President Goodluck Jonathan's interview with Wall Street Journal in which he mentioned that the United States should step into the situation of insurgency plaguing the North. While speaking, Goodluck Jonathan stated that he found no reason to probe anyone whether Nigeria's Democracy had been contravened. The opposition claimed the military had been tilted to rig the election but the President feels nothing of such happened as he believes the stories are cooked up... This can be found just at the tail end of the article on Wall Street Journal

... Meanwhile, Mr. Jonathan’s other problems are mounting. The tumbling price of oil has been a shock for this nation, whose government gets 80% of its revenue from crude exports, and saved very little of that money under his watch. On Wednesday, the country’s currency, the naira, hit a record low. Some civil servants have gone unpaid.

Against that backdrop, the president said he was counting on votes from rural Nigeria, where access to fertilizer has become easier under his watch.

“Yes people in the city vote, they make so much noise, but the bulk of the voters come from the countryside,” he said. “For you to know whether I win this election or not, go interview the farmers.”

Mr. Jonathan dismissed other frequently mentioned public concerns. Reports of corruption in the military were exaggerated, as were human-rights abuses, he said. There were few immediate actions needed to clean up the petroleum sector.

The opposition has accused his military of tilting the election his way. Last week, an opposition-leaning website published an audio recording of several military leaders allegedly conspiring to rig a governor’s election that took place in November 2014. A U.S.-based voice-verification firm, Guardian Consulting LLC, confirmed the authenticity of the tape to a 95% accuracy rate.

Mr. Jonathan said he saw no reason to probe whether Nigeria’s democracy had been contravened. “It’s all fabrications,” he said of the audio. “Why should I investigate things that are not real?”

“It’s very sad,” said Kayode Fayemi, the incumbent who lost that election. “The military has lost any democratic control.”

Concerning the 1.5 million people uprooted by BokoHaram, Mr. Jonathan said the government had provided them with enough funding.

“Whenever you have so many people who are displaced there must be stories,” he said. “Even in our small families, some children get hungry sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you’ve not been feeding them.”

Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/nigerian-president-wants-u-s-troops-to-fight-boko-haram-1423850893

all is well
#Rip Dj
Nairaland will remember you.

“Why should I investigate things that are not real?”

You investigate a thing to check if it is real or not. How did jonathan arrived at the audio tape not real

Seun
Lalasticlala, et al

Please investigate the post as well as the website and do the needful. Thanks.

With due regards to the president, his presidential leadership style has a way of diliy-dallying over very important issues!!! This Ekiti election audio tape is a very serious case and should be treated as such. It is this same dilly-dallying shown to the chibok girls kidnap. President should quickly set up an enquiry on this issue. If this is handled by another government, people will end up in jail if they get indicted and proven in the court.

abio if the tape is real, that is "Good news" for APC....they can use it in court instead of Nairaland....Mtschew!!!!!

Shameless and clueless liar!

No honour whatsoever.

Jonathan already has enough job transforming Nigeria , No propaganda conjured by APC will distract our President.

Exact replica of how the they denied the chibok girls abductions till the international community weighed in.
What grievous sin did Nigerians commit to be burdened by a man like GEJ?

“...It is unfortunate that the Commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the chairman of the National Security Council, was not aware that security chiefs and the NSA conspired to cause a postponement of the
election without taking the President into confidence. That is a very serious, illegal action for which the President should have called them to order and have them fired.” -Femi Falana (SAN)

Mumu Goodluck

APC trying everything they can since 1798.
GEJ till...........

Just like the President exonerated MEND for the Oct 1 bombings, he has now spoken out of turn again. How did he know that the voices are fake if there hasn't been any investigation? GEJ is the most parochial president we've ever had and any serious legislature would commence inquiries that may lead to his impeachment based on the audio recording, at least for illegal use of the armed forces.
If you recall, one of the speakers in the audio said 'we have the strike force'. Is this a confirmation of OBJ allegation of a killer squad?

Even after his own minister agreed that the meeting took place....

