My administration had a good team –Jonathan

THREE months after leaving office and amid accusations of
misdeeds by his government, former President Goodluck
Jonathan has said he worked with a great team.
Jonathan’s appraisal of his cabinent was contained in
separate congratulatory letters to the new President of the
African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina; and the
Vice-President of the World Bank, Ms Arunma Oteh.
Akinwunmi served as agriculture minister under the
Jonathan administration while Oteh served as the Director-
General of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jonathan said Adesina’s appointment “attests to the fact
that my administration had a good team that managed the
affairs of the country.”
But the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress,
Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, said it would have been disastrous
for Nigeria if Jonathan had been re-elected in the March 28,
2015 presidential poll won by President Muhammadu
Buhari.
Tinubu, in an article to mark Buhari’s 100 days in power,
said Nigeria would have collapsed if Jonathan had won re-
election.
In his letter to his former aides, Jonathan however
celebrated his time in government.
To Adesina, he wrote, “Given your exemplary record of
performance, while serving as the Honourable Minister for
Agriculture and Rural Development in my cabinet, I have no
doubt that you will deploy your energy and the bank’s
resources to ensure that Africa experiences a new era of
accelerated development.
“You were not only a critical voice in my economic team,
you also walked the talk and earned the praise of our
countrymen and women by ensuring that Nigeria’s quest for
self-sufficiency in food production became achievable
dream.”
The former President, in his letter to Oteh, praised the
former SEC boss’ knowledge of capital markets.
He described her as being conversant with the challenges of
the economies of emerging markets.
He stated, “I am delighted that you are going to your new
job, fresh from the experience of having led the recovery
and growth initiatives of the Nigerian Bourse in the wake of
the decline, occasioned by recent global economic recession
and financial crisis.
“This is a clear testimony to your capacity, high integrity,
and tenacity of purpose. It is also a vindication of the
decision of my administration to stand by you, believing in
your abilities and competence, even when questions were
being raised in some quarters over your choice.
“I am convinced that the experience you gathered as
Director-General of the Securities and Exchange
Commission of Nigeria gave you deep insights on how to
tackle the peculiar challenges of a developing nation.
“The World Bank can draw from this to ensure that its future
partnerships with emerging economies in Africa and other
parts of the world are anchored on policies that will lead to
sustained growth and development, which is a sine qua non
for lifting millions of people in the developing world out of
mass poverty.”
It will be recalled that the House of Representatives had in
July 2012 asked the Federal Government to remove Oteh.
The lawmakers made the call in their adoption of the report
of the House ad hoc committee, which probed the near-
collapse of the capital market.
The report was debated and adopted barely 24 hours after
the Federal Government recalled Oteh from the suspension
slammed on her on June 12 by the Board of the SEC, which
indicted her for mishandling the Project 50 of the
commission.
The report faulted Oteh’s appointment as DG on the grounds
that she was not qualified and that she lacked the
competence to manage human and material resources.
But the Jonathan Presidency had said that the
government’s decision to bring back Oteh was independent
of the House decision and that due process was followed in
her recall.
Tinubu, who is a former Governor of Lagos State, said the
banking system and the entire economy would have
collapsed due to the several acts of corruption perpetrated
by Jonathan’s men.
He said, “Change means fighting corruption in all of its
manifestations instead of consorting with it. No longer shall
the public treasury, meant for the wellbeing of the many, be
treated as the private reserve of the few. Nigeria is now 100
days into President Buhari’s leadership.
“I shudder to think where we might be had the prior
administration been allowed to govern even 100 days more,
let alone another four years.”
He said Jonathan’s refusal to intervene in the economic
crisis in different states showed a lack of understanding of
the economy.
He added, “By approving a package of emergency fiscal and
financial relief, he (Buhari) has stopped the slide of
numerous states into economic depression and imminent
bankruptcy. By enabling the payment of back salaries to
state government civil servants, he has saved millions of
Nigerians from sinking into hunger and poverty.
“The former government should have taken these step
months ago, even before the election. However, it let a bad
situation fester into impending calamity. Had that
government remained in office, it would have allowed the
states to slide into bankruptcy, triggering a financial crisis
that would have engulfed the banking system if not the
entire economy.”
But the Peoples Democratic Party has supported
Jonathan’s assessment of his administration, saying, “The
former President has hit the nail on the head.”
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Oliah Metuh,
said that Jonathan’s assessment of his team and
administration was based on evidence.
According to him, the international appointments given to
members of the Jonathan team are pointers to the fact that
those in the team are not only competent, but also capable.
He said that the achievements of the Jonathan
administration were practical and could not be politicised
and that they were evident in all sectors, including
agriculture, economy and communications.
In his reaction, the Executive Secretary, Anti-Corruption
Network , Ebenezer Oyetakin, said that Jonathan’s self-
assessment was meant to achieve image redemption.
He said, “We should however appreciate Jonathan for
conceding defeat. No doubt, someone like Adesina is an
exceptional person among the former President Jonathan’s
team. No doubt too, some others would be good persons in
his team. The Jonathan’s letter to them, while we can see it
as deserving and in good will to the duo, smacks of a
desperate attempt at cheap image redemption.”
On his part, a United States-based activist, Smart Ajaja,
described the assessment as an affront to Nigerians.
“Nigeria needs to be told the truth in very harsh and caustic
language. This statement from ex-President Jonathan is an
affront on the sensibility of Nigerians, taking cognizance of
the crass corruption that dogged his presidency,” Ajaja said.
But Kayode Ajulo, a legal practitioner and Executive Director
of the Egalitarian Mission Africa, said, Jonathan’s
administration “paraded some of the best brains in the land
as he also made some unfortunate appointments.”
“In fact, his team could be best described as a cacophony of
personalities, an amalgamation of the good, the bad and the
ugly appointees. Today, what should be of concern is the
review of the gains and the mistakes of the administration
and to use same to chart a new course for the Buhari’s new
administration to ensure a better Nigeria,” he added.