republican Presidents before me – that will help make our immigration system more fair and more just.

Tonight, I am announcing those actions.

First, we’ll build on our progress at the border with additional resources for our law enforcement personnel so that they can stem the flow of illegal crossings, and speed the return of those who do cross over.

Second, I will make it easier and faster for high-skilled immigrants, graduates, and entrepreneurs to stay and contribute to our economy, as so many business leaders have proposed.

Third, we’ll take steps to deal responsibly with the millions of undocumented immigrants who already live in our country.

I want to say more about this third issue, because it generates the most passion and controversy. Even as we are a nation of immigrants, we are also a nation of laws. Undocumented workers broke our immigration laws, and I believe that they must be held accountable – especially those who may be dangerous. That’s why, over the past six years, deportations of criminals are up 80 percent. And that’s why we’re going to keep focusing enforcement resources on actual threats to our security. Felons, not families. Criminals, not children. Gang members, not a mother who’s working hard to provide for her kids. We’ll prioritize, just like law enforcement does every day.

But even as we focus on deporting criminals, the fact is, millions of immigrants – in every state, of every race and nationality – will still live here illegally. And let’s be honest – tracking down, rounding up, and deporting millions of people isn’t realistic. Anyone who suggests otherwise isn’t being straight with you. It’s also not who we are as Americans. After all, most of these immigrants have been here a long time. They work hard, often in tough, low-paying jobs. They support their families. They worship at our churches. Many of their kids are American-born or spent most of their lives here, and their hopes, dreams, and patriotism are just like ours.

As my predecessor, President Bush, once put it: “They are a part of American life.”

Now here’s the thing: we expect people who live in this country to play by the rules. We expect that those who cut the line will not be unfairly rewarded. So we’re going to offer the following deal: If you’ve been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you’re willing to pay your fair share of taxes – you’ll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily, without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law.

That’s what this deal is. Now let’s be clear about what it isn’t. This deal does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently. It does not apply to anyone who might come to America illegally in the future. It does not grant citizenship, or the right to stay here permanently, or offer the same benefits that citizens receive – only Congress can do that. All we’re saying is we’re not going to deport you.

I know some of the critics of this action call it amnesty. Well, it’s not. Amnesty is the immigration system we have today – millions of people who live here without paying their taxes or playing by the rules, while politicians use the issue to scare people and whip up votes at election time.

That’s the real amnesty – leaving this broken system the way it is. Mass amnesty would be unfair. Mass deportation would be both impossible and contrary to our character. What I’m describing is accountability – a commonsense, middle ground approach: If you meet the criteria, you can come out of the shadows and get right with the law. If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter the U.S. illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up.

The actions I’m taking are not only lawful, they’re the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican President and every single Democratic President for the past half century. And to those Members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill. I want to work with both parties to pass a more permanent legislative solution. And the day I sign that bill into law, the actions I take will no longer be necessary. Meanwhile, don’t let a disagreement over a single issue be a dealbreaker on every issue. That’s not how our democracy works, and Congress certainly shouldn’t shut down our government again just because we disagree on this. Americans are tired of gridlock. What our country needs from us right now is a common purpose – a higher purpose.

Most Americans support the types of reforms I’ve talked about tonight. But I understand the disagreements held by many of you at home. Millions of us, myself included, go back generations in this country, with ancestors who put in the painstaking work to become citizens. So we don’t like the notion that anyone might get a free pass to American citizenship. I know that some worry immigration will change the very fabric of who we are, or take our jobs, or stick it to middle-class families at a time when they already feel like they’ve gotten the raw end of the deal for over a decade. I hear these concerns. But that’s not what these steps would do. Our history and the facts show that immigrants are a net plus for our economy and our society. And I believe it’s important that all of us have this debate without impugning each other’s character.

Because for all the back-and-forth of Washington, we have to remember that this debate is about something bigger. It’s about who we are as a country, and who we want to be for future generations.

Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a system where workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law? Or are we a nation that gives them a chance to make amends, take responsibility, and give their kids a better future?

Are we a nation that accepts the cruelty of ripping children from their parents’ arms? Or are we a nation that values families, and works to keep them together?

Are we a nation that educates the world’s best and brightest in our universities, only to send them home to create businesses in countries that compete against us? Or are we a nation that encourages them to stay and create jobs, businesses, and industries right here in America?

That’s what this debate is all about. We need more than politics as usual when it comes to immigration; we need reasoned, thoughtful, compassionate debate that focuses on our hopes, not our fears.

I know the politics of this issue are tough. But let me tell you why I have come to feel so strongly about it. Over the past few years, I have seen the determination of immigrant fathers who worked two or three jobs, without taking a dime from the government, and at risk at any moment of losing it all, just to build a better life for their kids. I’ve seen the heartbreak and anxiety of children whose mothers might be taken away from them just because they didn’t have the right papers. I’ve seen the courage of students who, except for the circumstances of their birth, are as American as Malia or Sasha; students who bravely come out as undocumented in hopes they could make a difference in a country they love. These people – our neighbors, our classmates, our friends – they did not come here in search of a free ride or an easy life. They came to work, and study, and serve in our military, and above all, contribute to America’s success.

Tomorrow, I’ll travel to Las Vegas and meet with some of these students, including a young woman named Astrid Silva. Astrid was brought to America when she was four years old. Her only possessions were a cross, her doll, and the frilly dress she had on. When she started school, she didn’t speak any English. She caught up to the other kids by reading newspapers and watching PBS, and became a good student. Her father worked in landscaping. Her mother cleaned other people’s homes. They wouldn’t let Astrid apply to a technology magnet school for fear the paperwork would out her as an undocumented immigrant – so she applied behind their back and got in. Still, she mostly lived in the shadows – until her grandmother, who visited every year from Mexico, passed away, and she couldn’t travel to the funeral without risk of being found out and deported. It was around that time she decided to begin advocating for herself and others like her, and today, Astrid Silva is a college student working on her third degree.

Are we a nation that kicks out a striving, hopeful immigrant like Astrid – or are we a nation that finds a way to welcome her in?

Scripture tells us that we shall not oppress a stranger, for we know the heart of a stranger – we were strangers once, too.

My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too. And whether our forebears were strangers who crossed the Atlantic, or the Pacific, or the Rio Grande, we are here only because this country welcomed them in, and taught them that to be an American is about something more than what we look like, or what our last names are, or how we worship. What makes us Americans is our shared commitment to an ideal – that all of us are created equal, and all of us have the chance to make of our lives what we will.

That’s the country our parents and grandparents and generations before them built for us. That’s the tradition we must uphold. That’s the legacy we must leave for those who are yet to come.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless this country we love.





Sent from my HTC

The Conclave Of Shame At Eagle Square, Abuja By Wumi Akintide

Six years in office as president is more than enough for him to clean up the mess in Nigeria. If the man is allowed to serve another 4 years in that office he would become the longest serving president in all of Nigerian history. If Nigeria was a very serious country, it shouldn’t take that long to know if President Jonathan was the right material.
Much as I respect the institution the man represents, I do not hesitate in calling the man a pathological liar. In a more civilized country, the man would not have accepted if nominated and would not have served if elected because the man has been a total disaster for Nigeria and a huge embarrassment given where the country is today.

I am not a fan of former President Obasanjo, but I respect the man for standing on principle and speaking the truth to power by reminding President Jonathan at every opportunity that he lied when he told his party and Nigerians he would only serve one term and quit. In a more civilized country the president would never have been allowed to get away with such a bloody lie given the insecurity and the siege mentality half the country has endured under his watch.

The hundreds or thousands of paid supporting crowds at the Eagle Square, who have been singing Mr. Jonathan’s praise and pretending that the man was being magnanimous in agreeing to run for another term are enemies of Nigeria who benefit the most from the President as their bread winner. They are more interested in their own self-interest and keeping their jobs and privileged positions in government than the best interest of Nigeria.  

I don’t belong to any party in Nigeria but I have a big stake on what happens to Nigeria in the interest of my children and grandchildren and generations yet unborn. The gathering of shame and deceit at the Eagle Square today in Abuja is disgraceful to say the least. The praise singers and “Ojelus” who spoke at the square praising President Jonathan as the best president Nigeria has ever had are being disingenuous and dishonest. Nigeria is much worse off today than it was when Jonathan took over from Umaru Yar Adua.

