Jonathan: Sections of Country Threatening Nation’s Unity

President Goodluck Jonathan has said some persons and sections of the country are threatening the nation's unity because of their desperate attempt to wrest power from him.

According to him, this desperate attempt to wrest power from him is creating divisions and hatred in the polity. Jonathan, however, did not name the persons and which sections of the country he was referring to.

The president, who was represented by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), spoke while declaring open the 53rd annual general conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Calabar, Cross River State.

According to the president, some politicians were exploiting freedom of expression, association and information guaranteed by the constitution to threaten the existence of the country.

He said: “Democracy and the liberalism that it engenders in the political space have also brought about its own challenges, especially to the unity and corporate existence of our nation.

“The freedom of expression, association and freedom of thought and conscience guaranteed by the constitution, have unwittingly become tools in the hands of politicians and their associates to promote divisions, hatred, and discontentment in the polity.

“The quest for power and determination of certain persons and sections of the country to wrest power from incumbent political office holders has led to the issuance of all manner of threats with grave implications for our national unity.”

The president said despite the effort of past governments, the country was still faced with multiple challenges.

He identified some of them as how to ensure the security of lives and property in the face of increasing global terrorism, how to protect people’s rights and liberties in the midst of competing social norms, and how to achieve economic development and improvement in living conditions.

He said while developed economies have, on account of their superior educational, economic and technological capabilities been able to manage their challenges, developing nations have continued to lag behind.

This, he said, was due to weak governance institutions, a poor industrial base and near absence of democratic values and norms.

He said his administration was working to correct the situation through the transformation agenda.

“Another major challenge to our nationhood is how to improve on the living conditions of our people.

“Our constitution clearly provides that security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

“While successive governments since independence have grappled with the economic problems of the country, there are still noticeable incidences of poverty, hunger and disease, unemployment and poor infrastructure which have continued to impact negatively on the well-being of the people.

“Although this administration has unveiled a programme of action to deal with these issues, it is obvious that success can only be achieved with concerted efforts from the public and private sectors to deal with these challenges,” he said.

Jonathan said as Nigeria prepares to celebrate 100 years of nationhood, the people must continue to have faith in the ability of the law to regulate their conduct.

“The rule of law connotes not only that the judiciary is independent but that judicial orders and judgments of courts are obeyed and enforced,” he said.

Senate President David Mark, represented by Senate Leader 
Victor Ndoma-Egba(SAN), urged those angling for a sovereign national conference to forget about it for the time being, stating that it was not feasible.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubukar and House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal also spoke on the state of the nation at the event.

Mark said there could be no sovereign national conference until the section on constitution amendment was reviewed.

In his contribution, Tambuwal warned that Nigeria faced serious challenges of nationhood, adding that despite being blessed with intellectual and material resources, the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.

He said: “In the face of stupendous wealth, resources and potential with which we could build a united nation of prosperous people we are indirectly but gradually building two nations in one: a nation of prosperity and affluence, on the one hand, and another nation of poverty and squalor, on the other."

On his part, Atiku decried what he called a consistent and progressive marginalisation of the vast majority of Nigerians.

The discrimination, he said, was as a result of policies which encourage “inequitable interpersonal and inter-regional distribution of opportunities.”

This, he said, “has created situations that propagate rural poverty, urban squalor and general discontent, on the one hand, indiscipline, corruption, ostentatious living, on the other, and social tension and insecurity on the whole.”