President Jonathan Replies Obasanjo’s Letter! Says Letter Is A Threat To National Security

2013

His Excellency,

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR

Agbe L’Oba House, Quarry Road,

Ibara, Abeokuta.

RE: BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

I wish to formally acknowledge your letter dated December 2,
2013 and other previous correspondence similar to it.

You will recall that all the letters were brought to me by
hand. Although both of us discussed some of the issues in those letters, I had
not, before now, seen the need for any formal reply since, to me, they
contained advice from a former President to a serving President. Obviously, you
felt differently because in your last letter, you complained about my not
acknowledging or replying your previous letters. 

It is with the greatest possible reluctance that I now write
this reply. I am most uneasy about embarking on this unprecedented and
unconventional form of open communication between me and a former leader of our
country because I know that there are more acceptable and dignified means of
doing so.

But I feel obliged to reply your letter for a number of
reasons: one, you formally requested for a reply and not sending you one will
be interpreted as ignoring a former President.

Secondly, Nigerians know the role you have played in my
political life and given the unfortunate tone of your letter, clearly, the
gra*es have gone sour.  Therefore, my
side of the story also needs to be told.

 

The third reason why I must reply you in writing is that
your letter is clearly a threat to national security as it may deliberately or
inadvertently set the stage for subversion.

The fourth reason for this reply is that you raised very
weighty issues, and since the letter has been made public, Nigerians are
expressing legitimate concerns. A response from me therefore, becomes very
necessary.

The fifth reason is that this letter may appear in
biographies and other books which political commentators on Nigeria’s
contemporary politics may write. It is only proper for such publications to
include my comments on the issues raised in your letter.

Sixthly, you are very unique in terms of the governance of
this country. You were a military Head of State for three years and eight
months, and an elected President for eight years. That means you have been the
Head of Government of Nigeria for about twelve years. This must have,
presumably, exposed you to a lot of information. Thus when you make a
statement, there is the tendency for people to take it seriously.

The seventh reason is that the timing of your letter
coincided with other vicious releases. The Speaker of the House of
Representatives spoke of my “body language” encouraging corruption. A letter
written to me by the CBN Governor alleging that NNPC, within a period of 19
months did not remit the sum of USD49.8 billion to the federation account, was
also deliberately leaked to the public.

The eighth reason is that it appears that your letter was
designed to incite Nigerians from other geopolitical zones against me and also
calculated to promote ethnic disharmony. Worse still, your letter was designed
to instigate members of our Party, the PDP, against me.

The ninth reason is that your letter conveys to me the
feeling that landmines have been laid for me. Therefore, Nigerians need to have
my response to the issues raised before the mines explode.

The tenth and final reason why my reply is inevitable is
that you have written similar letters and made public comments in reference to
all former Presidents and Heads of Government starting from Alhaji Shehu
Shagari and these have instigated different actions and reactions. The purpose
and direction of your letter is distinctly ominous, and before it is too late,
my clarifications on the issues need to be placed on record.

Let me now comment on the issues you raised. In commenting I
wish to crave your indulgence to compare what is happening now to what took
place before.  This, I believe, will
enable Nigerians see things in better perspective because we must know where we
are coming from so as to appreciate where we now are, and to allow us clearly
map out where we are going.

You raised concerns about the security situation in the
country. I assure you that I am fully aware of the responsibility of government
for ensuring the security of the lives and property of citizens. My
Administration is working assiduously to overcome current national security
challenges, the seeds of which were sown under previous administrations.  There have been some setbacks; but certainly
there have also been great successes in our efforts to overcome terrorism and
insurgency.

Those who continue to down-play our successes in this
regard, amongst whom you must now be numbered, appear to have conveniently
forgotten the depths to which security in our country had plunged before now.

At a stage, almost the entire North-East of Nigeria was
under siege by insurgents. Bombings of churches and public buildings in the
North and the federal capital became an almost weekly occurrence. Our entire
national security apparatus seemed nonplussed and unable to come to grips with
the new threat posed by the berthing of terrorism on our shores.

But my administration has since brought that very
unacceptable situation under significant control. We have overhauled our entire
national security architecture, improved intelligence gathering, training,
funding, logistical support to our armed forces and security agencies, and
security collaboration with friendly countries with very visible and positive
results.

The scope and impact of terrorist operations have been
significantly reduced and efforts are underway to restore full normalcy to the
most affected North Eastern region and initiate a post-crisis development
agenda, including a special intervention programme to boost the region’s
socio-economic progress.

