June 12, a watershed, says Jonathan
• Laments indiscipline, others in Police Force
• Gowon faults zoning of elective offices
IN unequivocal terms, President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday declared that the June 12, 1993 presidential election widely acclaimed to have been won by the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola remains a watershed in Nigeria’s political history.
He also identified the promotion of indiscipline as well as the elevation of mediocrity as some of the reasons Nigerians don’t have respect for the police.
Besides, former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has faulted the zoning of elective positions in the country, saying such negated the tenets of democracy.
The President spoke Wednesday while swearing in the Chairman and members of the newly-confirmed Police Service Commission (PSC) led by a former Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro, at Aso Rock Villa.
“Today is also a unique day (June 12), a date that has changed the political history of this country in one way or another. In some parts of the country, some state governments have declared public holiday to mark today but at the centre, it has not been formally recognised as a public holiday. We appreciate what happened on this day, that you are being inaugurated on this date, I think is a unique date.”
According to the President, “you will agree with me that Nigerians don’t have so much confidence in the police but Nigerian police are good. The Nigerian Police that work outside under United Nations (UN) are highly honoured, highly commended and Okiro will agree with me. But once we come back home, that is not reflected in what we do.”
The President alluded to the bombing of the Police Headquarters last year, saying when the incident occurred, he was advised to sack a lot of police officers from Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) and above, but that he declined to do so.
According to Jonathan, “one of the responsibilities of the Police Service Commission is to instill discipline. Another thing I believe is that people who have no merit to certain ranks are being promoted to those ranks. One of your responsibilities is to handle promotion. I believe with you, only those who merit or deserve promotion should be promoted. Those who deserve to be disciplined or even dismissed must be disciplined.”
The President alluded to the recent appointment of the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) out of the several names sent to him for endorsement. He said altogether, six names were brought to him for approval.
“Some were sent from the ministry, some were picked from among the most senior rank. When we reviewed the six names, from my intelligent investigation, most of them were supposed to have been dismissed. But those were the people that were being forwarded for appointment as Comptroller-General of Immigration.
“Among them, only one is qualified to even stay and serve, others ordinarily are supposed to be dismissed from the records. And I believe that the story of Immigration is the same with most of our services. I believe that is why the performance of some of our military and para-military officers is abysmal. Because the yardstick being used for promotion is not based on competence, merit and performance.
“And that is one area I believe you will go into. People who are promoted to assistant police commissioner and above must merit the rank. If you don’t merit the rank, you should be retired from the service because it is better for you not to have enough manpower than for you to have viruses and all kinds of characters in the police force.
“One other thing that we believe is responsible is the command structure of the police, which I will also urge you to look into.”
The President confirmed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the next one or two weeks would look at the police reform reports because we want to come up with a white paper on the police reform report.
He added: “But since we have just appointed you, we give you privilege to look at that document before we come out with a white paper so that if there is a suggestion that you will bring, you bring it so that it will be part of the white paper since you are the one to manage the police.
I believe with you working with the Inspector-General of Police and other senior police officers, Nigeria police will be a better force.”
Gowon, who spoke in Lagos Wednesday at an event organised by Centre for Democracy in Africa, urged Nigerians to be wary of zoning democratic positions even as he said such act would undermine the tenets of democracy in the country.
He said: “Nigerians have scored a test as being described as a country that has produced a terrorist organisation that is second only to those in Afghanistan. I wonder how diplomats would feel on the field. Now that an organisation has reared its head that is shaming the nation...I wonder how diplomats would feel.
“In democratic governance, there is room for debate and disagreements. I want to note that when we had the last elections, there were threats that the country would become ungovernable if certain people did not win.... I thought that was high-handedness and I expected that people who made such remarks, even though they were high in the society, should have been called to order; they should indeed have been brought to book. But it seemed that the government decided that a liberal approach was the best for the country at the time. After the threat they issued, Boko Haram was formed and it has continued to spread its tentacles. My prayer is that it would be curtailed because there is no way a country can continue along this part. The objective of Boko Haram has been to destroy the society of Nigeria. With the threat of Book Haram, Nigeria will continue to march on.
“There are many people who clamoured that it is now their turn to govern this country; there are some who said if power did not shift to their region, they will make a hell for all of us. Democracy argues for the best; let the best candidate emerge and when the best candidate emerges, it will be for the benefit all of us. I do not subscribe to the thinking of those who feel it is their turn. Let the people decide who should govern them. This is the heart of democracy. But if we say it must shift to one region, we will not be having a president that could enjoy the support of all. We would therefore be having a Benin president, Yoruba president or Igbo president or Hausa president. That is defeatist.”
