President Goodluck Jonathan said on Monday he would prove critics of his
administration wrong by 2013 when the dividends of new policies introduced
begin to manifest.
Jonathan said this while declaring open the 52nd Annual General Conference of
the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja.
He said he was the most criticised President in the world at the moment because
his critics failed to understand that the country’s current challenges predated
his administration.
He assured that his critics would have the cause to praise him at the end of
the life of his administration when his Transformation Agenda would have
yielded the expected dividends.
“I think I am then most criticised president in the whole world,
but I
tell this noble audience that before I leave, I will also be the most praised
president.
“I have experienced that before in my governor journey in Bayelsa state. In
fact, people who were close to me will tell you that even after the election, I
told them that in my first 12 months please cover your ears because you will
hear all kinds of things. But as we progress, you will see (changes).
“We are working very hard to stabilise power. We are working very hard to
resurface our roads. We have security challenges, which we are also working
very hard to bring to reasonable control.
“It is not easy; we don’t have the magic wand, except the miracle worker that
with the wave of the hand, probably will help to throw all these challenges
away and prosperity will appear. But in pure governance issues, it takes time.
“Sometimes, even people who have held offices in government criticise me to
the extent of personal abuses. Sometimes I ask, were there roads across in the
country and Jonathan brought flood to wipe out these roads? or we had power and
I brought hurricane to break down the entire infrastructure?
“If they say Boko Haram is because of poverty; were there massive irrigation
projects in the North where agriculture can thrive and massive farms, and
Jonathan brought drought to wipe out these farms? under two years is it
possible?
“Well, time will tell. What I can tell Nigerians is that let those who criticize
continue to criticise.
“We will do our best and as we progress, Nigerians will know the truth
and we’ll see that we are committed and will surely transform this country,’’
he said
The President said that he promised to deliver free, fair and credible
elections before the conduct of the 2011 general elections and the assessment
of the polls by local and international observers was a testimony that he kept
his promise.
He said his administration had initiated policies that would ensure the
political, social and economic transformation of the country.
Jonathan said the Federal Government had proposed a new Anti-terrorism Bill
2012 to address the current security challenges in the country.
The President said he disagreed with the position of the NBA on the urgent need
to create State Police to address the security challenges in the country.
According to him, the country is not ripe for State Police because it can
easily be abused by the governors, a development, which can worsen the security
situation in the country.
He said the Police became worse for it, when it introduced the policy of
deploying men from the rank of Inspector downward to their states of origin.
Jonathan said his administration considered the NBA as a partner in progress
and commended the association for choosing a topical theme for the conference.
The theme: “Nigeria as an Emerging Market: Redefining our Laws and Politics
for Growth’’, the President said, was in line with the
public-private-partnership-oriented policy of his administration.
He urged the association to review its rules of engagement, which he said,
barred its officers from directly getting involved in day-to-day governance
either in an advisory or participatory capacity.
He disclosed that he had appointed the outgoing President of the NBA, Joseph
Daudu (SAN), as Honorary Legal Adviser, but he (Daudu) declined the offer based
on the rules of engagement of the association.
Jonathan said he was still willing to appoint the incoming President of the
association to the position if the rule could be reviewed.
Earlier, Daudu had advocated state policing and called for the devolution of
the power of the office of the President for the country to achieve peace,
security and economic progress.
President of Nigeria was the most powerful when compared to other countries of
the world practicing the same system of government.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed
Adoke (SAN), in his goodwill message, said the theme of the conference took
cognisance of the synergy between economy, law, government and the private
sector.
Adoke noted that the position of Nigeria as an emerging market in the globe was
not in doubt but there was the need to review the country’s business laws to
attract the investments.
He said his office had taken various initiatives toward making relevant laws
that would make Nigeria the favorite investment destination for investors.
Guest speaker at the conference, Rev. Matthew Kukah, berated the media for
portraying Nigeria in bad light using negative reportage, which he said, could
discourage investors.
Kukah, a Catholic priest, in a speech titled: “Nigeria, an Emerging
Democracy’’, agreed with former CBN Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, that Nigeria was
an economic miracle waiting to happen.
He said for the national miracle to happen, the political class needed to be
creative by initiating programmes that would win the trust and commitment of
the followership.
Kukah also admonished the followership to believe in the country and endeavour
to contribute their quota toward the development of the country.
He proposed creative instruction and courage by the government and the governed
to decide whether they needed a new constitution to forge ahead, or a review of
the existing one.
The priest also agreed with Daudu’s position on the need to decentralise the
power of the office of the President for peace, security and development of the
country. (NAN)