In doing all this, we have kept our doors open for dialogue
with the insurgents and their supporters through efforts such as the work of
the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and the Peaceful Resolution of the
Security Challenges in the North-East. You also know that the Governor of Borno
State provided the items you mentioned to me as carrots. Having done all this
and more, it is interesting that you still accuse me of not acting on your
hardly original recommendation that the carrot and stick option be deployed to
solve the Boko Haram problem.

Your suggestion that we are pursuing a “war against violence
without understanding the root causes of the violence and applying solutions to
deal with all the underlying factors” is definitely misplaced because from the
onset of this administration, we have been implementing a multifaceted strategy
against militancy, insurgency and terrorism that includes poverty alleviation,
economic development, education and social reforms.

Even though basic education is the constitutional
responsibility of States, my administration has, as part of its efforts to
address ignorance and poor education which have been identified as two of the
factors responsible for making some of our youth easily available for use as
cannon fodder by insurgents and terrorists, committed huge funds to the
provision of modern basic education schools for the Almajiri in several
Northern States. The Federal Government under my leadership has also set up
nine additional universities in the Northern States and three in the Southern
States in keeping with my belief that proper education is the surest way of
emancipating and empowering our people.

More uncharitable persons may even see a touch of
sanctimoniousness in your new belief in the carrot and stick approach to
overcoming militancy and insurgency. You have always referred to how you hit
Odi in Bayelsa State to curb militancy in the Niger Delta.  If the invasion of Odi by the Army was the
stick, I did not see the corresponding carrot. 
I was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State then, and as I have always
told you, the invasion of Odi did not solve any militancy problem but, to some
extent, escalated it. If it had solved it, late President Yar’Adua would not
have had to come up with the amnesty program. And while some elements of the problem
may still be there, in general, the situation is reasonably better.

In terms of general insecurity in the country and
particularly the crisis in the Niger Delta, 2007 was one of the worst periods
in our history. You will recall three incidents that happened in 2007 which
seemed to have been orchestrated to achieve sinister objectives.  Here in Abuja, a petrol tanker loaded with
explosives was to be rammed into the INEC building. But luckily for the
country, an electric pole stopped the tanker from hitting the INEC
building.  It is clear that this incident
was meant to exploit the general sense of insecurity in the nation at the time
to achieve the aim of stopping the 2007 elections.  It is instructive that you, on a number of
occasions, alluded to this fact.

When that incident failed, an armed group invaded Yenagoa
one evening with the intent to assassinate me. 
Luckily for me, they could not. 
They again attacked and bombed my country home on a night when I was
expected in the village. Fortunately, as God would have it, I did not make the
trip.

I recall that immediately after both incidents, I got calls
expressing the concern of Abuja.  But
Baba, you know that despite the apparent concern of Abuja, no single arrest was
ever made. I was then the Governor of Bayelsa State and the PDP
Vice-Presidential candidate. The security people ordinarily should have
unraveled the assassination attempt on me.

You also raised the issues of kidnapping, piracy and armed
robbery. These are issues all Nigerians, including me are very concerned about.
While we will continue to do our utmost best to reduce all forms of criminality
to the barest minimum in our country, it is just as well to remind you that the
first major case of kidnapping for ransom took place around 2006. And the Boko
Haram crisis dates back to 2002. Goodluck Jonathan was not the President of the
country then. Also, armed robbery started in this country immediately after the
civil war and since then, it has been a problem to all succeeding
governments.  For a former Head of
Government, who should know better, to present these problems as if they were
creations of the Jonathan Administration is most uncharitable. 

Having said that, let me remind you of some of the things we
have done to curb violent crime in the country. We have reorganized the
Nigerian Police Force and appointed a more dynamic leadership to oversee its
affairs. We have also improved its manpower levels as well as funding, training
and logistical support.

We have also increased the surveillance capabilities of the
Police and provided its air-wing with thrice the number of helicopters it had
before the inception of the present administration. The National Civil Defence
and Security Corps has been armed to make it a much more effective ally of the
police and other security agencies in the war against violent crime. At both
domestic and international levels, we are doing everything possible to curb the
proliferation of the small arms and light weapons with which armed robberies,
kidnappings and piracy are perpetrated. We have also enhanced security at our
borders to curb cross-border crimes.

 We are aggressively
addressing the challenge of crude oil theft in collaboration with the state
Governors. In addition, the Federal Government has engaged the British and US
governments for their support in the tracking of the proceeds from the purchase
of stolen crude. Similarly, a regional Gulf of Guinea security strategy has
been initiated to curb crude oil theft and piracy.