This is why the world abuse and ridicule this clown.....lmao

pheliciti:
Just like the President exonerated MEND for the Oct 1 bombings, he has now spoken out of turn again. How did he know that the voices are fake if there hasn't been any investigation? GEJ is the most parochial president we've ever had and any serious legislature would commence inquiries that may lead to his impeachment based on the audio recording, at least for illegal use of the armed forces.
If you recall, one of the speakers in the audio said 'we have the strike force'. Is this a confirmation of OBJ allegation of a killer squad?

OBJ have said this all along ...... But we never believed him

Am sure he and PDP are the ones bankrolling obanikoro suite on the alleged tape

On Friday 12th February during the signing of peace pact in Ekiti, Fayose admitted that there was a meeting & he was trying to correct the military officers way & manners they will operate.
*Fayose have indicted himself because initially he said through his media aid that there was no meeting & the recording was fake.
*Later admitted that there was a meeting but wasn't about rigging, the truth is unfolding gradually.
Now Jona has come out to say the recording is fake because its of no beneficial to his course what a joker of a President anyway the clock is ticking for you, 5more weeks to go.

If you have a real audio recording take it to court.

aresa:
Even after his own minister agreed that the meeting took place....

This is why the world abuse and ridicule this clown.....lmao

It's unfortunate the presidency has demonstrated incompetence, an inability to perform damage control and a strong contempt for public opinion - mostly when is shine a dark light on their activities as they govern this country.

The world is watching and from the looks - if the international community is not satisfied with the electoral results we may be facing major sanctions.

LoveDecay:


It's unfortunate the presidency has demonstrated incompetence, an inability to perform damage control and a strong contempt for public opinion - mostly when is shine a dark light on their activities as they govern this country.

The world is watching and from the looks - if the international community is not satisfied with the electoral results we may be facing major sanctions.

Author: John Campbell, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies
Nigeria's 2015 Presidential Election - john-campbell-cpm-update-nigerias-2015-presidential-election

Council on Foreign Relations Press

Release Date
February 2015


The success or failure of democracy, rule of law, and ethnic and religious reconciliation in Nigeria is a bellwether for the entire continent. With a population of more than 177 million evenly divided between Muslims and Christians, Nigeria is Africa's largest economy and most populous country. A 2010 Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Contingency Planning Memorandum, "Electoral Violence in Nigeria," considered the potential for widespread violence associated with Nigeria's 2011 elections and the limited policy options available to the United States to forestall it. This assessment remains relevant today.

The 2015 elections again may precipitate violence that could destabilize Nigeria, and Washington has even less leverage in Abuja than it did in 2011. The upcoming elections are a rematch of the 2011 elections between the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan (a southern Christian) and Muhammadu Buhari (a northern Muslim and a former military chief). Tension between Washington and Abuja is higher than in 2011, largely over how to respond to the radical Islamist insurgent group, Boko Haram, which is steadily gaining strength in northeast Nigeria. According to CFR's Nigeria Security Tracker, Boko Haram has been responsible for nearly eleven thousand deaths since May 2011. Nigerian domestic instability has also increased as a result of the recent global collapse of oil prices, which are hitting the government and political classes hard. Oil constitutes more than 70 percent of Nigeria's revenue and provides more than 90 percent of its foreign exchange. Since October 2014, the national currency, the naira, has depreciated from 155 to the U.S. dollar to 191.

New Concerns

Since Nigeria's independence in 1960, political power has alternated between the predominantly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south, an informal strategy to forestall the country's polarization. Jonathan assumed the presidency when President Umaru Yar'Adua, a northern Muslim, died in 2010. Jonathan gave private assurances that he would finish Yar'Adua's term and wait until 2015 to run for president because it was still "the north's turn." But Jonathan ran for reelection in 2011, thereby violating the system of power alternation. Following the announcement of Jonathan's victory, the north made accusations of election rigging. Rioting broke out across the north, resulting in the greatest bloodshed since the 1967–70 civil war.

Geographic Distribution of Votes in 2011 Presidential Election

Geographic Distribution of Votes in 2011 Presidential ElectionThe 2015 elections are likely to be more violent. A new opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has nominated Buhari as its presidential candidate. The APC is stronger than its predecessors and reflects a splintering of the political classes. The government's inability to defeat Boko Haram, the economic hardships brought on by falling oil prices, and a growing public perception that the Jonathan administration is weak have fueled support for the APC. Though the APC's voter base is in the north, it enjoys support all over the country, unlike the opposition in 2011.

