THREE months after leaving office and amid accusations of
misdeeds by his government, former President Goodluck
Jonathan has said he worked with a great team.

Jonathan’s appraisal of his cabinent was contained in separate
congratulatory letters to the new President of the African
Development Bank, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina; and the Vice-
President of the World Bank, Ms Arunma Oteh.

Akinwunmi served as agriculture minister under the Jonathan
administration while Oteh served as the Director-General of the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jonathan said Adesina’s appointment “attests to the fact that my
administration had a good team that managed the affairs of the
country.”

But the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola
Tinubu, on Sunday, said it would have been disastrous for
Nigeria if Jonathan had been re-elected in the March 28, 2015
presidential poll won by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu, in an article to mark Buhari’s 100 days in power, said
Nigeria would have collapsed if Jonathan had won re-election.

In his letter to his former aides, Jonathan however celebrated his
time in government.

To Adesina, he wrote, “Given your exemplary record of
performance, while serving as the Honourable Minister for
Agriculture and Rural Development in my cabinet, I have no
doubt that you will deploy your energy and the bank’s resources
to ensure that Africa experiences a new era of accelerated
development.

“You were not only a critical voice in my economic team, you
also walked the talk and earned the praise of our countrymen
and women by ensuring that Nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency
in food production became achievable dream.”

The former President, in his letter to Oteh, praised the former
SEC boss’ knowledge of capital markets.

He described her as being conversant with the challenges of the
economies of emerging markets.

He stated, “I am delighted that you are going to your new job,
fresh from the experience of having led the recovery and growth
initiatives of the Nigerian Bourse in the wake of the decline,
occasioned by recent global economic recession and financial
crisis.

“This is a clear testimony to your capacity, high integrity, and
tenacity of purpose. It is also a vindication of the decision of my
administration to stand by you, believing in your abilities and
competence, even when questions were being raised in some
quarters over your choice.

“I am convinced that the experience you gathered as Director-
General of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria
gave you deep insights on how to tackle the peculiar challenges
of a developing nation.

“The World Bank can draw from this to ensure that its future
partnerships with emerging economies in Africa and other parts
of the world are anchored on policies that will lead to sustained
growth and development, which is a sine qua non for lifting
millions of people in the developing world out of mass
poverty.”

It will be recalled that the House of Representatives had in July
2012 asked the Federal Government to remove Oteh.

The lawmakers made the call in their adoption of the report of
the House ad hoc committee, which probed the near-collapse of
the capital market.
The report was debated and adopted barely 24 hours after the
Federal Government recalled Oteh from the suspension
slammed on her on June 12 by the Board of the SEC, which
indicted her for mishandling the Project 50 of the commission.

The report faulted Oteh’s appointment as DG on the grounds
that she was not qualified and that she lacked the competence to
manage human and material resources.

But the Jonathan Presidency had said that the government’s
decision to bring back Oteh was independent of the House
decision and that due process was followed in her recall.
Tinubu, who is a former Governor of Lagos State, said the
banking system and the entire economy would have collapsed
due to the several acts of corruption perpetrated by Jonathan’s
men.

He said, “Change means fighting corruption in all of its
manifestations instead of consorting with it. No longer shall the
public treasury, meant for the wellbeing of the many, be treated
as the private reserve of the few. Nigeria is now 100 days into
President Buhari’s leadership.

“I shudder to think where we might be had the prior
administration been allowed to govern even 100 days more, let
alone another four years.”
He said Jonathan’s refusal to intervene in the economic crisis in
different states showed a lack of understanding of the economy.
He added, “By approving a package of emergency fiscal and
financial relief, he (Buhari) has stopped the slide of numerous
states into economic depression and imminent bankruptcy. By
enabling the payment of back salaries to state government civil
servants, he has saved millions of Nigerians from sinking into
hunger and poverty.

“The former government should have taken these step months
ago, even before the election. However, it let a bad situation
fester into impending calamity. Had that government remained
in office, it would have allowed the states to slide into
bankruptcy, triggering a financial crisis that would have
engulfed the banking system if not the entire economy.”
But the Peoples Democratic Party has supported Jonathan’s
assessment of his administration, saying, “The former President
has hit the nail on the head.”
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Oliah Metuh, said
that Jonathan’s assessment of his team and administration was
based on evidence.
According to him, the international appointments given to
members of the Jonathan team are pointers to the fact that those
in the team are not only competent, but also capable.
He said that the achievements of the Jonathan administration
were practical and could not be politicised and that they were
evident in all sectors, including agriculture, economy and
communications.

In his reaction, the Executive Secretary, Anti-Corruption
Network , Ebenezer Oyetakin, said that Jonathan’s self-
assessment was meant to achieve image redemption.

He said, “We should however appreciate Jonathan for
conceding defeat. No doubt, someone like Adesina is an
exceptional person among the former President Jonathan’s team.

No doubt too, some others would be good persons in his team.

The Jonathan’s letter to them, while we can see it as deserving
and in good will to the duo, smacks of a desperate attempt at
cheap image redemption.”

On his part, a United States-based activist, Smart Ajaja,
described the assessment as an affront to Nigerians.

“Nigeria needs to be told the truth in very harsh and caustic
language. This statement from ex-President Jonathan is an
affront on the sensibility of Nigerians, taking cognizance of the
crass corruption that dogged his presidency,” Ajaja said.
But Kayode Ajulo, a legal practitioner and Executive Director of
the Egalitarian Mission Africa, said, Jonathan’s administration
“paraded some of the best brains in the land as he also made
some unfortunate appointments.”

“In fact, his team could be best described as a cacophony of
personalities, an amalgamation of the good, the bad and the ugly
appointees. Today, what should be of concern is the review of
the gains and the mistakes of the administration and to use same
to chart a new course for the Buhari’s new administration to
ensure a better Nigeria,” he added.