Every election in a democracy is a job interview. The conventional wisdom demands that the nation settles for the best candidate who is coming in to become part of the solution and not part of the nation’s problem. I imagine that the two candidates to emerge from the two dominant parties are now going to be President Jonathan and former Head of State, Mohammadu Buhari, given everything we know today and barring any unforeseeable last minute horse trading and corruption, which has become an incurable cancer under President Jonathan. I saw President Jonathan ordered the release of the passport of the new Emir of Kano to him in a quid pro quo kind of arrangement because the president now wants to incur The Emir’s favor before the 2015 election.

I saw the same president dressed as a Benin Chief paying homage to Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo while asking the monarch to please support his re-election as president. The respected monarch who I know very well in the Federal Public Service was happy to oblige at a time one of his sons just decamped from the APC to go join the PDP.

I watched the whole scenario on YouTube and all I could do was shake my head at the bread and butter politics we all play in Nigeria. I don’t fault the Oba of Benin for granting The President audience, but I think the Oba played a little politics of his own when he said his ancestors and himself are now favorably disposed to The President.

I guess the powerful monarch told the President what he thought he wanted to hear. We all play politics with the future of our country by not telling the truth to all our leaders. It is unfortunate but that is the truth.

The PDP would have more credibility with me if governor Akpabio were to be their flag bearer against General Buhari. President Jonathan, as far as I am concerned, is a failure and he does not deserve to be re-elected based on his track record so far. The best option for Goodluck Jonathan would have been for him to preside over that election not as a candidate, but as a transformational president whose ultimate goal is to ensure a free and fair election to give Nigerians a free chance to pick the winner without let or hindrance.

Six years in office as president is more than enough for him to clean up the mess in Nigeria. If the man is allowed to serve another 4 years in that office he would become the longest serving president in all of Nigerian history. If Nigeria was a very serious country, it shouldn’t take that long to know if President Jonathan was the right material.

Prolonging his presidency would surely be a big bonus to those who have benefitted the most from his tenure but a great tragedy for Nigeria.

Murtala Mohammed was in office for only 200 days and within that time frame the man changed Nigeria. President John F Kennedy was in office for just over 2 years and within that time frame, the young man inspired and changed America by letting America believe she was still the greatest country on Earth.

He challenged America and forced the Soviet Union to second place in the race to conquer space. America responded to his leadership and she accomplished the mission in 8 years of hard work.

President Abraham Lincoln ruled America for just 4 years from 1861 to 1865 and within that time frame he changed America forever with his Emancipation proclamation. It is not a matter of how long, but how effective.

Obafemi Awolowo never became president for one day but his record and legacies as first premier of western region are still treasured in Nigeria till tomorrow because the man was larger than life in his accomplishments, despite the attempts by some of our fellow countrymen to blackmail him because they were just too jealous of his achievements.

If Jonathan is a great president, we would all know because you cannot hide light. If he was a truly transformational president his agenda for Nigeria would be totally different. He would have been the first to declare his assets as a role model to all his ministers and top aides like Reuben Abati and Okupe.

He would have been the first to lead his party majority in the House and the Senate to annul the notion of granting immunity to president and governors while they were still in office. While wait till the Governors leave office before you prosecute them for any stealing in office?

Under the old dispensation how many governors or past presidents have ever been brought to justice after they leave office. Jonathan could not do it because and even if he wanted to do it his first lady would not let him because the woman is not only greedy, but power-drunk.

If Nigerians would let her, she would want to be Corazon Aquino of Emelda Marcos or Mrs. Mugabe who is looking to succeed her husband as President of Zimbabwe. Failing that, she might be hoping to become the “Amayanabo” of Okrika if there is anything like that.

I recall Murtala Mohammed asking the Federal Government to confiscate his row of 20 houses in Kano he had built with money he illegally acquired from his days as a commanding officer in one of the Nigerian units that fought in Biafra. He did that to give himself a clear conscience to declare war against corrupt civil servants in his Government.

I paid a short visit to Calabar during one of my visits to Akwa Ibom and I saw some of the projects initiated and implemented by Governor Akpabio of the PDP. I actually visited the free trade zone he created and the Calabar Stadium, which is now completed. I would vote for that man as president any day because that is the kind of man that can use the limitless federal wealth to repeat some of the miracles he has performed in his state.

I could care less about his party label. He is far more qualified in my judgment than President Jonathan who only claims to be a transformational president by name.

I cannot help but wonder what kind of bedroom chat he regularly holds with his first lady. If the man cannot control or discipline his first lady how can he possibly control the excesses of some of his corrupt ministers?

I recall Obafemi Awolowo as premier of western region forcing one of his ministers to refund the esta code he had drawn from government on the presumption he had gone on an official trip with his wife. While the minister was away Awolowo had arranged a state dinner with an invitation mailed to the minister’s home. The wife got the invitation and he showed up at the dinner for her husband.

Awolowo saw her. He never said a word. When the husband returned Awolowo told the minister his wife came to dinner while he was away.

The minister knew, there and then, he was in trouble because he knew Awolowo very well. Before anyone asked him to refund the esta code he quickly refunded the money claiming his wife was too sick to go with him. Ministers who use official cars to drive their girlfriend knew enough not to dodge inside their car if they were driving on the same road with the premier.

That was Awolowo at his best. Those who accuse Awolowo of corruption just did not know the man. They only hear of him by reputation. The Igbos who said Awolowo committed suicide probably never heard that Baba slept alone for more than 20 years before his death. How could the man have committed suicide with a toothbrush in his hand? The man has had a heart problem for a long time. He simply had a cardiac rest on that fateful day and he died in his bathroom because he slept alone.

Awolowo was a disciplinarian who spent no less than one hour at lunch or dinner table because he liked to chew his food very well. That man was something else. I am able to say it because I have watched him do it. Those who knew him very closely would tell you the same thing. He once told me he attended the auction where his house was being offered for auction because he could not afford to pay his mortgage.

Every day I spent working for him at the Federal Ministry of Finance was a special blessing as I look back on my life and his. The President cannot be a transformational president if he does not have the discipline to even stop his excessive drinking which was a habit he probably learnt as a young boy whose parents used to brew “Ogogoro” as an occupation in addition to canoe building.

I listen to all of the speeches made about him at the Eagle Square relayed on You Tube to Nigerians in Diaspora. All I could do is scratch my head about the sheer naiveté or stupidity of most of the speakers. Senate President David Mark who is hoping to succeed Jonathan at some point in the future was very deceitful in his remarks when he thanked the president for heeding the call of Nigerians for him to run and calling him the only Nigerian that can be trusted to lead Nigeria.

That was nonsense and David Mark should have known better. Only those who enjoy the lawlessness and brigandage of his presidency are dying to see him run. The rappers and the musicians who entertained the gathering sang glowingly about the president because they were paid to do so. I don’t blame them. They have to justify their pay for the empty spectacle.

Governor Akpabio and David Mark said more Nigerians supported Jonathan than opposed him. That was another big lie. If the election in 2015 were free and fair Buhari would defeat Jonathan by a landslide. It is going to be “Bako Daya” all the way for Jonathan. Kenneth Nnamani speaking for the southeast said President Jonathan has transformed the railways, power generation and agriculture and the Nigerian economy and that only Jonathan could construct the second Niger Bridge and the Enugu/Onitsha Highway.

Another big lie! Senator Nnamani should go tell that to the mountains. If you believe that, you will believe anything.

Attahiru Bafarawa speaking for the northwest and Hassan Adamu speaking for the embattled northeast where Boko Haram now reigns supreme both spoke glowingly about Jonathan telling him that 7 million out of the 17.5 million signatures urging the president to run have come from Bornu, Adamawa and Mubi area. That could never be as most of the Kanuris blame the Jonathan Government for all of their woes and deprivation under Boko Haram.

Only 24 hours before the Abuja gathering, no less than 47 school children were murdered in cold blood and several hundreds wounded by a Boko Haram bomber.

Insecurity in Nigeria has reached its highest peak under Jonathan’s watch. In more stable and civilized countries that mayhem should have been enough to cancel the show of shame in Abuja altogether because it clearly showed the Emperor was clearly naked.

Where exactly is the outrage of Nigerians as Jonathan has to bear vicarious responsibility for what is currently happening under his watch as leader of the country?