However, any incumbent Nigerian president has significant advantages: he is at the center of extensive patronage networks; he has access to the government's oil revenue; and he and his party largely control the election machinery and ballot-counting infrastructure. It is uncertain whether any provisions will be made for voters in the three northern states placed under a state of emergency because of Boko Haram, as well as the estimated one million people displaced by the insurgency. These displaced voters would likely support Buhari and the APC; their exclusion would benefit Jonathan and the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Thus despite the strength of the opposition, Jonathan remains the likely—but not certain—winner.

Policy Implications

An unstable Nigeria with internally displaced and refugee populations and a government unable to quell Boko Haram could potentially destabilize neighboring states and compromise U.S. interests in Africa. Yet, the United States has little leverage over Nigerian politics, which is driven by domestic factors, and even less leverage over the Nigerian security services. Nigeria will be disappointed that the United States has not offered greater assistance to counter Boko Haram, and Washington will be frustrated by Abuja's failure to address human rights abuses by the security service.

Recommendations

A November 2014 Council Special Report "U.S. Policy to Counter Nigeria's Boko Haram" recommends long-term steps the United States should take to encourage a Nigerian response to terrorism that advances democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights. In the short term, vocal U.S. support for democracy and human rights both during and after the elections could help discourage violence at the polls and after the results are announced. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a preelection visit to Nigeria, has already underscored the importance of free, fair, and credible elections to the bilateral relationship.

In the aftermath, Washington should avoid commenting prematurely on the quality of the elections. Observers from the National Democratic Institute and the International Republic Institute are likely to issue preliminary assessments immediately after the polls close. So, too, will observers from the European Union, the Commonwealth, and the African Union. There will be media pressure for early, official comment. But, following a close election and the violence likely to follow, the timing and content of official U.S. statements should take into account the views of the vibrant Nigerian human rights community, which will likely be the most accurate.
Washington should forcefully and immediately denounce episodes of violence, including those committed by the security services. But official statements should avoid assessing blame without evidence, and they should take into account the weak ability of party leaders to control crowd behavior.

Washington should facilitate and support humanitarian assistance. The north is already in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, with the prospect of famine looming. If the postelection period is violent, there may be need for international humanitarian assistance in many other parts of the country. The Obama administration should plan for a leadership role in coordinating an international humanitarian relief effort, including a close study of lessons learned from the Africa Military Command's successful intervention in Liberia's Ebola crisis.


http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/nigerias-2015-presidential-election/p36087

Those of you determined to diminish the Nigerian army, I wish you guys the best of lucky.

The President surely does create his own sinkhole himself.
His body language, utterances and litany of indiscretion is also the genesis of some of his problem.

...don't give a damn, ...stealing is not corruption, ...America will know, also his demanour in the initial stages of the Chibok girls.

Is this the best we can do as a nation?

Sanchez01:
Goodluck Jonathan... What a man! An audio recording that was forensically analysed in which Obanikoro mentioned that he was sent by the President. Jonathan and corruption are way too synonymous

Your ignorance is enough to cause national embarrassment...

Let us know who conducted your so-called forensic analysis and under whose supervision.

Abeg stop talking like a stark illiterate...

No wonder they call him Mr Clueless..

You've not investigated something and you call it fake.

And some people are still supporting this crook?

emiye:



You investigate a thing to check if it is real or not. How did jonathan arrived at the audio tape not real

Abeg help me ask am...He's lucky there are some mediocres called TANoids who are always available to defend his cluelessness

maestroferddi:
Your ignorance is enough to cause national embarrassment...

Let us know who conducted your so-called forensic analysis and under whose supervision.

Abeg stop talking like a stark illiterate...

Are you sure you listened to the audio?

Please don't sound silly trying to cover the clueless one..

GEJ = Nigeria' s greatest liability. The man is not normal by any stretch of the imagination.

Chai...

Diaris Gooooodu o jona.

Did you even make any move to check for the authenticity yourself?


Anyway... I'd av been surprised if you had agreed that it was authentic.