Perhaps the most invidious accusation in your letter is the
allegation that I have placed over one thousand Nigerians on a political watch
list, and that I am training snipers and other militia to assassinate people.
Baba, I don’t know where you got that from but you do me grave injustice in not
only lending credence to such baseless rumours, but also publicizing it. You
mentioned God seventeen times in your letter. Can you as a Christian hold the
Bible and say that you truly believe this allegation?

The allegation of training snipers to assassinate political
opponents is particularly incomprehensible to me. Since I started my political
career as a Deputy Governor, I have never been associated with any form of
political violence. I have been a President for over three years now, with a
lot of challenges and opposition mainly from the high and mighty. There have
certainly been cases of political assassination since the advent of our Fourth
Republic, but as you well know, none of them occurred under my leadership.

Regarding the over one thousand people you say are on a
political watch list, I urge you to kindly tell Nigerians who they are and what
agencies of government are “watching” them. Your allegation that I am using
security operatives to harass people is also baseless. Nigerians are waiting
for your evidence of proof. That was an accusation made against previous
administrations, including yours, but it is certainly not my style and will
never be. Again, if you insist on the spurious claim that some of your
relatives and friends are being harassed, I urge you to name them and tell
Nigerians what agencies of my administration are harassing them.

I also find it difficult to believe that you will accuse me
of assisting murderers, or assigning a presidential delegation to welcome a
murderer. This is a most unconscionable and untrue allegation. It is incumbent
on me to remind you that I am fully conscious of the dictates of my
responsibilities to God and our dear nation. It is my hope that devious
elements will not take advantage of your baseless allegation to engage in
brazen and wanton assassination of high profile politicians as before, hiding
under the alibi your “open letter” has provided for them.

Nevertheless, I have directed the security agencies and
requested the National Human Rights Commission to carry out a thorough
investigation of these criminal allegations and make their findings public.

That corruption is an issue in Nigeria is indisputable.  It has been with us for many years. You will
recall that your kinsman, the renowned afro-beat maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
famously sang about it during your first stint as Head of State. Sonny Okosun
also sang about corruption. And as you may recall, a number of Army Generals
were to be retired because of corruption before the Dimka coup.  Also, the late General Murtala Mohammed
himself wanted to retire some top people in his cabinet on corruption-related
issues before he was assassinated.  Even
in this Fourth Republic, the Siemens and Halliburton scandals are well known.

The seed of corruption in this country was planted a long
time ago, but we are doing all that we can to drastically reduce its
debilitating effects on national development and progress. I have been
strengthening the institutions established to fight corruption. I will not
shield any government official or private individual involved in corruption,
but I must follow due process in all that I do. And whenever clear cases of
corruption or fraud have been established, my administration has always taken
prompt action in keeping with the dictates of extant laws and procedures. You
cannot claim to be unaware of the fact that several highly placed persons in our
country, including sons of some of our party leaders are currently facing trial
for their involvement in the celebrated subsidy scam affair. I can hardly be
blamed if the wheels of justice still grind very slowly in our country, but we
are doing our best to support and encourage the judiciary to quicken the pace
of adjudication in cases of corruption.

Baba, I am amazed that with all the knowledge garnered from
your many years at the highest level of governance in our country, you could
still believe the spurious allegation contained in a letter written to me by
the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and surreptitiously obtained
by you, alleging that USD49.8 billion, a sum equal to our entire national
budget for two years, is “unaccounted for” by the NNPC. Since, as President,
you also served for many years as Minister of Petroleum Resources, you very
well know the workings of the corporation. It is therefore intriguing that you
have made such an assertion. You made a lot of insinuations about oil theft,
shady dealings at the NNPC and the NNPC not remitting the full proceeds of oil
sales to the of CBN. Now that the main source of the allegations which you
rehashed has publicly stated that he was “misconstrued”, perhaps you will find
it in your heart to apologize for misleading unwary Nigerians and impugning the
integrity of my administration on that score.

Your claim of “Atlantic Oil loading about 130, 000 barrels
sold by Shell and managed on behalf of NPDC with no sale proceeds paid into the
NPDC account” is also disjointed and baseless because no such arrangement as
you described exists between Atlantic Oil and the Nigeria Petroleum Development
Company. NPDC currently produces about 138, 000 barrels of oil per day from
over 7 producing assets. The Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) of the NNPC
markets all of this production on behalf of NPDC with proceeds paid into NPDC
account.

