Following the President’s Independence Day broadcast of 1st October 2012, the Premium Times online newspapers published ‘President Jonathan lied in Independence anniversary broadcast’. In response to that news article, the Presidency published:
Our attention has been drawn to reports from some opposition leaning media houses alleging that Mr President made some false claims about Nigeria’s standing in this year’s Transparency International anti corruption rating.
As is the practice worldwide, we accept the premise that whatever is published in the media and goes unchallenged is the truth. On this issue, the media published their synopsis of the most recent Transparency International report and BusinessDay. a well respected newspaper with a bias for business reporting in a headline on the 12th of September 2012 with the titled ‘FG anti-corruption initiative impacts Nigeria's global perception' said "The survey on global perceptions for 2011 versus 2001 showed that the third best improvement in the world was in Nigeria, with its score improving by 1.5 points".
The above quoted comments were relied upon in coming to the conclusion that Mr. President honestly came to in good faith. To this day, Transparency International has not disputed the findings of BusinessDay.
For a section of the opposition to now cast aspersions on the integrity of the President when he relied on notorious facts {anything published in the press and which remains unchallenged is a notorious fact) is proof positive of the now obvious fact that they lack ideas on how to move Nigeria forward and would rather snipe at efforts of the President to move the nation forward for which any patriot would do.
In conclusion the President acted in good faith and his statement was based on notorious facts and are evidenced by recent breakthroughs in fighting corruption in the oil industry where subsidy fraud suspects are already facing trial as well as in the Agricultural Sector where decades old corrupt practices in the fertilizer distribution network have been eradicated via the voucher system which cuts off the middle man.
Retrieved from the Federal Ministry of Information website (http://fmi.gov.ng) on the 2nd of October, 2012
These people in the Presidency are learned people, doctors (even academic doctors) who had been taught long ago, when the standard of education was far better than now, how to write papers and reports. They would even have, at some point, taught people how to research and cite references – see how inept and uninformed they have become! I guess luxury, immense and undeserved luxury, abruptly erodes the glitter (i.e education) of a cultured mind.
But sincerely, the President must take responsibility for the gaffe. He is a doctor of Philosophy for God sake! Of course it is normal for people to research and prepare a speech for the Head of Government, but it is the ‘President’s speech’ and he (the President) has to cross-check facts!
Any time the citizens take a step against or criticize the government, then it must be opposition-induced or opposition-led – this is the opinion of the Presidency always. This presupposes that Nigerians are fools and cannot think or act for themselves except led by opposition parties.
Well, the Presidency is invariably showing us that the federal government is ‘Government of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for PDP and by PDP alone!’
No comments:
Post a Comment