Why would they be begging Jonathan to run when they view him as their enemy number one for letting Boko Haram devastate their home land while the military sent to protect them by Jonathan always desert their posting leaving the lawful Kanuris to their own devices to avoid slaughter by Boko Haram.

Why would they be praising Jonathan for lying about signing a peace plan that Shekau, the Boko Haram leader, has denounced as the imagination of a lunatic?

Jerry Gana spoke at the rally for the Middle Belt. I know Jerry Ghana, a good orator who could not mention one good thing the president had done.

Since the guy could not lie he simply pledged his support and left the stage. Hassan Adamu also spoke for the northeast while Mr. Peter Esele of the Trade Union Congress joined the” Alleluyah boys” to borrow a cliché from the bombastic Patrick Obahiagbon of Edo State. Bode George who was indicted for corruption in the Nigerian Ports Authority was spokesman for the South West. He too said nothing of significance because he knew the president was an empty barrel.

How could Nigerians be so gullible to swallow hook, line and sinker all the rubbish said to eulogize a president who has left Nigeria in a far worse shape in 6 years of drift. I just feel sorry for Nigeria. The real people supporting Jonathan today apart from his kith and kin in the South/South are the Igbos in particular because they figured it out that Jonathan whose middle name is “Azikiwe“ and “Ebele” meaning “Mercy” in Igbo language is one of their own. I don’t blame them.

No other president since the Biafra War has shown more deference to the Igbos than Jonathan Administration. If you don’t believe me just look at the number of high visibility ministries assigned to Igbo ministers today? Igbo will support anybody ready to identify with them.

Jonathan cannot do wrong as far as the Igbos are concerned. I don’t blame them because the Igbos were neglected and discriminated against for years just because they had the effrontery to challenge Nigeria during their futile Biafra War? It was a wrong move in my opinion for Nigeria not to let bygone be bygone in a war where” there was no victor and no vanquished” according to Jack Gowon, the then Commander-in-Chief.

Jonathan has corrected that injustice and shabby treatment by his loyalty to the Igbos. I only hope the Igbos would not for that reason push Jonathan to the edge as they keep on asking for more like the proverbial Oliver Twist.

I am opposed to Jonathan not because of his closeness to the Igbos. I am opposed to him and Nigerians should be opposed to him based on the facts.

Above are some of the reasons the PDP should never have allowed Jonathan to run. Jonathanism has been described by many as a life-threatening virus caused by notorious multi-drug resistant organism called “GEJ”.

Its main symptoms include poverty, indiscipline, bribery, corruption, theft, and graft, insecurity, unemployment, poor education, bad roads, poor healthcare delivery system and regular power outages.

Some have described the drugs to treat the virus as Atikucycline, Buharimycin, Kwankwancillin Amaechicillin,Tinubustan which are all available at APC Pharmacy nation-wide. I gather all of this information is from some of the tracks I receive everyday on Facebook or the Internet.

While they may all sound funny or made up by people opposed to Jonathan, the information provides credibility to some of the things being said about President Jonathan as we move closer and closer to 2015. 4 more years of Jonathan are going to be a train wreck for Nigeria if the truth must be told.

If the choice of who wins were left to Jonathan and Buhari at this point I can see Buhari scoring a home run if the election is free and fair in 2015. The two candidates are not new to leadership and they both have a track record. Buhari is by no means a perfect candidate but if you look at the needs of Nigeria right now, I think it will be difficult to see how Jonathan can beat Buhari in a free and fair contest.

The Nigerian military is losing very badly to the rag tag army of Boko Haram as we speak and the Commander-in-Chief says Buhari should be the one to take the blame. Can you believe that? The loss of the Nigerian side is a reflection on our current lackluster leadership at Aso Rock in Abuja. Make no mistake about that. Jonathan is another Dukakis in a Commander-in-Chief uniform. If you trust your security to him, you are a dead man walking.

I take off my hat for Sahara Reporters for doing such an excellent job doing what the main stream press in Nigeria has woefully failed to do because they have been compromised by a very corrupt Federal Government.

The demystification of Reuben Abati is one proof of that. Who could have believed that Reuben Abati with all his powerful editorials in the Concord was only paving way for himself to be sufficiently noticed by government so he can go from being the defender of the poor and the downtrodden to becoming the mouth organ and the hatchet man of the most corrupt and repressive government in Nigerian History?

I am truly amazed to tell you the truth as I now listen to Reuben Abati defend the indefensible and doing so with a bold face because he has eaten out of the forbidden fruit of power in Nigeria. He would suddenly realize like Adam and Eve that he is naked and he would have to go into hiding or seek some clothing to cover up his nakedness as a former top-notch journalist who has caught the bug of corruption.

If I have to choose between Jonathan and Buhari in 2015, my choice will be Buhari by a landslide. It is time for Nigeria to give the opposition a chance to prove their mettle. Nigeria should emulate the United States and other stable democracies by saying “no” to a one party dictatorship that PDP represents in Nigeria. If the APC cannot beat the PDP in 2015 with all the atrocities I have itemized in this write-up, Nigerians should kiss goodbye to democracy.

I rest my case.

Why Goodluck Jonathan Does Not Belong here, By Olúfémi Táíwò

No, dear reader, you are not seeing double. The title is correct and it is not a reprise of an earlier piece bearing a similar title on Muhammadu Buhari. And, no, this artitle has not been prompted by any need I felt to balance my take and pretend to be even-handed in my approach to what seem like the principal candidates for the office of president of Nigeria in 2015.

Should I find that one candidate is superior to another in my considered judgment, I would not fail to point that out. Neither have I been motivated nor goaded into writing by the hackneyed responses of some Buhari supporters who barely or inattentively read the earlier piece which made clear that the royal road to a second term for Goodluck Jonathan would be a Buhari or even an Atiku candidacy in the presidential elections next year.

I would like to start with a declaration. Jonathan will get a second term as president not because he deserves one but because the All Progressives Congress (APC) is so politically inept and morally bankrupt, not to talk of its being devoid of a vision, that it is proving incapable of offering Nigerians a real alternative to both Jonathan and his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

To locate the case that I wish to make, we need to go back to 2010. The then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was about to settle on Nuhu Ribadu for its presidential ticket. My worries then about Ribadu will be articulated in a future piece on him and his so-called defection. I shared with friends back then that I thought that the 2011 elections were going to be a watershed event in Nigeria’s political history, especially at the federal level. I said then that the 2011 presidential election was an open one with absolutely no favourite candidate. It was an election that the CAN could win with Ribadu atop its ticket given his pedigree, at that time, despite what I considered his lack of principles demonstrated after his initial removal as head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

What was crucial was that he was clean, had what we would call extremely high favourableness and extremely low negativity ratings across the country. What is more, he would be running against a twice-accidental public servant—first as state governor and, later, as president—with no personality and barely in control of his party machinery. Of course, there was an important caveat. Of greater importance was whether or not the sponsoring party and its powers that be were willing to fun and execute a full-fledged presidential campaign. As all who follow politics in Nigeria know too well, not only did the CAN not run a decent campaign; it did not run a campaign at all!

It beggared its candidate and was busy negotiating an ugly power-sharing pact with another party. It ended up with an unprincipled directive to its supporters to split their ticket voting ACN locally and a different party at the presidential level. Thus was lost the possibility of a campaign and a candidacy that would, at least on paper, have rattled the cages of the PDP and positioned the ACN as a genuine government-in-waiting. The party lost that opportunity and the same mentality or maybe I should say that its realization that that opportunity once lost has entirely escaped its group led it to the sterile merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the remnants of a handful of no-name parties to form the APC.

Let us get back to Jonathan. Here was an accidental president who first had to do battle as Vice President with the cabal around his terminally ill boss and to require the support of nonpartisan others to step into his constitutionally-sanctioned role as successor to his principal. He became president by default. He has been there now for six years having won his own mandate for the last four in 2011. Although the latter-day Youths Earnestly Ask for Goodluck Jonathan [Remember Abacha?] otherwise known as Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) as well as hacks like Chika Okpala now are a ubiquitous presence on Channels Television joyfully trying to sell us on the out-of-this-world transformation wrought in the country by Jonathan’s administration, I think it is fair to say that the evidence may not be there for nonpartisan observers like me to see.