I am really shocked that with all avenues open to you as a
former Head of State for the verification of any information you have received
about state affairs, you chose to go public with allegations of “high
corruption” without offering a shred of supporting evidence. One of your
political “sons” similarly alleged recently that he told me of a minister who
received a bribe of $250 Million from an oil company and I did nothing about
it. He may have been playing from a shared script, but we have not heard from
him again since he was challenged to name the minister involved and provide the
evidence   to back his claim.  I urge you, in the same vein, to furnish me
with the names, facts and figures of a single verifiable case of the “high
corruption” which you say stinks all around my administration and see whether
the corrective action you advocate does not follow promptly. And while you are
at it, you may also wish to tell Nigerians the true story of questionable
waivers of signature bonuses between 2000 and 2007.

While, by the Grace of God Almighty, I am the first
President from a minority group, I am never unmindful of the fact that I was
elected leader of the whole of Nigeria and I have always acted in the best
interest of all Nigerians. You referred to the divisive actions and
inflammatory utterances of some individuals from the South-South and asserted
that I have done nothing to call them to order or distance myself from their
ethnic chauvinism. Again that is very untrue. I am as committed to the unity of
this country as any patriot can be and I have publicly declared on many
occasions that no person who threatens other Nigerians or parts of the country
is acting on my behalf.

It is very regrettable that in your letter, you seem to
place sole responsibility for the ongoing intrigues and tensions in the PDP at
my doorstep, and going on from that position, you direct all your appeals for a
resolution at me. Baba, let us all be truthful to ourselves, God and posterity.
At the heart of all the current troubles in our party and the larger polity is
the unbridled jostling and positioning for personal or group advantage ahead of
the 2015 general elections. The “bitterness, anger, mistrust, fear and deep
suspicion” you wrote about all flow from this singular factor.

It is indeed very unfortunate that the seeming crisis in the
party was instigated by a few senior members of the party, including you. But,
as leader of the party, I will continue to do my best to unite it so that we
can move forward with strength and unity of purpose. The PDP has always
recovered from previous crises with renewed vigour and vitality. I am very
optimistic that that will be the case again this time. The PDP will overcome
any temporary setback, remain a strong party and even grow stronger.

Instigating people to cause problems and disaffection within
the party is something that you are certainly familiar with. You will recall
that founding fathers of the Party were frustrated out of the Party at a
time.  Late Chief Sunday Awoniyi was
pushed out, Late Chief Solomon Lar left and later came back, Chief Audu Ogbeh
and Chief Tom Ikimi also left. Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo left and later came
back. In 2005/2006, link-men were sent to take over party structures from PDP
Governors in an unveiled attempt to undermine the state governors. In spite of
that, the Governors did not leave the Party because nobody instigated and
encouraged them to do so.

The charge that I was involved in anti-party activities in
governorship elections in Edo, Ondo, Lagos, and Anambra States is also very
unfortunate. I relate with all Governors irrespective of political party
affiliation but I have not worked against the interest of the PDP.  What I have not done is to influence the
electoral process to favour our Party. You were definitely never so inclined,
since you openly boasted in your letter of how you supported Alhaji Shehu
Shagari against Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe and others in the
1979 presidential elections while serving as a military Head of State. You and
I clearly differ in this regard, because as the President of Nigeria, I believe
it is my duty and responsibility to create a level playing field for all
parties and all candidates.

Recalling how the PDP lost in states where we were very
strong in 2003 and 2007 such as Edo, Ondo, Imo, Bauchi, Anambra, and Borno,
longstanding members of our great party with good memory will also consider the
charge of anti-party activities you made against me as misdirected and hugely
hypocritical. It certainly was not Goodluck Jonathan’s “personal ambition or
selfish interest” that caused the PDP to lose the governorship of Ogun State
and all its senatorial seats in the last general elections.

You quoted me as saying that I have not told anybody that I
will seek another term in office in 2015. You and your ambitious acolytes
within the party have clearly decided to act on your conclusion that “only a
fool will believe that statement” and embark on a virulent campaign to harass
me out of an undeclared candidature for the 2015 presidential elections so as
to pave the way for a successor anointed by you.

You will recall that you serially advised me that we should
refrain from discussing the 2015 general elections for now so as not to
distract elected public officials from urgent task of governance. While you
have apparently moved away from that position, I am still of the considered
opinion that it would have been best for us to do all that is necessary to
refrain from heating up the polity at this time. Accordingly, I have already
informed Nigerians that I will only speak on whether or not I will seek a
second term when it is time for such declarations. Your claims about
discussions I had with you, Governor Gabriel Suswam and others are wrong, but
in keeping with my declared stance, I will reserve further comments until the
appropriate time.

Your allegation that I asked half a dozen African Presidents
to speak to you about my alleged ambition for 2015, is also untrue.  I have never requested any African President
to discuss with you on my behalf.  In our
discussion, I mentioned to you that four Presidents told me that they were
concerned about the political situation in Nigeria and intended to talk to you
about it.  So far, only three of them
have confirmed to me that they have had any discussion with you. If I made such
a request, why would I deny it?

