Chief Augustine Mazie, Chairman, Board of Trustees of New Paradigm Transformation Initiative, NPTI, in this interview spoke on the frosty relationship between President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, alleging that there is a grand plot to frustrate the President’s chances in the presidential polls

By Emmanuel Elebeke

To what extent is your group involved in President Jonathan’s re-election bid?

The New Paradigm for Transformation Initiative is a socio-economic and Non-Governmental Organization, committed to the improvement and sustenance of peace, unity, positive transformation of Nigeria, and socio-economic wellbeing of the Nigerian people. One of the cardinal principles of the organization  is to support any leader that upholds the principles of good governance. Presently, the group is pledging its support to President Goodluck Jonathan because the members were convinced that the President truly inspired them through his transformational policies.

Are you not bothered that some feel that the President doesn’t deserve another term?

Mazie

I can tell you that there is no fear in Jonathan’s camp as I speak. I have come to realise that some people criticize everything about the President without actually knowing what is being done. Some accused Jonathan of not building roads. And that is not true. They should have looked back at where we are coming from before making their judgements.

If you travelled during the last Christmas season and saw the condition of the roads, you would agree with me that he is working. The Lagos-Shagamu road, Benin-Ore road, Abuja-Lokoja   road, Okene-Akaokuta Steel road, Markudi-Enugu road, Kano-Maidugiri are among the major high ways that have been attended to. Only a blind person can say that the President has not performed well.

What do you make of allegations that the President is surrounded by people of questionable characters?

The fact that the President has not jailed anybody does not mean he is not fighting corruption. He reportedly said that he is putting structures in place to be sure that if he blocks the way people steal money, there will be no more corruption.

He spoke recently about the lateness of salaries. He said we have to put some processes of checks and balances in place, so that people do not just steal money anyhow. If those things are put in place, how do you think people will engage in corruption? In your house, if you check the hole rat passes to steal your food, your food will be there for you but if you don’t check it and allow the porous hole, your food would not be there.

So, if the President is trying to block all loopholes, making sure that civil servants do their jobs as they ought to because for you to be steal, you have to collude with some other people. You don’t just go to the ministry or CBN to steal money, you have to do it with somebody.

But the slogan of Buhari campaign team is fight against corruption?

Those appointing accusing fingers at the President have not cleaned their cupboard very well. Those corrupt people who fought Obasanjo are still fighting back. When Obasanjo instituted anti graft bodies, these same people criticizing Jonathan criticized Obasanjo then for using the anti-graft agencies to haunt his enemies. But today, they are saying that Jonathan is not fighting corruption. He said he was going to fight corruption in line with world best practice but is not going to build prisons because he does not believe in putting people into jail.

Buhari committed a greatest disserve to Nigeria by toppling a civilian government. If Buhari was still in army, the way he is fighting to become president, he would have toppled this present government.

He had made provocative statements in the past and nobody had sent him to jail. If Jonathan were to be like Buhari, he would have probably sent Buhari to jail for the atrocities he committed.