Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati insists in this interview that the private visit by the President to Germany last weekend had nothing to do with ill-health. He also spoke on some other national issues.
Excerpts:
President Jonathan embarked on a private visit to Germany last weekend, but reports in the media had it that he was flown to that country after he suddenly fell ill. Did the President’s visit to Germany have anything to do with ill-health
I think that this was a case of very lazy journalism, if I may say so, because the whole report was based on nothing that the reporters could prove. They said the President suddenly fell ill and he was rushed out. The President is not ill at all. On that particular day, he was really in excellent form. He held meetings, conducted programmes in the Villa and received the report of the National Conference. Anybody who saw him at the National Conference during the closing ceremony would know that the claim that he was ill was just the figment of the reporters’ imagination. I also read in the paper that the President was supposed to have a dinner that evening for members of the National Conference and that the dinner did not hold because he had to be rushed abroad. Again, that was pure fiction. There was nothing like a dinner for members of the National Conference on the President’s schedule for that day. You can verify this yourself as the President’s schedule for everyday is readily accessible. The syllogism of the argument doesn’t even make sense. The previous day, a dinner had been held for the National Conference delegates at which the President was represented by the Vice President. So, it didn’t make sense to have another dinner for them a day later. The same people claiming the dinner was postponed because the President fell ill would have written again to say government was wasting public funds.
There was no basis for that story at all. The President was not sick and nobody rushed him anywhere.
Perhaps, the basis for that report may have been that you refused to disclose the nature of the private visit and you know a trip by any Nigerian leader to that country is always considered as a medical sojourn following past experiences.
It is not unusual for Presidents to go on private visits, even in other countries. People must understand that a President is first and foremost a human being. He is President of the country; he is the foremost authority in the country, but he also has his private life. He has family, he has children, he has one or two things that are personal to him that he may want to attend to. He doesn’t stop being a human being because he is a President. He will not stop being a father, a brother and a friend to some people just because he is President. What was required was for us to inform Nigerians because if the President is going anywhere, it is traditional that we announce his movement. If, as in most cases, it is an official trip, we will include details of his programme and members of his entourage because this is a President that believes in transparency and accountability. When he was briefly admitted in a hospital early last year in London, he instructed me to immediately issue a statement informing Nigerians of his indisposition. And we kept Nigerians informed throughout. A President that has demonstrated that level of transparency has nothing to hide. He has always said that if at any time he falls ill and is admitted into a hospital, Nigerians should be immediately informed. It is a standing instruction. In fact, I don’t even need to go back to him to go and ask him whether I should inform Nigerians; it is a standing instruction. So, if we say the President is proceeding on a private visit, he is proceeding on a private visit. And he was away for just a weekend- Friday, Saturday and then Sunday. Your newspaper’s claim that he went abroad because of sudden ill-health was false and your editors ought to have apologized for their error.
But the report quoted Presidency sources. Don’t you think that somebody from here must have given information to the reporter
A newspaper has a responsibility to publish the truth and to ensure that what it feeds its readers is nothing but the truth. That is why there is something called investigative journalism. But in this one, we are not even talking about investigative journalism. Just look at the logic and the reasons behind the story. I have tried to show you that those things don’t connect at all and I think that when an Editor is not sure or a reporter is not sure, it is better not to do such a story. One of the major maxims in journalism is “when in doubt, leave out” and that maxim is meant to guide journalists against publishing false stories. Except you are very sure, you don’t need to publish because when you do that you misinform people and raise doubts about your own sincerity and professionalism.
Recently, there was this controversy over the delay in the disbursement of the N1.9 billion intervention fund approved by the Federal Government to contain the Ebola Virus Disease. Some states say they feel short changed because they have not received anything. With the government declaring the country Ebola free, what happens to the intervention fund
I think there is a lot of misunderstanding involved, and I think for the benefit of other people who may hold such views a clarification is important. President Jonathan approved the release of N1.9 billion for the control and containment of the Ebola threat, following the submission to the President by the Federal Ministry of Health of a special intervention plan. That special intervention plan was the proactive response of the Federal Ministry of Health to the Ebola threat, beginning with the index case- the American/Liberian that came to Nigeria. There was no delay in the release of that fund because the President wanted a quick response to that public health challenge. The money was immediately released.
That special intervention fund was to be used by the Federal Ministry of Health for intervention in all states where the Ebola challenge may have presented itself. It was not money to be shared. So, there is no question of modality for the sharing of the money. I’m shocked that when we are talking about a very serious challenge like the Ebola Virus Disease and something as serious as public health, the mentality with which some people are approaching this matter is that of money sharing.
The Federal Ministry of Health has been using the money to provide technical support at the federal and state levels, to monitor the situation, to liaise with international organisations, to get involved in the management of cases, in the tracking of persons who may have had contact with those who had primary contact with the index case and all that. The good news is that the Jonathan Administration has been commended both by international stakeholders and local observers for its efficient management of the Ebola threat. President Jonathan has personally overseen the national effort to contain Ebola and we are glad that our efforts are having the desired impact.
But N200 million was approved for Lagos and this created more suspicion among stakeholders.
President Jonathan approved the release of N200 million to Lagos State and that is understandable because Lagos State is the epicentre of the challenge that came to Nigeria with regard to the Ebola Virus. The isolation centres are in Lagos. The index case that precipitated this quick response was in Lagos. All the persons who had primary contact with the index case were in Lagos. The major management processes are located in Lagos. And that was why the President decided that Lagos State deserved special support and approved N200 million to be disbursed to the Lagos State government. I don’t know what you mean when you say some other states are grumbling that they too should also be given money. But in other states there is collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Health and all the state ministries of health. They are meeting regularly and are vigilant in terms of monitoring whatever is going on. I don’t think any state governor or government will pray that Ebola should show up in their state so that they can get money from the federal government. The emphasis is on controlling and containing the spread. The government of Nigeria has done an excellent job in that regard.
Why are reports of Nigerian soldiers on the frontline of the war against Boko Haram deserting their posts refusing to fade away in spite of the Federal Government’s continuous claim that it is winning the war against terrorism? The 480 soldiers who fled to Cameroon is a case in point.
That is a security matter. The security forces have their Directorate of Defence Information and that Directorate has been very diligent in providing information. Two things have been made very clear, that it is an act of mutiny for any soldier to desert his post and under the Armed Forces Act, there are laid down procedures for dealing with such issues. I think that the Chief of Army Staff has made it very clear that any soldier that is found guilty of any act of indiscipline will be court-martialed because soldiers are required under their own tradition to obey certain best practices. It is not something on which I can comment further.
The Directorate of Defence Information has also clarified the issue of Nigerian soldiers being found in Cameroon. I think it is important to listen to the Defence Information people because ultimately this is about our country. This is about the integrity of our country. What they made clear is that those soldiers ended up in Cameroon in the course of battle. You know that in this threat of terrorism, one of the major areas of battle is the border between Nigeria and the neighbouring countries. The Defence spokespersons made it clear that the soldiers who ended up in Cameroon were already on their way back to Nigeria and that it was a case of tactical maneuver in the battle field. We have to give them the benefit of the doubt that as professionals in that area, they have no reason to mislead us. Of course you know that Nigeria, Cameroon and the other neighbouring countries are working together. They are involved in joint border operations. They share intelligence because terrorism, as has been pointed out repeatedly by President Jonathan and other world leaders, is a threat to the whole world and not just to one country. It is a threat to humanity and I think that with the challenge posed by terrorism, our security forces deserve encouragement. They do not deserve to be demoralized by the kind of negativity that some people go out of their way to promote. [myad]
