Fact That Many Nigerians Own Private Jets Is Sign Poverty Is Not So Bad, Jonathan Tells Buhari

President Goodluck Jonathan has debunked General Buhari’s belief that proliferation of ownership of private jets in Nigeria is a sign of corruption, saying that rather, it is a sign that poverty is not so bad.
Jonathan, whose main theme of his campaign speech as his campaign train stormed Enugu today said that contrary to Buhari’s belief that Nigerians should be termed as corrupt just because they own private jets is in bad taste.
To him, he said, the fact that many Nigerians own private jets is a positive sign that poverty is not so bad in the country.
The President said that the best way to fight corruption in Nigeria is through technology. You must deny Nigerian officials access to funds and not throwing people into prisons.
He challenged Buhari for saying he would send corrupt people to Kirikiri Prisons if he becomes President, adding that it was the same way he sent people to ludicrous prisons, went to sleep and the economy collapsed under him before his colleagues overthrew him as Head of State.
He said that Buhari is not interested in becoming President for the purpose of moving the country forward but to be able to fight real and perceived enemies with state power.
According to Jonathan, the best way to fight corruption was not to arrest people indiscriminately, show them on screen and clamp them to jail, adding that by strengthening institutions, his administration had eliminated corruption in agriculture and civil service.
He advised Nigerians, especially those voting for the first time, to reject Buhari who he said wasn’t in touch with modern reality, rule of law, principle of separation of powers and other tenets of democracy.
The President reminded the crowd that Buhari was not a friend of the Igbos, as Head of State, saying that he jailed Late Biafra leader, Chukwuemeka Okukwu, former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, former Anambra governor, Jim Nwobodo (both of whom were in the stadium), former Imo governor, Sam Mbakwe and other Igbo leaders over trumped up charges.
President Jonathan also called on Nigerian women to reject Buhari, saying when he was Head of State, there was no woman in his cabinet.
Jonathan asked Buhari to go back to the ‘foreign consultants’ who told him he could use the issues of corruption and economy to deceive Nigerians for them to coach him properly.
He added that it was not enough for Buhari to say he would fix economy and change the face of agriculture without explaining how he intended to do that.
The President wondered if Buhari was going to bring a better manager of the economy than Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, who he said almost became World Bank president.
“Buhari says he wants to change agriculture, they are not telling us how? Are they changing it from hi-tech to the old system my grandmother used to operate?
“How will they improve the economy? They are not telling us. They didn’t improve the economy in any way when they held power between 1983 and 1985.
“Government is not about using state power to  fight enemies. Somebody wants to take over government because he believes he has enemies at local and international levels that he wants to crush and jail.
“Our own war against indiscipline will be instilled in the minds of Nigerians. We shall salvage Nigeria with deeper commitment and genuine sincerity. We will run Nigeria with global best practice, not like in the medieval era.
“Is Jim Nwobodo or Alex Ekwueme corrupt?  Were they not jailed? One of them was even jailed for 301 years. We won’t fight corruption that way.
“We have ended corruption in fertilizer distribution. We will end corruption systematically, not by arresting people, showing them on screen and jailing them. You threw people into Kirikiri, went to sleep and the economy collapsed, you were thrown out and you are back to tell Nigerians the same thing.
“Buhari is deceiving you. They deceived you before only to come and start jailing everybody. Is that the country we want to run? He jailed real and perceived enemies. The idea of throwing people into Kirikiri will not work. They should say something else or should tell us how they will fight corruption.”
Jonathan said that if he is re-elected, his administration will put structures in place to ensure that Nigerian youths visit the moon and begin to build aircraft soon.
Jonathan said that the new Terminal building of the Akanu Ibiam Internal Airport, which he had earlier inspected, would be completed in less than 18 months.
He made reference to the government’s automobile policy, which has revived the sector, adding that he had fixed a lot of road projects and carried out several irrigation projects in the southeast.
The President reiterated his commitment to free and fair election and ensuring all eligible Nigerians are allowed to vote.
Chairman of the Jonathan/ Sambo campaign organisation, Colonel Ahmadu Ali had earlier urged Nigerians to reject a man who had truncated democracy in the past.  [myad]