Why Nigerian leaders refuse to leave office -Jonathan •As Blair, Rice counsel him

 by Leon Usigbe
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday, advanced the reason many Nigerian political leaders fight to sit tight in office, saying that it was because of their fear of the unknown.
He, however, said the electoral reforms embar-ked upon by his admini-stration would continue to ensure that the choice of the people emerged at elections.
President Jonathan disclosed this at a breakfast meeting on the Nigerian economy, organi-sed by the African Business Roundtable in New York, United States.
Addressing the audience, which had former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair; former United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice; inter-national investors and captains of industry from Nigeria, President Jona-than said Nigeria had numerous problems, add-ing that his government had decided to prioritise its options, in order to deal with the challenges systematically.
“We are totally committed in solving our problems. We started with the electoral process and we have demonstrated our commitment in sanitising that system, because when the people put you there, you will be committed to serving them
“I was ready to lose the election if Nigerians did not want me. If I was ready to be disgraced out of office to sanitise the system, that is to tell you I am ready to sanitise the system to bring about investments in our country,” he said.
He assured the investors that he would ensure the investment environment was sanitised to attract investors and create jobs for the teeming youth in the country.
President Jonathan promised to carry the Nigerian people along in the governance process, though he conceded that it was not possible to involve all in the administration of the country at the same time.
Blair, speaking on the occasion, urged Nigerians not to always accept the stance of the opposition on issues, as they were not speaking for the majority of the citizens but a few vested interests.
While urging for support for President Jonathan, the former British leader lauded his effort to reform the political and economic sectors of the country, which, he observed, was a difficult but necessary thing to do.
Citing the case of the deregulation of the down-stream sector of the petroleum industry and other critical areas, he told the president that this was a moment of opportunity and, therefore, he must have the courage to proceed with the planned economic reforms.
Blair said with what was going on in Nigeria, the country was on its way up, noting that once Nigeria was on its way up, it meant Africa was on its way up.
In her contribution, Ms Rice observed that for the first time, news emanating from Africa had turned from the negative issues such as AIDS, famine and wars to positive news about opportunities existing in the continent.
She congratulated Jonathan for his efforts at repositioning the country and advised on critical areas of responsibility which must be fulfilled in order to realise the potentials of the country.
Nigerian Tribune