Contrary to a statement issued yesterday by Reuben Abati, the spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian ruler did seek the chairmanship of the African Union this weekend in Ethiopia, the Pan African News Agency (PANA), has reported.
Contrary to a statement issued yesterday by Reuben Abati, the spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian ruler did seek the chairmanship of the African Union this weekend in Ethiopia, the Pan African News Agency (PANA), has reported.
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But not only was Mr. Jonathan a candidate, he was a fire brigade entrant into the race. “Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan had made a last-minute bid for the Chairmanship, but his quest was opposed by Ghana and other West African states which supported the Beninese President,” PANA said.
In a statement issued today, Mr. Abati was again in a full spin mode. “There was no contest in the first place and President Jonathan was not a candidate for the AU Chairmanship position, he wrote. “It is also not true that President John Atta Mills opposed President Jonathan at any time. Ghana and Nigeria enjoy excellent relations.”
Strangely, Mr. Abati claimed that Mr. Jonathan facilitated the victory of Mr. Boni. “As it turned out, the President of the Republic of Benin had indicated interest in the position, which paved the way for his unanimous adoption by the ECOWAS Heads of State as the sub-region’s candidate for the AU Chair. Thus, it becomes obvious that President Jonathan rather than being “defeated” by President Yayi Boni of Benin actually facilitated his emergence as AU Chairman.”
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In a pre-Summit story, SaharaReporters had pointed out that, contrary to the pledge made by Mr. Jonathan in one of his recent speeches to drastically cut down on his bloated travel delegations, he was traveling to the 18th African Union Summit in Addis with 25 persons, in addition to an even larger 32-person crowd belonging to his wife, Patience.
“As a reflection of Nigeria’s declining influence at the AU, she has no mention at all on the programme, and is not presenting a proposal as a Member State,” we reported. “This parallels its work at the United Nations where, apart from recently serving as a member of the Security Council, she does not participate actively in the work of the Organization.”
While Mr. Abati is prickly when Nigerians point out Mr. Jonathan’s weaknesses, his poor reputation abroad is left unchallenged. In a CNN story on January 23, Stephanie Busari wrote as follows: “When elected president in April 2011, he was described as "Nigeria's Obama," a leader who would bring change to the oil-rich but poverty-ridden nation...Now, just nine months after his election, Jonathan is an embattled leader whose popularity has plummeted. A Christian from southern Nigeria, he faces the challenges of growing sectarian violence and angry citizens who took to the streets in recent weeks, carrying mock coffins and placards calling him "President Badluck."
And describing Jonathan’s policy flip-flops, CNN’s Tim Lister wrote about Boko Haram on January 27, “A week ago, Jonathan warned the group had infiltrated the government and security forces and vowed (again) to stamp it out. But in an interview with Reuters news agency Thursday he said that if Boko Haram identified itself and stated clear demands the government was ready for dialogue. He also acknowledged that military action alone would not stop Boko Haram; and northern Nigeria needed economic development.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Abati had said on Friday he would prove SaharaReporters report on the strength on the Jonathans’ crowds to Ethiopia wrong by sending us the full list of the delegation from Nigeria. The list, he said at the time, was in his bag in the hotel.
Three days later, he has yet to do so.
Below is the yesterday’s PANA report on the AU election:
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The President of Benin, Yayi Boni, has taken over the chairmanship of the African Union (AU) following his nomination at a mini-Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Boni's election came as a result of compromise by the West African leaders. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan had made a last-minute bid for the Chairmanship, but his quest was opposed by Ghana and other West African states which supported the Beninese President.
Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema handed over the leadership of the AU and installed the new Chairman at the 18th AU Summit, which kicked off on Sunday, with the crisis in North Africa and the need to manage the transitions in the region dominating discussions.
Speaking during the meeting, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made a formal plea to African leaders to appreciate the differences in the crises in Libya and Cote d’Ivoire and mend fences for the sake of future relations.
“There were differences in Cote d’Ivoire and Libya. These were not differences of objectives or goals; our partnership is anchored in shared values. These were differences in operational and strategic approaches. This is natural, even to be expected among organisations with varied mandates and membership,” Ban said.
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