President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday
said despite the security challenges in parts of the country, his first
name had brought some good luck to Nigeria.
Jonathan said this while granting an
interview to a 10-year-old Nigerian girl based in California, Miss
Zuriel Oduwole, on the sideline of the ongoing 21st ordinary session of
the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Africa Union
holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Oduwole who was said to have earlier
interviewed some other African leaders is working on a documentary on
the union’s 50 years of existence.
She had sought to know from Jonathan how much good luck his first name had brought to the country under his leadership.
Jonathan said religion and traditional societies attached some values to names.
This, he said, was why parents select good names for their children.
He said, “Traditional societies attach some values to names. That is why people select good names for their children.
“In the scriptures sometimes, when God
sends you on some special assignment, He could even direct, ‘change the
name of this child from this to that.’
“But the name in itself does not make
much difference because even from my village, there is one of my peers
that also answers Goodluck. Another one that is a little older than me
answers Lucky from my small village and I didn’t see the good luck and
lucky in them.
“In terms of bringing my name to bear in
Nigerian affairs, within this period, we have our challenges. Of
course, you are aware that we have our security challenges. But in spite
of the security challenges, the country is moving on. I will say yes,
it brought some good luck to the country.”
On the legacy he would want to leave
behind at the expiration of his tenure, Jonathan said he would like to
be remembered for sanitising the nation’s electoral system as well as
fixing the power poor and security challenges.
“If we can stabilise the electoral
process, sanitise the political environment, then we make sure that we
have power in this country and of course, security, every other things
will take off on its own,” the President said.
Jonathan said he would also like the
sanitation going on in the electoral system to be internalised in all
sectors of the country.
He said, “People should be allowed to
decide who governs them, who represents them at the parliament, who runs
their affair at the local government level; the country never had that
opportunity and the elite were no longer interested even in voting.
“Democracy was almost left floating in
the hands of people who ordinarily have no place there. So, we are
sanitising the electoral process. Now, Nigerians can select who they
want to be their President, who they want to be their governor, who they
want to be their senator, who they want to be their House of
Representatives member or even their state House of Assembly member or
even chairman of their council.
“We are doing that and I want that to be internalised in all the ways we do things. I want people to remember me for that.”
Jonathan also talked of his desire to put the nation on a better stead in the area of Information Technology.
He said with technological development,
power could be stabilised and then, micro, small and medium scale
enterprises would be encouraged.
These, he added, are the areas that create jobs for the people, improve the economy and reduce poverty to the barest minimum.
Also, the President said for African
countries to come out of the woods and take their rightful positions
among the comity of nations, their leaders must deepen democracy by
avoiding abuse of power and impunity.
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Point of correction oga jona,ur name is never nd wll never be a gudluck to dis country rather is a bad omen to dis great nation.
ReplyDeleteWith all the Blackmail coming from the North against your administration,,, What more can a wise man say ??? I Concord.
ReplyDeleteCorruption minimisation/erradication not part of 'Goofluck's' agenda
ReplyDeletewelldone mr president I love ur confidence
ReplyDeleteEmex, its nt " I concord". Its I "concur".
ReplyDeleteyes jonnah!the shameful luck your name brought to nigeria at the A.u meeting in ethopia
ReplyDeleteU are trying for Nigeria forget those people who don't want Nigeria to be a better place God will bless U.
ReplyDeletejona ur trying ur best if not nothan elders and there children bh u would av go far by now
ReplyDeleteyes o good luck indeed with Boko Haram, Increased looting, epileptic power supply with higher tariff, bad road network, high fuel price with stagnant wage, more glorified secondary schools university, two chairmen for NGF and so on.
ReplyDeleteYes- good indeed in occultist rhetoric!
ReplyDelete