When he took over, power was the problem in Nigeria. Six years later, power—its generation and distribution—is still the problem in Nigeria. Maybe the signal transformation that Jonathan has wrought is the undeniable fact that we are a certified “stand-by power” economy! By contrast, whatever people hated about Olusegun Obasanjo, everybody talks about his signal achievement in the telecommunications sector. Even if he had needed to do a selling when he was in office, no amount of shilling by any number of spokesperson and “transformation ambassadors” would have succeeded in pulling wool over Nigerians’ eyes seven years on had it been a false transformation. I am not sure but it appears that the reason Jonathan needs so many snake-oil salespersons around him is precisely that the so-called transformation agenda is a certified dud!

Yet, I do not think that the failure of the “transformation agenda” is enough to say that Jonathan does not belong in our future. Obasanjo wasted his first term ensconced in the suffocating embrace of some of the dregs of Nigerian politics. His second was his term of redemption. Jonathan’s people, I am sure, would want to argue that he needs his second term to secure his legacy and correct the mistakes of his first term. I am even willing to go along with the position that finishing Umar Yar’Adua’s term should not count given some of the opposition to his accession to office within his own party.

No doubt, Jonathan would not be the first in the annals of the presidential system borrowed from the United States to ask for second term after a not-so-distinguished first term. That is the nature of the beast. If I may use a boxing analogy, however poorly a champion fights in a title defence, the challenger must beat him comprehensively, preferably, knock him out, in order to come out as the new champion. In the present case, Jonathan must have chalked up some failure or failures that literally make him unfit to continue in office. It is this signal failure that, I argue, must disqualify Jonathan from being a part of Nigeria’s future in the office of president.

Here is the case. When all is said and done, whatever the form of the state, in all of civilized history, no state has or deserves to have legitimacy that is not able to protect its subjects or citizens. In other words, the ultimate function of government, the very reason for its institution is to guarantee the governed a reasonable expectation that their lives, poor, rich or merely okay, would unfold under reasonably secure conditions procured by their governors, the basis of their legitimacy, without the governed having to revert to self-help and its attendant limitations and conundrums. When a government fails spectacularly at this most basic duty, its legitimacy fount dries up quickly and if it does not voluntarily leave office, it usually does not want for challenges to its tenure.

Jonathan’s signal failure lies in its absolutely horrendous record when it comes to securing Nigerians in the leading of their lives, howsoever miserable those lives are for the teeming majority of Nigerians. The undisputable monument to shame for the Jonathan administration in this regard is its utter ineptitude in its handling of the Boko Haram insurgency. When Jonathan took over from Yar’Adua, the insurgency did not have a single square kilometre of territory under its control. Six years later, almost the entire northeast region of Nigeria is under occupation by forces that are not those of the Nigerian state.

Unfortunately, ours is not a decent society. Were we a decent society, the government that has presided over such loss of territory would be put on its back heels and scrambling to justify its continuation in office. What makes our situation worse is that the worst impact of the insurgency is being borne by those who cannot even resort to self-help, e.g., forming vigilante groups: children. The kidnap of the Chibok girls is much more than a symbol: it is the ultimate indictment of a government that has absolutely no sense of its responsibility or is too thick to know when it has failed woefully.

Given that the president is the head of the political arm as well as the head of the military arm—he is not called the Commander-in-Chief for nothing—if there is any meaning to those titles, it must include taking responsibility. It is not enough for the president to keep changing his national security team as if its members were diapers. If he keeps picking the wrong people to run his national security team, he is responsible. If he appoints the right people but does not inspire them to perform or under-equips them, he is responsible. The funny thing about being responsible is that it sometimes requires leaving office when the failure is repeated in a pattern or is particularly catastrophic. Both conditions are met in the saga of the Chibok girls.

As I said earlier, the Chibok girls’ case is the ultimate monument to the shame of a government that is simply incapable of protecting its citizens, especially its most vulnerable citizens—its children—who, by the way, must be nurtured and protected at all costs if the polity is going to have a future at all. And the girls are not alone. As I write this, news just broke of another attack on a high school in Potiskum, Yobe State, involving the deaths of another 49 young lives and scores injured. Meanwhile, the PDP candidate for office of governor of Zamfara State, Ibrahim Gusau, and his supporters are dancing shameless on Channels Television at the launch of his campaign at the same time that the world is being fed news of the carnage in Potiskum! Why bother about a slaughter of kids in school when the important task of launching a campaign for office is on queue!

No, the girls are not alone. Before them, 43 boys were murdered in their sleep at another school and the president, just like his party representative in Zamfara State at the moment, and the time-servers that wait on him hand and foot did not see anything wrong with hosting a party in celebration of a dubious centenary of the fleecing of our agency as a people in the constitution of our de-formed polity. There have been other kidnaps of other children and women since Chibok. None of these matters to our president who is preoccupied with securing a second-term that, I dare say, he has not earned.

Notice that I have not dwelt on other security failures—bombings across the entire northern Nigeria region; pipeline vandalisation and oil bunkering and the privatisation of security in these sphere to erstwhile bandits of the Niger delta region; the fact that not even the Nigerian government dare operate in the public square of its own capital for fear of a repetition of a previous Independence Day bombing a few years back. National day is now celebrated in the President’s living room. No matter, just let me have a second term, says the president and his verandah boys and girls. I don’t need to remind Nigerians of the government’s failures and their gory details.

All that matters is the second term. It is almost as if the president’s minions know their s has been a disastrous term, almost mirroring Obasanjo’s first term in its sterility in the area of notable achievements. Their obsession as well as that of their principal with a second term puts the lie to their claim of transformation effected by this government. Were this president secure in his much-trumpeted achievements, his place in our history should be more than assured. I am convinced that his handlers know that there is not much legacy to bequeath. That explains their maniacal determination to wring a second term out of the Nigerian electorate.

One of the verandah boys came out the other day to say that no president resigns in the midst of a war. Really? A proper education would have told him that Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) quit while the Vietnam War was still raging. He could have soldiered on believing, as I think our president probably does, that he had a divine mandate to continue the war and win it in his second term. His greatness consisted in part in his realisation that if did not already have a legacy at home, given what it would take for him to continue in office in a second term, even if could win one, he threw in the towel and refused to present himself for re-election.

The latter issue is where the historical similarities between Johnson and Jonathan are most instructive. Nigeria, right now, is a country riven by severe divisions. Ironically, that division is Jonathan’s ticket to a second term and he is busy stoking it, especially the religious one. What with a ‘pilgrimmage’ to Jerusalem prior to declaring his second-term ambition and his resident “chaplain” in the person of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) president trying to pass him off as the elect of God and defender of Christians against Boko Haram!

Why would Jonathan not think of resigning or not seeking a second term? Ordinarily, in addition to the self-serving lies and proclamations about service to the people that are standard fare for politicians, we may think of ego as a justification for clinging to office. But, and this is the rub, Jonathan, like other public office holders in our country, has no ego worthy of the name. I am positive that Jonathan does not wake up any morning and worry about his place in history, his contributions to humanity, how the world was before he came into it and how it would, pace his own contributions, when will have left it. In short, as I have written elsewhere, I do not see any evidence of a sense of self, of an individuality that would be hurt by failure and discomfited by the fate, unknown but most likely horrific, of 217 Chibok girls, or the fate of the other school children that have been killed, maimed—physically and psychologically—for life, or displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria while this sad presidency has lasted.

No it is not him or his personality that is at stake. After all, he is not in office as Goodluck Jonathan, simpliciter. He is in office rather as “the minority areas president”, “the south-south-in-chief”, “the first Ijaw-at-the-head-of-the-trough”, and any thought of resigning would not be in terms of Goodluck Jonathan the person but of removing the retinue of hangers-on in whose name he claims the presidency. This is the ultimate tragedy of an unthinking collectivist ethos and primordial even if antiquarian communalism that is the bane of our political discourse and practice today.

To admit that he has failed is not a personal thing: it is a collective failure tarnishing all respective collectivities just iterated. Additionally, the direct presence of the feeding trough, at the head of the table on which sits the “national cake”, will all be in jeopardy for those who feel entitled. Such is the mess that we call Nigerian politics today that even nonpartisans like me are not doing due diligence by putting on the table the question of the president’ current tenure and his worthiness for another term.

