A Second Republic Minister of Steel and elder statesman, Dr. Paul Unongo, has described President Goodluck Jonathan as a disaster to the nation Nigeria.
Unongo said it was totally wrong for the President to seek re-election when Boko Haram had taken over a large portion of Nigeria’s territory.
Speaking with newsmen, Unongo, a native of Benue State said, “He (Jonathan) is a complete disaster to Nigeria. He has made us look so ridiculous in the eyes of the world. Some little thing called Boko Haram that started like a joke is laying claim to large junk of Nigerian territories.
“Huge cities have fallen into the hands of these people. You find them with the kind of equipment that is meant to be for the Nigeria army.
“A tragedy is playing out in Nigeria and everybody is going about seemingly unconcerned and Jonathan is seeking re-election. I think something has happened to Nigeria.
“It’s a tragedy. And it is a travesty of human dignity and justice for the person responsible for this, who is supposed to give us responsible leadership, instead of confronting the problem; he is busy fighting people and doing everything to retain the Presidency next year. I think it is obscene. I think it is immoral and I think it is sinful.”
Unongo, who is the deputy chairman of the Northern Elders’ Forum, added that the any of the presidential aspirants from the North would perform far better than Jonathan as president.
According to him, going by current trends, larger portion of the country would be taken over by Boko Haram if Jonathan continued as President.
He said, “I think that some of us may be owing our existence to the ragtag thing called Boko Haram because what stops Boko Haram from coming all the way to Wukari or Gboko? I don’t see soldiers anywhere. This is what has happened to Nigeria.
“Frankly speaking, in my own judgment, anyone of the presidential aspirants from the North would be a better President a thousand times than the current President.”
On the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, Unongo said the North was happy with him.
He noted that given Tambuwal’s ability to get the support of both northern and southern lawmakers in the House, he would have received the support of some northern elders if he ran for presidency.
“We, in the North, are quite happy with the performance of this young man (Tambuwal) at the federal legislature. He is a uniting force. He was able to get all his members to stand behind him. The way he ran the House, it was obvious he has some possibilities and capabilities. If he decides to run for the presidency, we will look at him very critically”, Unongo said.
Comments