Jonathan faults The Economist’s endorsement of Buhari

  President Goodluck Jonathan has condemned the endorsement by the UK-based magazine, The Economist, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari for the February 14 elections. The president, in a statement on Friday by his spokesman, Reuben Abati,described the endorsement as tongue-in-cheek, baseless and jaundiced. Abati said the endorsement was rather […]

 

President Goodluck Jonathan has condemned the endorsement by the UK-based magazine, The Economist, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari for the February 14 elections.

The president, in a statement on Friday by his spokesman, Reuben Abati,described the endorsement as tongue-in-cheek, baseless and jaundiced.

Abati said the endorsement was rather malicious vilification of Jonathan who, according to him, retains the trust and confidence of majority of Nigerians as the outcome of the presidential elections will undoubtedly show.

He said many Nigerians and other readers of the usually urbane, thoughtful and well-reasoned editorial opinions of the Economist would be shocked that the magazine had taken “the very ill-considered decision to throw its weight behind a candidate who, as a former military dictator, curtailed freedom of speech, ordered the kidnapping of opponents and jailing of journalists, and  is accused of incitement to violence and grave human rights violations in Nigeria’s current democratic dispensation”.

He said the magazine might feign ignorance of Jonathan’s remarkable achievements in the past six years, but Nigerians who would actually vote in the presidential elections, know that Jonathan has worked very hard to fulfil all the major promises he made to them on assumption of office.

He said: Nigerians know that President Jonathan has developed our economy and created more jobs, they know that he has given policy support to the real sector of the economy, so that small and medium enterprises can thrive, they know that he has encouraged locally owned enterprises to take advantage of our resources in growing the domestic economy and they also know that he has successfully attracted greater foreign direct investment to the country.

“Unlike the clearly poorly informed and distant authors of the Economist opinion titled ‘The Least Awful’, appreciative Nigerians are also aware that President Jonathan has worked tirelessly to improve power supply across the nation, rebuild and expand national infrastructure, improve public transportation and provide greater access to quality education for all Nigerian youth.

“They know very well too that Jonathan has significantly improved healthcare services in the country, revolutionised agriculture, promoted gender equality and women empowerment, and done his very best to stem corruption in government. Contrary to the Economist’s assertions, Nigeria, under Jonathan, has made very considerable progress. In spite of the significant challenges of terrorism and insurgency the nation faces today, Jonathan has ensured that Nigeria has become a more vibrant democracy with  free media, an independent judiciary, free, fair and credible elections, and greater respect for human rights.

“The Economist is entitled to its erroneous opinion on who represents the best leadership option for Nigeria in the coming elections, but happily for the country, it is not the magazine’s lead writers, but more knowledgeable and patriotic Nigerians who actually work and live in the country, that will vote and re-elect President Jonathan for a second  term in office. They’ll do so, because unlike the Economist’s opinion writers, they understand that a Buhari Presidency will, for their beloved country, represent a stark setback and retrogression  from the tremendous ongoing positive transformation of Nigeria under President Jonathan’s leadership”.