Is Jonathan going to get a second term? No thanks to the peculiarities of Nigerian politics and the criminal incompetence of his main opposition, Yes. Does he deserve one? Hell, NO! Here is a man who has no ideas, stands for nothing, has no vision and, yet, he is and will be president of what supposedly is the most important country of peoples of African descent on earth. What a people!

Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò teaches at the Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, U.S.A. He is also a member of the Premium Times editorial board.

APC: Shocking as President Jonathan Dancing On The Graves Of 48 Pupils Killed In Yobe

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as insensitive and callous the decision of President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his second term ambition a day after 48 pupils were killed and about 80 injured in a suicide bombing in Potiskum, Yobe state.

The party accused the president of dancing on the graves of the pupils as well as of all the victims of Boko Haram insurgency.

“Since this president has chosen to celebrate a national tragedy, Nigerians should also be ready to celebrate his electoral failure next year,” the party said on Tuesday through its national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed.

“Today, the three northeast states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe are in danger of being overrun by Boko Haram and over 650,000 Nigerians are internally displaced in those states by the insurgency. Yet, President Jonathan says he puts Nigerians first. Lies have never worn a bolder face. The truth is that for President Jonathan, it is Jonathan first, Jonathan second, Jonathan third, Jonathan always.”

It further said: “By his latest act of blatant hardheartedness, President Jonathan is only continuing along his well-trodden path of acting without deep introspection.

“When about 60 students were killed in the terror attack on the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, in February 2014, President Jonathan never visited the scene to commiserate with the families of the victims. When over 80 people were killed in the first Nyanya bombing in April 2014, President Jonathan went dancing ‘Azonto’ in Kano less than 48 hours later. And when almost 300 girls were freshly abducted in Chibok, President Jonathan neither acted fast enough to rescue the girls nor visited the village. His administration even denied anyone was abducted, until 19 days after.”

“This president has therefore established a pattern of putting his political interest above the security and welfare of Nigerians who voted him into office. This president has trampled upon the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria which makes the security and welfare of the citizenry the raison d’etre of the government’s existence. It is time for Nigerians to respond in kind by trampling on his political ambition and sending him back to Otuoke.”

The APC wondered what purpose the Safe School Initiative of the federal government was serving when 70 students were killed and more than 100 maimed within a week in two separate attacks targeting schools in Potiskum alone, adding that, “the Safe School Initiative will remain a mere tokenism until the fundamental problem of insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives, is conclusively addressed. Mr. President, what Nigerians want is not an isolated Safe Schools Initiative, but a Safe Nigeria Initiative.”

The party said it was usually the practice for leaders who seek re-election to tout the achievements that would justify their return, arguing, “that in the case of President Jonathan, there had been nothing but blood, tears, sorrow and the gnashing of teeth by Nigerians since he assumed office, hence he had nothing to showcase but lies.”

It wondered how the president could even ask Nigerians to re-elect him when he had wasted the mandate given to him in the first instance, adding that nothing showed the president’s incompetence and cluelessness more than the failure of his administration to provide security for the citizenry.”

“This is undoubtedly President Jonathan’s biggest and most fundamental failure. At times it goes beyond incompetence to perhaps even collusion, or how else does one explain that the rate and intensity of attacks have increased in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe since they were placed under a state of emergency last year?”

“How does one explain that more lives are being lost to the insurgency at a rate that is directly proportional to the increase in spending on defence and security? From $5.07 billion in 2010 to $7.12 billion in 2014, the Boko Haram Insurgency has fuelled increases in security spending to around 25% of annual federal government budget. In light of the rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP (put at N80.3 trillion or $509.9 billion), the yearly average for 2010-14, which is $6.58 billion, is equal to 1.3% of GDP, while the total for the 5 budget years amounts to 6.5% of Nigeria’s GDP.”

“Instead of asking Nigerians to vote for him again, President Jonathan should be apologising to Nigerians for wasting their mandate and explaining why, since his administration has increased security spending; declared and renewed emergency rule, issued propaganda claiming the capture and killing of Boko Haram members (including the leader Abubakar Shekau), destruction of Boko Haram camps, and countless assurances of improving security and winning the battle against Boko Haram, the empirical realities over the same period are that Boko Haram has become more daring and audacious in its attacks.”

The APC alleged that instead of transformation that the president promised Nigerians, he had delivered “transmogrification, with unprecedented corruption, runaway unemployment, erasure of hope, total darkness even with millions of Naira sunk into the power sector and trains that were grinding their way to a long-forgotten past of locomotives in an era of bullet trains.”

“President Jonathan, the Nigerians who turned up at the Eagle Square on Tuesday to witness your declaration may have looked vibrant and happy. Indeed, they were, because they have come to celebrate your imminent departure from office on the strength of their votes. While saying publicly that they will support you, there is no doubt that they are saying to themselves, never again,” the party said.

Emperor Jonathan, a disaster to Nigeria, says Unongo

A Second Republic Minister of Steel, Dr. Paul Unongo, has described President Goodluck Jonathan as a disaster to Nigeria.

Unongo said it was immoral for the President to seek re-election when Boko Haram has taken over large chunks of Nigeria’s territory.

He said, “He (Jonathan) is a complete disaster to Nigeria. He has made us look so ridiculous in the eyes of the world. Some little thing called Boko Haram that started like a joke is laying claim to large junk of Nigerian territories.

“Huge cities have fallen into the hands of these people. You find them with the kind of equipment that is meant to be for the Nigeria army.

“A tragedy is playing out in Nigeria and everybody is going about seemingly unconcerned and Jonathan is seeking re-election. I think something has happened to Nigeria.

“It’s a tragedy. And it is a travesty of human dignity and justice for the person responsible for this, who is supposed to give us responsible leadership, instead of confronting the problem; he is busy fighting people and doing everything to retain the Presidency next year. I think it is obscene. I think it is immoral and I think it is sinful.”

Unongo, who is the deputy chairman of the Northern Elders Forum, added that the any of the presidential aspirants from the North would perform far better than Jonathan as president.

He said going by current trends, larger portion of the country would be taken over by Boko Haram if Jonathan continues as President.

He said, “I think that some of us may be owing our existence to the ragtag thing called Boko Haram because what stops Boko Haram from coming all the way to Wukari or Gboko? I don’t see soldiers anywhere. This is what has happened to Nigeria.

“Frankly speaking, in my own judgment, anyone of the presidential aspirants from the North would be a better President a thousand times than the current President.”

On the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, Unongo said the North was happy with him.

He noted that given Tambuwal’s ability to get the support of both northern and southern lawmakers in the House, he would have received the support of some northern elders if he ran for presidency.

“We, in the North, are quite happy with the performance of this young man (Tambuwal) at the federal legislature. He is a uniting force. He was able to get all his members to stand behind him. The way he ran the House, it was obvious he has some possibilities and capabilities. If he decides to run for the presidency, we will look at him very critically,” Unongo said.

President Jonathan declares intention to retain Aso Rock seat

Unperturbed President Goodluck Jonathan today declared his intention to contest for the second term in office.


Address by His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR
On the Occasion of His Declaration of Intent to Run for the 2015 Presidential Elections under the Platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Eagle Square, Abuja

Tuesday 11th November, 2014

Dear Compatriots:

1. Four years ago, precisely September 18, 2010; I stood in this Eagle Square, to offer myself for election as the President of our beloved country on the platform of our great party; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

2. Seven months after that declaration, you elected me to lead this country with overwhelming support from all parts of our Nation. I remain grateful for the trust you reposed in me to lead our Nation through uncommon challenges in our march of progress as a united and democratic country.

3. Over the years, the Almighty God has made it possible for me to develop a bond with you and I am grateful for your support and understanding in the difficult periods we have journeyed through.

4. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, our stewardship has not been without challenges. We have had to deal with the wave of insurgency that has swept through some parts of our dear country. Only yesterday, Government Science Secondary School in Yobe State was bombed by insurgents, killing our promising young children who were seeking education to build the country and support their parents. Many Nigerians have lost their lives and property to these mindless killings. Let me crave the indulgence of all present here to stand up to observe a minutes silence in honour of these young lads who lost their lives. Clearly, this has cast a dark cloud on our Nation but we will surely win the war against terror. A number of young men and women have been kidnapped by these criminal elements including our daughters from Chibok. We will free our daughters and defeat terrorism.

