Photo: Vanguard Abuja — Second Republic politician, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, yesterday spat fire on the decision by President Goodluck Jonathan to defer the declaration of his interest in the 2015 Presidency till 2014, arguing that it would be too cumbersome to salvage the nation from the crisis the belated action could trigger.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Vanguard, the former lawmaker said Jonathan was courting avoidable trouble by pretending to be making up his mind on the next election, when in fact he had made up his mind to run in 2015.
According to the medical doctor-turned political activist, Jonathan should first subject his Presidential ambition to a judicial interpretation by the Supreme Court to stave off looming constitutional crisis that his action would generate in the country.
The Kano politician noted that given the furore already generated by the circumstance of his emergence as the President of Nigeria, Jonathan must clear the air early enough on his 2015 ambition so that those who have legal issues could challenge him appropriately and get redress.
Legal issues
Mohammed said: "He (Jonathan) will be doing Nigerians a big disservice if he waits till 2014 to declare his interest in the 2015 Presidency because there are Nigerians who have real legal issues to take up with him on the matter and he should do it in good time to prevent a constitutional crisis and violence.
"If Mr. President is a true Nigerian leader he should decide now so that those who have issues with him will go to court to challenge him and get redress.
"The issue is not about him but 160 million Nigerians whose fate is tied to the Presidency of Nigeria. Jonathan has no right to dilly dally with the destiny of Nigerians.
Jonathan not qualified to contest
But Mohammed made it clear that Jonathan was not qualified to contest in 2015, having taken the oath of office twice as Nigeria's President first in 2009 following the untimely death of Yar'Adua and later in 2011, thereby hitting the limit provided by Nigerian law.
According to him, allowing Jonathan to run in 2015 would have made him to serve 10 years instead of the maximum two terms of four years each stipulated by law, thereby making a mockery of the Nigerian Constitution.
He said: "The fact that he wants to run after declaring that he would spend only a term in office also places a moral burden on him and he should think about it if he is a gentleman with conscience. Common sense indicates that Jonathan has no right to contest in 2015.
"Most importantly, Jonathan should be told that the Constitution does not allow any Nigerian leader to take the oath of office twice. He has already exhausted the limit of his two terms."
FG in talks with Boko Haram
Mohammed also punctured the claim by Jonathan that his government was not negotiating with the Boko Haram sect, insisting that the Federal Government was not telling the nation the whole truth about the matter.
The politician insisted that the Presidency recently dispatched a minister from one of the Niger Delta states to Mali to meet with that country's top security official and some militant leaders sympathetic to the Boko Haram sect with a view to facilitating dialogue between the sect and the Federal Government.
He said: "This government has been having underground talks with Boko Haram and if the President says he is not negotiating with the sect, he is lying.
"What the government is trying to do with the Boko Haram matter shows the highest display of hypocrisy and dishonesty.
"The Federal Government cannot continue to justify its claim of not wanting to dialogue with Boko Haram after it negotiated with the Niger Delta militants and offered mouth-watering jobs and contracts to the mostly Ijaw boys only to turn round and denounce negotiations with another militant group.
"Is it because the Boko Haram sect leaders are not of Ijaw extraction where Mr. President comes from?"
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It is too bad that a claimed medical doctor in the calibre of Junaid Mohammed should descend so low just because he wants to defend the Boko Haram killings and blackmail the Nigeria president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. First and foremost, Jonathan has the constitutional right to contest for a second-term if he so wishes. Secondly, as it is a personal choice either to contest or not, he owns no apology or obligation to anyone on when to declare his intentions. On the issue of the Delta militants and Boko Haram, the difference is so clear as water. While the Niger militants were fighting for the undue explotation and pollution of their land and waters(means of thier livelihood), the Boko Haram are just killing innocent people without any reason. The Niger militants are freedom fighters like the ANC of South Africa, fighting to free their people from unjust rule. The Niger militants never targeted women or children, nor did the Niger militants target anyone based on religion. They only fought against the oil companies destroying their land, as well as the Nigerian government supporting such undue exploitation. The Niger militants were known and quite visible to negotiate with. But the Boko Haram is quiet the opposite. They are terrorists. They target children, women and all good things of life, places of worship, humanitarian and development organizations (UN), etc. Boko Haram has killed thousands of innocent Nigerians. Boko Haram is faceless. And a last word for Junaid Mohammed, if you are truly educated to the level of a medical doctor, please show a little of what you have learnt from school. Tell Boko Haram that western education is good. Let them know that they are terrorists and that no one person in the whole world likes them. Support the Government of Nigeria to root out all terrorist with whatever means available to the state. Boko Haram deserves no mercy. No negociations. No pardon. They should be all flushed out, captured, tried and those found guilty, publicly executed.
Not long ago Alhaji Junaid Mohammed claimed Abuja for the capital of his future Islamic Republic of AREWA.He seemed to have forgotten that Abuja is situated in the Christian Middle-Belt not in his illegal Hausa/ Fulani muslim enclave of the North.Furthermore, Abuja was built from the scratch with our Southern oil money. If only President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan could deliver on his election promises,his re-election come 2015 will be guaranteed,provided of course the unity of Nigeria is preserved. If Alhaji Junaid Mohammed were not mentally deranged and a megalomainiac,he could have been more concerned about his Boko Haram peons who are gradually pushing Nigeria into disintegration. The Alhaji in his delusion even compares his terrorist sponsored group,the Boko Haram with our Niger Delta environmentalists and human right fighters. Alhaji Junaid Mohammed should better consult a Psychiatrist for his mental status evaluation.He is sick upstairs.
First of all, it is unfortunate that Jonathan's brother passed away. We hope his soul will rest eternally. Now, as much as I don't like Goodluck Jonathan as a president, he has every right to declare his intentions in 2014. We know he will anyway so why this statement from Dr. Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed claims that there are legal issues people have with Jonathan. The only thing I can think of is that atrocious idea of regional rotation between the North and the South. All these attempts by our 'intelligent and visionary' leaders to make political power equitable for all regions have only led to more divisions and much greater dependence on government in this country. Also, there is nothing legally binding about a gentlemen's agreement made in 1999 with Obasanjo and his military brass backers from the North. I hope someone better than Jonathan comes to really challenge him and beat him in a free and fair election, but no one has the constitutional right to bar the president from running again. For Dr. Mohammed to claim this is only designed to anger Jonathan's supporters and try to spark an unrelated crisis. We must speak out on things like this.
Could this guy, Jonathan, tell us one thing he has done since taking office. It would be absolutely insane for him to even think about running in 2014, considering the fact that he has not achieved anything since Yar'Adua passed on. But, I would not be surpriced if he runs, afterall he is a black African, a continent where every leader wants to usurp power, stay for ever, die in office if possible. The second issue, comparing Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militants by Dr. Junaib Mohammed, is equating apples to oranges. Could this Junaib Mohammed tell fellow Nigerians one good reason why Boko Haram is killing people at sight, especially christians in the North. Quite frankly, it is disturbing, and even frightening to realize that the so called educated people in the North do not see any wrong in B'Haram. This is the mentality of the whole north, educated or not, feeling of entitlement, as though Nigeria owes them a living. Simply put, the thought of Nigeria is scary because we are actually sitting on a keg of gunpowder.