Just Forget About 2015 Ambition ––The Patriots Meet Jonathan

These are the words of Prof Ben Nwabueze after a meeting of The Patriots with President Goodluck Jonathan on the state of the nation at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Thursday:

“That is not the purpose of our meeting today (Thursday), but that is my view and I still maintain that view. I still believe that the problem of this country is national transformation; that you cannot combine national transformation with contesting election. 

“The two are so different because once you get involved in electioneering, you undermine your authority to lead the nation for national transformation and I said if I were the President, I would restrict myself to serving the nation, transforming this country and creating a new Nigeria. These would be my concern and I would go down in history as a hero.

“So, if Mr. President does that, he would become an instant hero in this country; but it is for him to choose. If I were him, I would choose to become a hero to lead the country into transformation and abandon the ambition of a second term. That is what I said and I still stand by it and that is what I would do if I were the President of this country, but unfortunately, I’m not.”

At the meeting which was held behind closed doors in the President’s office in Abuja, The Patriots, a group of eminent Nigerians led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, renewed its call for the convocation of a national conference.

A 13-page memorandum covering issues such as the need for a people’s constitution, the expansion of the agenda for national transformation to include economic emancipation as well as good governance, was presented by The Patriots to President Jonathan.

Prof Nwabueze, who took over the leadership of the group from the first Nigerian SAN, the late Chief Rotimi Williams, told State House correspondents after the meeting that Jonathan must shun the urge to seek reelection in 2015 and concentrate on his transformation agenda.

The legal icon insisted that the President was eligible to contest in 2015, but he could become a national hero if he summoned enough courage to shun sycophant and refuse to contest.

On the purpose of the meeting, Prof Nwabueze said he and members of the group told the President that the nation of Nigeria is in dire need of REAL transformation, not mere talks.