• Gowon faults zoning of elective offices
IN unequivocal terms, President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday declared that the June 12, 1993 presidential election widely acclaimed to have been won by the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola remains a watershed in Nigeria’s political history.
He also identified the promotion of indiscipline as well as the elevation of mediocrity as some of the reasons Nigerians don’t have respect for the police.
Besides, former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has faulted the zoning of elective positions in the country, saying such negated the tenets of democracy.
The President spoke Wednesday while swearing in the Chairman and members of the newly-confirmed Police Service Commission (PSC) led by a former Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro, at Aso Rock Villa.
“Today is also a unique day (June 12), a date that has changed the political history of this country in one way or another. In some parts of the country, some state governments have declared public holiday to mark today but at the centre, it has not been formally recognised as a public holiday. We appreciate what happened on this day, that you are being inaugurated on this date, I think is a unique date.”
According to the President, “you will agree with me that Nigerians don’t have so much confidence in the police but Nigerian police are good. The Nigerian Police that work outside under United Nations (UN) are highly honoured, highly commended and Okiro will agree with me. But once we come back home, that is not reflected in what we do.”
The President alluded to the bombing of the Police Headquarters last year, saying when the incident occurred, he was advised to sack a lot of police officers from Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) and above, but that he declined to do so.
According to Jonathan, “one of the responsibilities of the Police Service Commission is to instill discipline. Another thing I believe is that people who have no merit to certain ranks are being promoted to those ranks. One of your responsibilities is to handle promotion. I believe with you, only those who merit or deserve promotion should be promoted. Those who deserve to be disciplined or even dismissed must be disciplined.”
The President alluded to the recent appointment of the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) out of the several names sent to him for endorsement. He said altogether, six names were brought to him for approval.
“Some were sent from the ministry, some were picked from among the most senior rank. When we reviewed the six names, from my intelligent investigation, most of them were supposed to have been dismissed. But those were the people that were being forwarded for appointment as Comptroller-General of Immigration.
“Among them, only one is qualified to even stay and serve, others ordinarily are supposed to be dismissed from the records. And I believe that the story of Immigration is the same with most of our services. I believe that is why the performance of some of our military and para-military officers is abysmal. Because the yardstick being used for promotion is not based on competence, merit and performance.
“And that is one area I believe you will go into. People who are promoted to assistant police commissioner and above must merit the rank. If you don’t merit the rank, you should be retired from the service because it is better for you not to have enough manpower than for you to have viruses and all kinds of characters in the police force.
“One other thing that we believe is responsible is the command structure of the police, which I will also urge you to look into.”
The President confirmed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the next one or two weeks would look at the police reform reports because we want to come up with a white paper on the police reform report.
He added: “But since we have just appointed you, we give you privilege to look at that document before we come out with a white paper so that if there is a suggestion that you will bring, you bring it so that it will be part of the white paper since you are the one to manage the police.
I believe with you working with the Inspector-General of Police and other senior police officers, Nigeria police will be a better force.”
Gowon, who spoke in Lagos Wednesday at an event organised by Centre for Democracy in Africa, urged Nigerians to be wary of zoning democratic positions even as he said such act would undermine the tenets of democracy in the country.
He said: “Nigerians have scored a test as being described as a country that has produced a terrorist organisation that is second only to those in Afghanistan. I wonder how diplomats would feel on the field. Now that an organisation has reared its head that is shaming the nation...I wonder how diplomats would feel.
“In democratic governance, there is room for debate and disagreements. I want to note that when we had the last elections, there were threats that the country would become ungovernable if certain people did not win.... I thought that was high-handedness and I expected that people who made such remarks, even though they were high in the society, should have been called to order; they should indeed have been brought to book. But it seemed that the government decided that a liberal approach was the best for the country at the time. After the threat they issued, Boko Haram was formed and it has continued to spread its tentacles. My prayer is that it would be curtailed because there is no way a country can continue along this part. The objective of Boko Haram has been to destroy the society of Nigeria. With the threat of Book Haram, Nigeria will continue to march on.
“There are many people who clamoured that it is now their turn to govern this country; there are some who said if power did not shift to their region, they will make a hell for all of us. Democracy argues for the best; let the best candidate emerge and when the best candidate emerges, it will be for the benefit all of us. I do not subscribe to the thinking of those who feel it is their turn. Let the people decide who should govern them. This is the heart of democracy. But if we say it must shift to one region, we will not be having a president that could enjoy the support of all. We would therefore be having a Benin president, Yoruba president or Igbo president or Hausa president. That is defeatist.”
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