Jonathan: Nigeria is Not a Failed State

Posted by admin Goodluck Jonathan (2010-present), Headlines, Presidency Friday, July 15th, 2011

Nigeria is not a failed state, President Goodluck Jonathan said Thursday, adding that his administration would work assiduously to make the country a pride for all.

Speaking while inaugurating seven of the eight ministers confirmed by the Senate in the last one week at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, Jonathan said: “Our nation has been described by certain persons as a failed state. But we are definitely not a failed state. We are a country of talented people, who have the capacity to address whatever challenges our country may be facing. Other nations have passed through their own trying moments, in no way is our experience peculiar.”

He charged the new ministers to see their appointments as a call to service, which he said, required that they must serve Nigerians with diligence.

He assured them that he would guide them through by providing an enabling environment to enable them to perform efficiently.

Jonathan said he was confident that with the team he inaugurated, which formed the last batch of nine ministers, his administration was set to hit the ground running. They took their oaths of office without Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Jigawa State nominee.

He told the ministers that: “Our task is to address the issues which preoccupy Nigerians. We must act quickly while at the same time, working on sustainable responses to long-term challenges. This is the debt we owe the electorate who turned out in large numbers in the April 2011 elections to make a statement with their votes. I will therefore expect the best form of conduct in the discharge of your responsibilities.”

According to him, “A responsive, responsible and accountable government is central to a genuine democracy. To continue in your positions, you must always be responsive, responsible and accountable. In particular, I expect that ministers and ministers of state will work together as a team, and in so doing, eschew the kind of rivalry and one-upmanship that has been a problem in the past. I expect maximum cooperation among all members of the Executive Council of the Federation. We cannot achieve much if we work at cross-purposes”.

Explaining the long wait for his ministers to emerge, the president said his search for the team led him within and outside the country where selection was based on an “assessment of expertise, integrity, experience, qualifications, and after due consultations with a broad category of stakeholders”, and the screening of the nominees by the Senate as required by law.

Preparing the minds of members of his team on the direction of the administration, he said: “I believe with a transformational leadership that is willing and committed, we can reposition our country for economic growth and development, and win the support of all and sundry, including those who are in doubt or denial.

“There will be difficult decisions and tough moments ahead but we must, through our efforts, show that we are prepared to work in the best way to focus on the people’s aspirations. It only takes committed people to do things differently. I believe you are among the group of Nigerians that can do things differently and help to move our country forward.

“One critical issue that will also engage our attention is the issue of corruption. There is no doubt that our rating in the global corruption index is embarrassing. Corruption is therefore the monster that we need to confront and defeat in order to raise the country’s integrity profile. The war against corruption in this dispensation will start at the centre.

“The anti-corruption agencies have been directed to beam their searchlights on the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government, and also focus on the states and local government areas, in order to send out a clear signal that no form of abuse will be tolerated. We will carry out a comprehensive audit of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government beginning from June 2007. You must observe due process in all that you do. I expect you to be above board.”

He admonished the ministers to be change agents and see their appointments as opportunity to address the myriad of problems besetting the power sector, revolutionise the agricultural sector for food security, roads, create employment and revive productivity, sanitise the oil and gas sector, sanitise the educational sector by restoring quality to public school system among others for the difference in the expectations of the people to be felt.

Jonathan told the audience that in the effort to select his cabinet, some nominees and members of their family were threatened with assassinations, while others were visited with campaign of calumny and character assassination.

He said all these were uncalled for as all hands had to be on deck to deliver the goods while the ministers should give proper account of stewardship to the people through hard work. His cabinet, he said, was not that of any party but for Nigerians.

“You have been called upon to serve your fatherland at a most trying and challenging period in our nation’s history. On October 1st last year, we celebrated our golden jubilee as an independent nation. On January 1, 2014, we will celebrate our centenary as a nation. This surely is a transitional phase that requires transformational leadership at all levels. I believe that the best way forward is to have a strong government of determined and capable men and women, who believe passionately in Nigeria and who want to make a difference.

“In the various speeches that I gave from the primaries through the campaigns to the inauguration on 29th May, I promised Nigerians that I will run a transparent government and ensure a significant improvement in our economy. You are to join me and the vice-president to achieve this. Our plan is to restructure the economic management team in order to make it more functional; the new structure will be coordinated by the Minister of Finance, with a charge to ensure improved performance of key economic sectors and greater efficiency,” he said.

Concluding on a jocular note with a quote from late Dr. Tai Solarin where he said the task was not going to be easy, he said: “May your road be rough. I am not cursing you; I am wishing you what I wish myself every year. I therefore repeat, may you have a hard time this year, may there be plenty of troubles for you this year! If you are not so sure what you should say back, why not just say, same to you? I ask no more!”

Continuing, Jonathan said: “Obviously the road ahead of us may be rough, but with sincere and purposeful leadership, we will surely succeed in transforming this country.”

Ministers sworn in Thursday were Dr. Mohammed Ali-Pate (Borno), Chief Edem Duke (Cross River), Mrs. Omobola Johnson (Ondo), Mrs. Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia (Kaduna), Dr. Nurudeen Mohammad (Jigawa), Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe (Plateau), Ms. Ama Pepple (Rivers), Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike (Rivers), and Dr. Akinwunmi Adeshina Ayodeji (Ogun).

Speaking on behalf of the new ministers after the group photograph, Wike said they had resolved to key into the vision of the president and deliver key sectors, especially power, without which the vision would be hard to achieve.

He said education, agriculture and building of infrastructure were other priority areas and pledged to work together to make a difference in the administration of the country.

-ThisDaywp_posts