Vengeance
Against My Family, Govt Triggered Recession, Says Jonathan
Corruption has worsened after my exit
Former President
Goodluck Jonathan has said that the descent into recession by the country few
months after his exit from office was self-inflicted by the APC government
which came with a vengeance mission and name-calling rather than build on the
gains of his administration.
The former
president said in his book, My Transition Hours, that the clueless tag given to
his government was an attempt to denigrate his person and that of those who
served under him, stressing that no government in Nigeria’s history has had the
opportunity of having such array of person working in one government like he
did.
He said it is on
record that several of his ministers and others he appointed into different
positions are currently occupying plum positions across the globe, warning that
people should stop digging holes for others to fall into.
He wrote: “Recall
that the opposition and their sympathisers and campaigners, both local and
international, with their malicious propaganda, tore our economy to shreds,
threatened our stability and existence as a nation and intimidated our
citizens, all in the bid to take over power.
“Nevertheless, we
conducted ourselves in a manner that allowed a peaceful transfer of power from
a ruling party to an opposition party, for the first time since Independence in
1960.
“Rather than forge
a coalition and build on the momentum we had gathered when they eventually took
office, they went on a persecution spree and vengeance mission.
“That the country
slipped into recession soon after we left office was a self-inflicted injury
caused by misplaced priorities. The narrative of inheriting empty treasury is a
blatant lie.
“Also, the excuse
of the collapse of world crude prices does not hold water. This is because the
Fourth Republic took off in 1999 with crude oil selling for less than $20 per
barrel and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 0.58 per cent, according to
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures. Yet, the economy maintained a
steady growth from that year, peaking at 15.33 per cent in 2002 when the
average crude oil price was about $25.
“It is also
instructive that the oil and gas sector constitute about 11 per cent of our
GDP. There had to be a wider causative factor than just the fall in world crude
prices.
“It also amounts
to standing facts on their heads to continuously claim that recession was
caused by so-called mindless looting. The truth is that the opposition, in a
bid to undo our government, became its own undoing when it got to power,
because of the burden of justifying deliberate misrepresentations.
“There is wisdom
in the saying that if you win a prize and get the crown, don’t go around
destroying the person who previously held that prize; it will lose its value.
Even after winning the election and forming the government at the centre, the
blame game continued.
“When two brothers
fight to death, it is the neighbor that inherits their father’s wealth. And we
have seen neighboring nations like the Republic of Benin and Ghana reaping from
the capital flight out of Nigeria.
“Despite Nigeria’s
attainment of Independence from Britain ahead of most other African countries,
we have been increasingly conditioned to seek succor in the blame game. It is
time for Nigeria to take responsibility. As Gen. Murtala Mohammed said while
addressing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU) in
1976 that ‘Africa has come of age’.
“I add that
Nigeria has come of age. We either live up to that or we don’t. I am convinced
that we can, and we should. We must as a nation always strive to improve the
quality of life of our citizens and make developmental plans that will focus on
the younger generation. That way, Nigeria will not be a liability to the rest
of the world. Our population will be an albatross to us and our allies if we do
not take the necessary step to turn it into a great opportunity.
“The sundry
accusations by the new administration would appear to have baited the media.
Media trials are entertaining, but have little or no effect in fighting corruption
and improving the economy. Since I left office, rather than improve on our TI
(Transparency International) corruption perception record, the situation has
worsened with the nation going 12 places backward, becoming number 148
according to the latest CPI ranking for 2017, from 136 in 2014 when I was
president
“It was bad enough
that Boko Haram insurgents continue killing people and ruining businesses, but
what is worse is when politicians downgrade the economy by demarcating the
country internationally.
“You should never
try to slander your political opponents by destroying your country’s economy.
Capital flight intensified and companies started laying off staff. In all
these, I hope a lesson would be learnt.
“If you embark on
digging a hole for your enemy, you better make it shallow, because you might
end up in the hole yourself. How do you attract investors you already repelled
through your utterances? Investors are an ultra-sensitive lot. Money runs away
from unstable societies.
