Jonathan lacks courage, capacity, saysKwankwaso

Kano State Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso has said
President Goodluck Jonathan is leading Nigeria
towards disaster because he lacks courage and the
competence to properly manage Nigeria’s affairs.
The governor said this during a meeting with the
leadership of the Northern Elders Forum,

 at the
Government House in Kano, on Tuesday night.
This was contained in a statement signed by the
Director of Press and Public Affairs, Baba Dantiye,
which was made available to The PUNCH on
Wednesday.
He quoted Kwankwaso as saying that despite
advice and observations made by respected
leaders from within and outside the country on how
to put Nigeria on the right track, the Presidency had
remained insensitive.
Kwankwaso said, “When we met with the President,
as Northern governors, he told us that the former
US Secretary of State, Lady Clinton, told him that as
President he had to look at the issue of the North
very critically.
“She noted that there was an imbalance in terms of
patronage, appointments and sharing of resources.
“He assured that he was looking at those comments
and that was why he was delaying appointments
into boards and so on.
“Since that meeting, we have not seen anything or
changes so it is my conclusion that the President
lacks the capacity and courage to do the right
thing.”
The governor also accused the Jonathan
administration of injustice for proposing N2bn for
projects in the North-East as against the N111bn
proposed for projects in the South-South and the
South-East geo-political zones.
He said it was sad that the federal budget was
heavily tilted in favour of one section of the country
while the other parts were wallowing in illiteracy,
underdevelopment and misery.
Kwankwaso noted that “We have had enough crises
in this country and it is not right to plant seeds of
crisis in the future.
“Look at the North-East that was allocated N2bn in
the current budget, N2bn is what Mr. President
allocated to non-APC states for supporting him,
while N111bn was allocated to the South-East and
South-South. This is not close to fairness.”
He explained that his position on current national
issues was not premised on religion, ethnicity or
sectionalism but stemmed from the desire to see
that every Nigerian was treated without
discrimination.
The governor charged the National Assembly to
oppose injustice especially as was currently being
perpetrated by the government.
Earlier, in separate remarks, the chairman of the
forum, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, Danmasanin
Kano, and his deputy, Paul Unongo, explained that
they were not satisfied with the current political
developments in the country, especially as they
affected the North.
They explained that the visit to Kwankwaso was to
identify with his achievements and sterling
leadership qualities as well as to look at several
issues that would bring about responsible
governance, unity and even development of the
country.
When contacted, the Presidency said the statement
credited to Kwankwaso only showed that the
governor was in need of psychiatric help.
Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters,
Mr. Ahmed Gulag, said this in an interview with one
of our correspondents.
Gulak said it would only take a mentally imbalanced
person to say that Jonathan lacked competence
and guts to manage the affairs of the country
appropriately.
He described the governor as a politically drowning
man.
“That is a statement of a man that is drowning
politically. He is mentally imbalanced. He needs a
psychiatric help. It is only a man that is not
balanced mentally that can be describing the
President in that manner. Nigerians know what is
being done by the President,” he said.