Jonathan began by acknowledging that his administration is deliberate in seeking the input of Nigerians in the Diaspora to continue to rebuild the nation. He said that his administration had planned to visit three to five cities to explain what he’s doing and to solicit inputs from Nigerians in America. He said, “But we decided to ask you to come here to interface with us.” “We’re proud of you,” expressing his excitement about the success of Nigerians here. He told the crowd that they live in a country that’s the beacon of development and international leader in all areas as he said, “America is central to the world affairs.”
Dismissing the opinion of his detractors, President Jonathan confidently told the audience that his administration is completely dedicated to implementing policies that would lift every Nigerian from the current status to a better condition. “We’re totally committed to do what’s right for our country,” he said touting his record of successes in office. “We do this by assembling a good team selected based on competency and merit.”
Amid his successes, Jonathan acknowledged the intractable challenges facing the nation in the areas of security and corruption. He said that in the past the security challenges facing the country were narrowed to armed robbery. Security being where the administration is being blackmailed, Jonathan said, “Terrorism took the country by surprise because we didn’t have the infrastructure to tackle it.” However, he emphasized, “We’re doing our best,” he said indicating that his administration is working diligently to stem the tide of Boko Haram and other religious violent activities.
On corruption, President Jonathan pledged for governance that is beyond reproach as he touted his success in minimizing the incidences of corruption as he cited three areas his administration has focused on attentively—fertilizer distribution, privatization, and subsidy. President Jonathan told the audience that before his administration, ‘fertilizer was a big scam.” But today, the issue of fertilizer scam has been tackled with success with government saving money for the country.
Jonathan proudly flaunted his anti-corruption effort in the recent privatization exercise. He stated that his administration has judiciously and transparently embarked on privatization activity realizing over “$3 billion without corruption compared to the privatization that was done in the past.” Jonathan said that ironically those who presided over the country’s past privatization exercise with utter disregard to accountability and transparency are now shouting corruption from the rooftops. “We know what happened,” Jonathan said referring to the activities of those individuals who supervised the worst privatization ruse in the country. He alarmed that these are the same people who are opening their mouth very wide criticizing his administration on corruption. He, however, admitted, “Yes, we’re where we want to be, but we’re moving forward,” pointing to significant improvements in other areas including the rail system and subsidy. He added that his administration has reinvested the money realized through the reduction in subsidy payments to create jobs.
Thereafter, President Jonathan asked the selected crowd of Nigerian-American professionals to consider helping in any way to improve their home country. According to President Jonathan, Nigerians in America “are important group” and “we need you to work in different aspects.” He told them that they don’t have to relocate to make a great impact in Nigeria adding that they can come and invest to create jobs while still living in the United States. He assured them they can invest in many areas, especially in medicine, medical technologies, and pharmaceuticals to improve the healthcare system. Jonathan alarmed, “We spent too much money treating ourselves outside the country.”
In off the cuff comments that the opposition has already characterized as the first salvo for 2015, President Goodluck Jonathan invoked the Nigerian Constitution saying that it provided for an eight-year term limit for elected executive office holders. He noted that the governors have an eight-year limit, including the president, explaining that at the end of an election, the elected person should be given the opportunity to do the work. He, however, advised that in a situation where some electorates do not vote for the winner that should not give the people impetus to impede the work of that administration in power. Jonathan said, “Politicians should consider the interest of the country first before their own. They should not burn the building down because they have interest in living there.” He added, “You must allow the person that emerges to work,” Jonathan said, while stressing “you must allow him to work.”
Also, President Jonathan stressed the importance of ending the ASUU strike. He said, The ASUU strike must end.” “We’re totally committed,” Jonathan said referring to improving education and infrastructure in education.
The event organized and supervised by The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the leadership of Amb. Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye, was overflowing with a large crowd. Prior to the President Jonathan’s address, Amb. Adefuye welcomed the president and thanked the audience emphasizing that the subject of discussion would be “how to use the expertise of people here to help Nigeria back home.” He said that he joined the president to recognize the achievements of Nigerians in the United States. Adefuye said, “We have Nigerians who have become stars in their fields.” He proceeded to intimate that the election of President Jonathan is God’s making—a paradigm shift that is witnessing policies being well-thought out and formulated with determined certainty. He indicated that those Nigerians who made their mark in US are brought to Nigeria, citing that “this government is the first to accord recognition to people in the Diaspora.” “This meeting is the testament of that,” Adefuye added.
The coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwuala dismissed the chatters of the detractors of that administration and its economic policies. She said that despite all you hear about the economy, the economy of the nation is waxing strong. She said that the President’s Transformational Agenda has impacted all areas of the economy, particularly in agriculture, manufacturing, housing and solid minerals. Spurning the naysayers, Okonjo-Iwuala said, “Nigeria is the 10 fastest growing economy,” adding that “the government has created 117,000 jobs.” She also said that government has built roads in various parts of the country; the “Lagos-Kano rail is running” and the country has invested money to prevent “childbirth deaths and infant mortality.”
Echoing Dr. Okonjo-Iwuala, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Trade and Industry stressed that the administration imbibed fiscal discipline that has brought the national “deficit to less than 2%.” He added, “Nigeria is high growth and high return on investment.” Aganga informed the audience that the nation is “ranked 4th today as investment-friendly” country in terms of returns. “There are opportunities for you back home to invest significantly,” he advised. “Where our country goes or what it becomes will depend on all of us,” Aganga warned. He said that the role of the people in the Diaspora is to create the investment opportunities, be advocate, create markets for Nigeria, and be ambassadors. “We all lose when the brand is damaged; Nigeria is a precious gem” for all of us. “Make Nigeria a center for medical tourism,” he added.
According to Dr. Stephen Momoh Baba, spokesperson for the Embassy of Nigeria, the principal objective was to assemble 250 Nigerians who have done well in the United States and see how they could do the same in Nigeria. He said, “The objective was to find ways these Nigerians could enhance the capacity in Nigeria. As a result, people in education, technology, medicine, architecture, infrastructure, and engineering were screened to attend.”
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