The issue of Buruji Kashamu is one of those lies that should
not be associated with a former President. 
The allegation that I am imposing Kashamu on the South-West is most
unfortunate and regrettable.  I do not
even impose Party officials in my home state of Bayelsa and there is no zone in
this country where I have imposed officials. 
So why would I do so in the South West? 
Baba, in the light of Buruji’s detailed public response to your “open
letter”, it will be charitable for you to render an apology to Nigerians and I.

On the issue of investors being scared to come to Nigeria,
economic dormancy, and stagnation, I will just refer you to FDI statistics from
2000 to 2013. Within the last three years, Nigeria has emerged as the preferred
destination for investments in Africa, driven by successful government policies
to attract foreign investors. For the second year running, the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Investments (UNCTAD) has ranked Nigeria as the number
one destination for investments in Africa, and as having the fourth highest
returns in the world.

Today, Nigeria is holding 18 percent of all foreign
investments in Africa and 60 percent of all foreign investments in the ECOWAS
Sub-Region. Kindly note also that in the seven years between 2000 and 2007 when
you were President, Nigeria attracted a total of $24.9 Billion in FDI.  As a result of our efforts which you disparage,
the country has seen an FDI inflow of $25.7 Billion in just three years which
is more than double the FDI that has gone to the second highest African
destination. We have also maintained an annual national economic growth rate of
close to seven per cent since the inception of this administration. What then,
is the justification for your allegation of scared investors and economic
dormancy?

Although it was not emphasized in your letter of December 2,
2013, you also conveyed, in previous correspondence, the impression that you
were ignorant of the very notable achievements of my administration in the area
of foreign relations. It is on record that under my leadership, Nigeria has
played a key role in resolving the conflicts in Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali,
Guinea Bissau and others.

The unproductive rivalry that existed between Nigeria and
some ECOWAS countries has also been ended under my watch and Nigeria now has
better relations with all the ECOWAS countries. 
At the African Union, we now have a Commissioner at the AU Commission
after being without one for so long. We were in the United Nations Security
Council for the 2010/2011 Session and we have been voted in again for the
2014/2015 Session. From independence to 2010, we were in the U.N. Security
Council only three times but from 2010 to 2015, we will be there two times.

   

This did not happen by chance.  My Administration worked hard for it and we
continue to maintain the best possible relations with all centres of global
political and economic power. I find it hard therefore, to believe your
assertions of untoward concern in the international community over the state of
governance in Nigeria

With respect to the Brass and Olokola LNG projects, you may
have forgotten that though you started these projects, Final Investment
Decisions were never reached.  For your
information, NNPC has not withdrawn from either the Olokola or the Brass LNG
projects.

On the Rivers State Water Project, you were misled by your
informant. The Federal Government under my watch has never directed or
instructed the Africa Development Bank to put on hold any project to be
executed in Rivers state or any other State within the Federation. The Rivers
Water Project was not originally in the borrowing plan but it was included in
April 2013 and appraised in May. Negotiations are ongoing with the AfDB.  I have no doubt that you are familiar with
the entire process that prefaces the signing of a Subsidiary Loan Agreement as
in this instance.

 Let me assure you and
all Nigerians that I do not engage in negative political actions and will
never, as President, oppress the people of a State or deprive them of much
needed public services as a result of political disagreement

 

I have noted your comments on the proposed National
Conference. Contrary to the insinuation in your letter, the proposed conference
is aimed at bringing Nigerians together to resolve contentious national issues
in a formal setting. This is a sure way of promoting greater national consensus
and unity, and not a recipe for “disunity, confusion and chaos” as you alleged
in your letter.

Having twice held the high office of President,
Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I
trust that you will understand that I cannot possibly find the time to offer a
line-by-line response to all the accusations and allegations made in your
letter while dealing with other pressing demands of office and more urgent
affairs of state.

I have tried, however, to respond to only the most serious
of the charges which question my sincerity, personal honour, and commitment to
the oath which I have sworn, to always uphold and protect the interests of all
Nigerians, and promote their well-being.

In closing, let me state that you have done me grave
injustice with your public letter in which you wrongfully accused me of deceit,
deception, dishonesty, incompetence, clannishness, divisiveness and insincerity,
amongst other ills.

I have not, myself, ever claimed to be all-knowing or
infallible, but I have never taken Nigeria or Nigerians for granted as you
implied, and I will continue to do my utmost to steer our ship of state towards
the brighter future to which we all aspire.

Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration and
warm regards.

GOODLUCK  EBELE
JONATHAN