5. We are equipping the armed forces and deploying special forces to engage the terrorist and end this senseless war. We must protect our country. We must save our people. I will do everything humanly possible to end this criminal violence in our Nation.

6. To ensure the long term stability and development of the affected areas, government has launched three programmes: The Presidential Initiative for the North East, the Victim Support Fund and the Safe School Initiative. The Presidential Initiative for the Northeast is focused on improving infrastructure and economic growth in the region. The Safe School Initiative is centred on creating a safe environment to encourage our children in the communities to acquire education. The Victim Support Fund, a partnership with the Private Sector, has raised about 60 billion Naira, which will help to empower and rehabilitate victims of terror. I promise the victims of these dastardly acts that we will continue to stand with you.

7. I am grateful to all Nigerians for standing with me.

8. Let me also thank the leaders and elders of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party, for the opportunity you have given to me to serve our country, Nigeria.

9. I am overwhelmed by the trust, confidence and support of the various organs of our party, the Board of Trustees, the National Caucus, the National Executive Committee, the National Working Committee, the PDP Governors Forum, members of the PDP Caucuses of the National Assembly, and others.

10. This day affords me the opportunity to continue the conversation of development we started together.

11. Infrastructure has been a major focus area of my administration and so, we pursued the power sector reform to this point of irreversible progress. Nigeria has undertaken a most transparent and corruption free bidding process, attracting global commendation. The on-going 450MW Azura Power Plant in Edo State is a testimony to the success of this transformation.
12. We have also resumed development of our Hydro-Power potential, with the construction of the 700MW Zungeru Hydro-Power Plant, while construction work on the 3,050MW Mambilla Hydro-Power Plant is about to take off.

13. Our power generation and distribution companies have now been privatized. We are firmly on the road to guaranteed regular power supply in the months ahead. This our bold move, is paying off!

14. We are committed to environmental protection and conservation and reducing vulnerability to climate change. In this regard, we have embarked on a number of projects across the country. Of particular note is the African Great Green Wall Programme, where we have released about 16 billion naira for implementation. The project will create a green belt across 11 states from Kebbi to Borno.

15. In the past three and half years, the water sector has witnessed unprecedented improvement. Access to potable water is now 67%, up from 58% in 2010, while sanitation coverage is 41%, from 32% within the same period.

16. Major developments in water include the completion of 37 Dams and rehabilitation of 10, with several others on-going construction. The flagship Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam which is being built to contain flood from Lake Nyos, is now at 90% completion. We have also completed about 5,000 rural and semi urban water schemes.

17. We are reforming the National Urban Water supply programmes in 12 states, with 385 formal and informal irrigation projects, covering a total land area of 118000 ha, cultivated mostly by small holder farmers. This has yielded over 3 million metric tons of assorted grains and vegetables, with a market value of about 45 billion naira.

18. Before the advent of this administration, the Railway system was practically dead. Today, we have revived the rail sector. The narrow gauge line from Lagos to Kano has been rehabilitated with improved coaches providing regular services. The rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line is progressing with the Port Harcourt-Gombe segment as well as the branch line from Kafanchan to Kaduna expected to be completed and fully operational by December 2014.

19. Already, work on the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge rail line, is progressing. The tracks of the rail line will be completed by December this year 2014. Upon completion of the project in the first quarter of 2015, it will be possible for Nigerians to live in Kaduna and work in Abuja. The Itape-Ajaokuta-Wari standard gauge line has attained an advanced stage, with the track completely laid. We hope to commence full operation before the end of 2015.

20. Other segments of the new standard gauge speed train network are planned with contract already awarded for the Lagos –Ibadan Segment. There will be more of such modern and faster rail connections in the coming years. Already, discussions are now at advanced stage, for the Coastal rail line that will traverse through 10 states, from Lagos through the South-South and South-East, all the way to Calabar.

21. My administration has successfully completed the dredging of the lower River Niger from Baro in Niger State to Warri in in Delta State. The cheering news is that over 6.7 million passengers and over 1.6 million tonnes of cargo have been moved through this channel in less than three years.

22. I am happy to also report that our ports now operate 24 hour service, which has led to the reduction of clearing time and improved efficiency.

23. When I assumed office in 2010, out of the 35,000km of federal roads nationwide, only about 5,000km were motorable. Today, that number has increased to about 25,000km. We expect to complete the remaining 10,000km in three years while initiating new ones.

24. I made a commitment to build two new major bridges across the River Niger and River Benue. Today, the new bridge over the River Benue, connecting Loko in Nassarawa State to Oweto in Benue State has reached an advance stage of completion, while work has commenced on the Second Niger Bridge.

25. Beyond these, my administration has concluded plans to re-commence the construction of Bodo-Bonny Road with three major bridges on the alignment that will link the Island of Bonny with Rivers mainland.

26. Preliminary works have started on my administration’s planned re-construction and expansion of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road in Lagos to a world class entry point into our country. Only a few months ago, work started on the dualization of Kano-Katsina Road. While many Nigerians are celebrating the marked improvements on our roads, I want to assure that it will get even better as we move forward.

27. In the pursuit of an integrated transportation system, we embarked on the construction of five new Airport Terminal Buildings and Air-field facilities. We are also re-constructing existing ones. The re-construction upon completion, will lead to improved passenger processing, increased cargo handling capacity and enhanced Air-field facilities that meet international standard and improves safety. These efforts have been met with global acknowledgement including the attainment and retention of the FAA Category One status.

28. In housing, we signed the National Housing Policy to kick-start the framework for providing more affordable homes for our people. We have also expanded the National Housing Fund to accommodate more Nigerians. We have started a revolution in the housing sector with the start of the Nigerian Mortgage and Refinanced Company (NMRC) a new initiative of my administration, that will enable more citizens in the lower income bracket to become first time home owners.

29. Our partners such as the World Bank group are supporting this with US300million dollars interest free credit, while my administration will back it with over 100billion naira in bonds. We are already processing 66,000 mortgage applications for our young people. We have amended the PENCOM Act to enable the pension funds invest in housing sector bonds. This will create a boom in the housing sector.

30. In the Federal Capital Territory, we are rapidly building a befitting National Capital by expanding and providing new infrastructure, developing ten new districts and Satellite Towns to cater for the ever increasing population. In no distant future, you will be able to arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and proceed to the city using the Abuja Light Rail. In addition to providing durable health, educational and transportation services, we are also collaborating with Organized Labour to build functional, affordable and social housing in Abuja.

31. Other critical capital developments that are being packaged by this Administration include the development of the Ultra-Modern World Trade Centre, the Abuja Town Centre, the Jabi Lake Comprehensive Centre, the Centenary City and the Land Swap Districts. This private sector driven infrastructural development will positively change the skyline of the city and provide the required office and residential accommodation, shopping and recreation as well as tourism and entertainment facilities of the FCT.
32. In our determination to encourage much greater participation of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry, one of the first actions I took, was the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act. As a result of this law, indigenous Nigerian participation levels, in upstream and downstream activities of the oil and gas industry have increased by over 45%, thereby increasing employment opportunities for our youth.

33. We have also succeeded in eliminating the long queues that previously characterised our filling stations, through regular and sustained product supply.

34. Gas infrastructure to ensure adequate Gas to Power and Gas to Industry, is being aggressively put in place. Over 450km of gas pipelines have been installed over the last 3years. Another 2,000km is planned over the next 4years. Critical petrochemical and fertilizer facilities have commenced including the gas industrial park in Delta State, for which I am scheduled to perform the ground-breaking this Friday. This will create millions of jobs and make Nigeria a regional hub.

35. In addition, as a result of government favourable policies the private sector is investing over 12 billion dollars in the petrochemical sector, over the next 4years. This will surely create millions of jobs for our people.

36. In terms of gas supply, we have grown from less than 500 million cubic feet per day, 4years ago, to about 1.5 billion cubic feet per day currently. Our goal is to attain 4 billion cubic feet per day, over the next 4years.

37. We have changed the face of agriculture. We moved agriculture away from a development Programme to agriculture as a business. My vision is to create wealth for our people through agriculture.

