Mind your language, separate thievery from corruption -GEJ

President Goodluck Jonathan has urged Nigerians to clearly differentiate between a thief and a corrupt official, noting that thieves are often referred to in the country as ‘corrupt’ thereby diminishing the seriousness attached to their crimes.
The president who spoke to a team of journalists during a live media chat was reacting to an assertion attributed to him that stealing is not corruption.

He said the remark flowed from a discussion he had with a former chief justice of the federation who told him of how he had to distinguish straight acts of stealing from other forms of corruption he acted upon.
He said: “People who told you I said stealing is not corruption did not tell you I said stealing is good.
“I made that statement because I quoted the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mustapha, (when) I called a meeting then, with the anti-crime organisations and the judiciary.
“The CJN, Mustapha decided to take a look at the files that dealt with corruption and more than 80 per cent of them were just cases of stealing. But people use corruption to cover all. What I am saying is that let us go to the South-West and go to a typical community and they look at you and say this man is corrupt, people will be looking at you. But call that same man “ole”, that is thief, and see what will happen to him. Our people hate thieves more than corrupt people yet most times, we use corruption to cover the lapses.
“A thief should be called a thief and treated as such.
“So, let us communicate properly.”
The president also assured that regardless of the out come of the presidential election result, a new government would be inaugurated on May 29, 2015, even though he was not consulted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, before it shifted the dates of the general election even as he admitted that the body was not totally prepared for the polls.

President Jonathan, who reaffirmed readiness of the military to suppress the Boko Haram insurgency within the six-week window requested, also flayed what he lamented as the politicisation of the agitation for the liberation of the kidnapped girls of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok.

The president who asked for more time one for the rescue missioin of the Chibok girls stated that his government is working with its neighbours and combing the whole area.

Asked if the girls would be recovered alive, he said: “Of course we will recover them alive. We are hopeful”

On whether elections will be postponed if military did not defeat Boko Haram within the six weeks window, the president said:
“Nobody is saying Boko Haram must be wiped out before the elections are conducted, what we are saying is that certain security measures must be put in place before the elections are conducted. Definitely, in the next six weeks or so, serious advances will have been made. I am not saying we will wipe out the Boko Haram but we will make serious advances.
“I can tell you that the elections will hold because May 29 is sacrosanct.”

Taken up on statements attributed to some Niger Delta militants that they would cause trouble unless the president was returned, he said: “I can assure Nigerians that things will be done such that nobody will go to war”.
Asked his personal perception of Buhari, the All Progressives Congress, presidential candidate, the president said: “If I should assess Buhari under the condition which we are contesting, I don’t think I will be fair to Nigerians and myself. You are not also being fair to me by asking me that question”.

-Ripples

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now