On Monday, the social media bristled with reactions to President Goodluck Jonathan’s formal response to some charges levelled against his administration, as contained in an 18-page letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and published in major newspapers across the country.
The attention of many Nigerians was drawn to Jonathan’s claim that Obasanjo had a case to answer over “questionable waivers of signature bonuses between 2000 and 2007” when he was in office.
Also, the President’s reference to scandals involving Siemens and Halliburton during Obasanjo’s tenure appears to be giving many people cause for concern, with some of them saying the revelation had confirmed the suspicion that Jonathan was intentionally shielding his close associates from prosecution for corrupt practices.
Wondering why Jonathan had to wait till his predecessor accused his government of encouraging corruption in the country before raising the alarm over the said waivers, they described the current development as unfortunate.
A political blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, lamented that Jonathan’s letter had clearly exposed his “hypocrisy” in the fight against corruption. Urging the President to direct the relevant security agencies to spring into action, he said, “The office of the President of Nigeria has become an open arena for shame and hypocrisy. You see, you can’t accuse a man of all that and then leave him without prosecution and expect us to believe you.
“The President said enough to let us know that Obasanjo should be battling for his freedom in the courts. Who will do that? He mentioned the Siemens and Halliburton scandals. He didn’t even say anything about bringing the former President and others to book for those allegations.”
Also, Kayode Ogundamisi accused the President of shielding Obasanjo from prosecution, saying he was shocked to learn that allegations of corruption were made against the latter.
Ogundamisi said Jonathan should not stop at associating Obasanjo with the scams, but back his promise not to “shield any government official or private individual involved in corruption” with action.
“Jonathan hinted in his letter that Obasanjo was involved in the Siemens and Halliburton scams, yet he is protecting him. When will Obasanjo be made to face the law or is he above the law? Is he aware that Obasanjo is corrupt and failed to act?” he asked.
Egghead Odewale also wrote on Twitter that the allegations made against the former President proved that the President was shielding corruption and criminality.
Odewale said, “And thus it was written that President Jonathan openly admitted shielding corruption and criminality. You accuse a former president of corruption and criminality and he still walks freely? Should he also present evidence of his own crimes? But how can President Jonathan write about Siemens and Halliburton, yet he has done nothing to prosecute those involved. It beats my imagination!”
For Seun Fakuade, the President’s letter depicted him as having lost the moral ground to fight corruption in high places.
He argued that out of the weighty allegations of corruption made by Obasanjo, the President “glossed over” the issue in one paragraph. “The President’s letter is sad, petty and out-of-touch with the issues Obasanjo raised,” Fakuade tweeted. “I expect President Jonathan to deal with issues in this situation; go after Obasanjo since he alleges that he’s corrupt. But he doesn’t have the right to do so. The President has lost the moral right to go after corrupt people directly because he lends credence to corruption: Oduah, Alamieyesegha, etc. He lost it.
“Mr. President, you lend credence to corruption. You pardoned a criminal. You have no moral capacity to lead us. Mr. President, not one minister, among all those fingered in corrupt deals, has been suspended and charged to court for trials. Not one.”
Responding to the matter on Facebook, Soulz Daniel said that with the letter the President only tried to convince Nigerians that he should not be held responsible for Nigeria’s woes, especially corruption and insecurity.
“Jonathan says he isn’t shielding corrupt government officials. Can he explain why the Petroleum Minister, who has been indicted in many reports, is still a minister? What about Stella Oduah (aviation minister) who has been found to violate the due process in the purchase of the infamous two bullet-proof BMW cars scandal and her recommendation for a sack by the National Assembly, just to mention a few?” Daniel said
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