38. We have focused on encouraging the private sector to boost investments in the agricultural sector. As a result, the number of seed companies rose from five to eighty in the past three years. Private sector investment in the agricultural sector expanded by $ US 5.6 billion across the Agricultural value chain.
39. We ended decades of corruption in the fertilizer and seed sectors. We developed a transparent and efficient system of reaching farmers directly with subsidized farm inputs. Before our reforms, fertilizer procurement and distribution took from the needy and gave to the greedy. We restored dignity back to farmers. Today, 14 million farmers, of which 2 million are women, access fertilizers with their mobile phones, through an e-wallet system. Nigeria is the first country in the world to develop an e-wallet system to reach farmers with subsidized farm inputs on their mobile phones. Several African countries are now borrowing this transparent and efficient e-wallet system for their own countries.

40. Our national food production expanded by an additional 21 million metric tons between 2011 and 2014, a record, exceeding our set target of 20 million metric tons set for 2015. The Dangote Group, has committed to invest $US 1 billion in commercial rice production and processing. With all these developments, we are expected to be an exporter of rice in the next five years. This will be a new dawn!

41. The benefits are showing on our food imports. Our food import bill has declined from 1.1 trillion Naira in 2009 to 684 billion Naira by December 2013, even with our increasing population, a reduction of 40%.

42. Nigeria met its Millennium Development Goal One on reducing hunger and extreme poverty, two years ahead of 2015 target set by the United Nations, and was given an award by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

43. To sustain this trend, we are encouraging young graduates through the Nagropreneurs Programme to go into commercial Agriculture. We are also encouraging our students in Post Primary Schools to embrace commercial Agriculture through the National School Agriculture Programme.

44. My dear people, corruption remains a big challenge in our national life. It corrodes our efforts at development and at motivating competence in critical sectors of our national growth. We have eradicated it in the agricultural sector and we will surely eradicate it in other sectors of our economy.

45. Going forward, my focus is to continue to reinforce institutions, systems, and processes to tackle corruption, and also to bring to justice those that perpetrate corruption. Through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), we have weeded out 56,000 ghost workers from the Federal Civil Service, saving 162 billion naira.

46. I have directed ICPC to bring the perpetrators of this criminal act to book. Let this be very clear, public officers must live by example, fully accounting for the national trust and resources in their care.

47. In our journey to progress, knowledge is indispensable. Knowledge is power! This is why my administration established 14 new Universities out of which 12 are conventional and two are specialized Police and Maritime Universities. Under my watch, every state in Nigeria, now has a Federal University.

48. In addition, over 500billion naira have been spent, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the special NEEDS assessment fund on various projects to increase access and improve the quality of infrastructure at the tertiary level of our education system.

49. To provide equal access and opportunities in education and ensure that no Nigerian child is left behind, we have established and equipped 150 Almajiri Schools across the Northern states and the Out-of-School-Children Programme including Specialized Boys and Girls Schools across the country.

50. Fellow Nigerians, our country was faced with a major National security, humanitarian, and economic threat in the form of the Ebola Virus Disease, which arrived in the country on July 20, 2014, by way of a foreign national, Mr Patrick Sawyer.

51. Realizing the imminent threat, I declared a national emergency, pulling states, local and federal government into action as well as individual Nigerians to combat this disease. Without the quick action of patriotic Nigerians in the First Consultant Hospital, as well as the co-operation of Lagos and Rivers State, where the disease occurred, working with the Federal Ministry of Health and the co-operation of all Nigerians we could not have succeeded in overcoming this deadly disease. Fellow Nigerians we stopped Ebola together.

52. Just as we stopped Ebola, we are on our way to eradicating the Polio Virus in our country. We have reduced the incident of new Polio Virus from 300 in 2010, to 6 today.

53. My brothers and sisters, to encourage entrepreneurship and self-reliance among our teeming graduates, we have developed creative opportunities for enterprise for our young people.

54. Programmes such as YouWIN, the Graduate Internship Scheme, the Nagropreneurs Initiative, the 220 Billion Naira Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund and the 3 Billion Naira Grant to Nollywood are empowering our graduates, the creative industry and other young people to start up their own businesses and employ others.

55. We have supported the growth of industry through policy and action. We launched The National industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), and the National Enterprise Development Programme as key drivers to bring about our desires in the industrial sectors and to diversify our economy. Our new National Automobile Policy is transforming Nigeria into a vibrant hub for the automobile industry. Our own Innoson Motors is producing world standard vehicles, and Nissan, Hyundai, and Kia, have set up factories in Nigeria and are employing thousands of our people.

56. Our support for cement production is unprecedented. We have increased our installed capacity from 16.5 million metric tons per annum in 2011 to 39.5 million metric tons per annum in 2014. Nigeria is now exporting cement. We are moving forward! We must produce what we consume and consume what we produce.

57. Our efforts to create an enabling environment for job creation in different sectors of the economy including the MSME sector, agriculture, housing and manufacturing have yielded results. Between the third quarter of 2012, when we started tracking jobs created and the end of 2013, 1.9 million jobs were created. To deepen our success in this area, I have created a Presidential Jobs Creation Board headed by the Vice President with the mandate to create at least two million jobs a year.

58. My brothers and sisters, our economy is heading in the right direction and our efforts are yielding positive results. Our economy continues to grow at the rate of 6 to 7 percent annually, one of the highest in the world. Our country is now the top investment destination and the largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of 80trillion naira (510billion dollars) as well as the 26th largest economy in the world.

59. As part of its efforts to support inclusive growth and economic development in Nigeria through the CBN, my administration has created and disbursed the sum of 200billion naira via the Commercial Agric and Credit scheme, 300billion naira Power and Aviation fund, 220billion naira Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Fund, as well as 300 billion naira rail sector refinancing facilities at single digit interest rate. We will continue to deepen the reforms in the financial sector, in order to sustain the growth of our economy and uplift our people from poverty to prosperity.

60. Dear Compatriots, I promised as President, that we would sanitize and restore integrity in our electoral process, by ensuring that our votes are not only counted, but truly count. We have gone to great length to ensure transparent, free, fair, and credible elections. Elections have been conducted across the country with local and international election observers testifying to their transparency.

61. On the international scene, we have advanced our regional, continental and global objectives. We have strengthened our relationships with our neighbours and in many instances supported them to protect their democracy, security and stability. We are serving for a second time within a period of 4 years at the United Nations Security Council. This is unprecedented in our Nation’s history. My brothers and sister, this is a growing attestation of our country’s growing influence.

62. In the first quarter of this year, our country celebrated its centenary. To prepare the nation for the challenges of the next one hundred years, I convened a National Conference where recommendations and resolutions were reached towards a more perfect union. We shall implement the report.

63. Four years ago, I made a commitment to advance the rise and rise of womanhood. Today, I am glad that we have made remarkable progress in this regard, trusting in the potential of our women and reaping from their dedication and ingenuity. I believe that any nation that ignores womanhood cannot achieve its full potential. It is in this regard that I ensured that women were given more opportunities in government, and I have not been disappointed.

64. Specifically, I doubled the percentage of women in the cabinet and gave them more challenging assignments.

65. The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), is now admitting female cadets as regular combatants and it is now possible for a woman to rise through the ranks to the peak in military service, and become a full general.

66. We must continue to sustain the banner of freedom and justice that we have held high in our country. I am proud to say that there are no political prisoners in Nigeria today. No Nigerian has been driven to exile and no one will be, under my watch.

67. It is in furtherance of a peaceful, participatory and inclusive democracy that I signed the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill into law, to expand the frontiers of our fundamental freedom.

68. Let me re-affirm that under a Jonathan Presidency, your views, no matter how freely expressed, will not send you to prison or into exile.

69. I am convinced that I have kept my pact with Nigerians, and it is now time to look to the future. With your tremendous support, we have collectively done so much in the last three and half years, but to take our country to the next level, there is still more to be done.

70. History has shown that the path of honour for any true leader is not to walk away from his people in moments of challenges. We must stand together in adversity and overcome all threats to our development. We must defend our future, for the sake of our children.

71. So many things have inspired me in the journey to this moment. I want to appreciate ordinary Nigerians, especially young people, for the solidarity shown to me by contributing their meagre resources to enable me arrive at this point.

72. I appreciate the kind gesture of the Cattle Breeders Union, Miyetti Allah, and the Market Women Association, who encouraged me by coming together to contribute to the purchase of my Nomination form.

73. In the same vein, I am touched by the National Association of Widows who also encouraged me with their widow’s mite.

74. This labour of love, from ordinary Nigerians, has increased my appreciation of your solidarity, my trust in our joint destiny, and all we have achieved together these past three and half years.

75. Therefore, after seeking the face of God, in quiet reflection with my family and having listened to the call of our people nationwide to run, I, Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, have accepted to re-present myself, on the platform of The Peoples’ Democratic Party, for re-election as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the 2015 general elections.

76. Democracy is a collective action, energized by individual responsibility. Your mandate at this time will inspire in me the strength to complete the good work we have started together.

77. My dear people of Nigeria, we must complete the task of ensuring that we lift the poor out of the depth of want, and place their feet firmly on the ladder of prosperity.

78. In this election season, I appeal to all of you, not to harm, maim or kill; and not to incite violence of any kind. We must never forget our common bond, one people from the womb of one Nigeria. Again I say: My ambition to serve you is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. I remain committed to this principle of non-violence.

79. If you believe that we must build a country that works for all, where the strong lift up the weak, and not trample upon them, where the vote of every citizen determines who governs or represents you, where the democratic space is open to all citizens to fulfil their aspirations, irrespective of the circumstance of birth, your brother, Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan stands ready to continue in service to you.

80. My brothers and sisters, we cannot go back to the old ways! Our railways were allowed to rot in neglect, we have revived and are modernising them.

81. We cannot go back to the old ways! Our road infrastructure collapsed. We are reconstructing, and expanding federal roads across the country.

82. We cannot go back to the old ways! Our airport terminal buildings were dilapidated and our airspace unsafe. We are fixing this.

83. We cannot go back to the old ways! Our agricultural practices did not benefit our farmers and our people. Fertilizer distribution was a major source of fraud and we were importing food more than our budget can carry. Now we are on our way to self-sufficiency in food production.

84. Do you want to go back to the old ways?

85. We cannot go back to the old ways, where there were long queues at our filling stations due to irregular supply of products and our people were exploited.

86. We cannot go back to the old ways, when women and youths were denied opportunities in government and in responsible positions.

87. Do you want to go back to the old ways?

88. We cannot go back to the old ways! We had skewed distribution of tertiary institutions. Whereas some states had more than one degree awarding institution, some had none. We have now made sure all states have at least one Federal University.

89. We cannot go back to the old ways! Our economy is now the largest in Africa. Once, we were virtually importing everything, now we are exporting several products, including cement.

90. We cannot go back to the old ways! In 2009, average life expectancy was 47 years, by the end of 2013, it was 52 years. Some of our hospitals now perform open heart surgeries, kidney transplants and other challenging operations as we reposition our health service to end decades of medical tourism that drains our scarce resources.

91. We cannot go back to the old ways! Together, in unity, we overcame Ebola, and in the process demonstrated the strength of the Nigerian spirit. And together, united, we must maintain our vigilance.

92. Do you want to go back to the old ways?

93. We cannot go back to the old ways where individual freedoms were trampled upon and citizens were locked up for expressing their views or criticising government.

94. Do you want to go back to the old ways?

95. We cannot go back to the old ways! We must continue to have free and fair elections. We cannot go back to the era where ballot box snatching and stuffing became the norm. Where your votes never counted.

96. Certainly, we cannot!

97. We have to move forward! Only forward!!, my dear people, Forward!!!

98. In moving forward, I see a Nigeria that thirsts for progress with children across the nation, eager for knowledge and safely in schools!

99. I see a Nigeria where all who have taken up arms, would again embrace peace!

100. I see a Nigeria where our women can aspire to any heights, without hindrance!

101. I see a Nigeria where the flames in the Eagles will rekindle, and the Falcons soaring higher in victory!
102. I see a Nigeria where the children of Mustapha, and Christopher, Ade and Ada, Timi and Bunmi, Nnamdi and Namadi, do not go hungry!

103. I see a Nigeria where all, no matter their beliefs, live in peace and harmony!

104. I see a Nigeria where the green passport is accorded a royal reception the world over!

105. I see a Nigeria where one day the next generation will take us to outer space.

106. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, leadership is about staying focused to achieve goals despite challenges. I have been faced with many challenges since coming to office as President. With your support and encouragement, we have stayed the course.

107. We are succeeding, against all odds. For the young Nigerian child, who grew up in the rural area, just like me, we are expanding opportunities and giving them hope. For the market woman, we are expanding opportunities. For our young entrepreneurs, we are expanding opportunities. For the right of our people to vote and for their voices to be heard, we are expanding opportunities. For Nigerians to have the right to free speech, we are expanding opportunities. For the job seekers, against all odds, we are expanding opportunities.

108. While serving our people, I will always ensure the rule of law. I do not intimidate, I expand the democratic space. I give voice to the voiceless and uphold the weak, for the nation belongs to us all. Fellow Nigerians, as we build our democracy, leaders must show temperance at all times. That is a virtue, one which I treasure, and will always uphold.

109. My people, Nigeria is destined for greatness. Today, here at Eagle Square, I say to Nigeria, that working together in love, in strength and in faith, we will build a nation of one people, united in purpose and in action.

110. Fellow Nigerians, it is forward ever! We must put our hopes to work! Together, we will realize our collective destiny.

111. Thank you!!

112. God bless Nigeria!!

Osun PDP manufactures lies from the pit of hell, says Aregbesola aide

Re- Recounting Exercise at INEC: Osun PDP unending Falsehood.

My attention is drawn to another wicked lie being circulated by the PDP cyber rodents which unfortunately is gaining ground particularly in the social media,claiming that a recounting exercise at the tribunal had given the PDP a win with over 100,000 votes contrary to the figures declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the August 9th, Gubernatorial Election in the State of Osun.

This latest falsehood by those who are nothing but a serial liars is calculated at hoodwinking unsuspecting member of the public into believing that they have any iota of hope in the worhless petition they filed at the Election Petition Tribunal.

It is fundamental to point out at this juncture that beyond filing of petition at the registry of the Election Petition Tribunal, no proceedings has started till this moment of writing this piece. What we have had so far was an application for examination of all polling document used in the conduct of the August 9 Governorship Election in the state to enable the petitioner maintain its petition. This application was granted to both APC and PDP and joint inspection is taking place at the INEC Office which involves only scanning of documents.

The Petitioner is challenging the result in the 17 Local Government in the state which are: Aiyedaade; Atakunmosa East; Boripe; Ede North; Ede South; Ejigbo; Ifelodun; Ilesha East; Ilesha West; Irepodun; Irewole; Iwo; Obokun; Ola Oluwa; Olorunda; Oriade and Osogbo Local Government. Out of the Seventeen (17 )Local Governments where Election result were sought to be inspected, only Six (6) Local Government have been inspected as at the close of work today, 27th November, 2014 . The six(6) Local Government inspected so far are: Obokun; Osogbo; Olorunda; Atakunmosa East; Irepodun and Irewole Local Government.

The Tribunal has not granted an order for recounting of ballot papers because at no time did the petitioner seek for any recounting. The stage we are at the tribunal is a preliminary stage where responses are still being filed. No hearing of any sort has commenced. The inspection being done by the paties is entirely their business untill the report of such inspection is filed at the court registry ,heard under the fire of cross examination of those that did the report and the testimony of the witnesses is believed by the Tribunal.

It is therefore preposterous on the part of any party to a petition to seek to arrogate to itself figures that has not been credited to it either at the Election itself or at the election petition tribunal.

It is also pertinent to educate the gullible mind within Osun PDP that an order for recounting will be granted to a petitioner having satisfied the court on the preponderance of evidence brought forward by witnesses called upon by the Petitioner during the hearing of the petition. It is only granted when the Tribunal is convinced that on the totality of the testimony of the witnesses, there is need for recounting of ballot papers. The recounting will be done at the Court Premises Not at INEC Office as being bandied around by the ignoramus.

It is crystal clear that as at today, there has not been any sitting of the Election Petition Tribunal, No application for recount of ballot papers at the tribunal registry and there is no order for recounting any ballot papers. Whatever lie being cooked up by these elements resides only in their imagination and it is nothing but fantasy.

We hereby enjoin all lovers of peace and progress within and beyond our state to disregard this latest falsehood as a ranting of a drowning man who had nothing to hold on to but straw.

I thank you.

Ibrahim Lawal Esq

SSA (Legal and Judicial Sector Reform) to the Governor, State of Osun.

Sent from my HTC