Maj. Gen. John W. T Gbor (rtd) hails from Katsina-Ala Local Government of Benue state. His last assignment in the military was commandant, Nigerian Army Education Corps. In this interview with AMEH EJEKWONYILO he urges Nigerians to vote for President Jonathan in the February 14 presidential elections
What would you say is the attitude of Nigerians towards the ongoing campaign process of the elections?
The general attitude of Nigerians has not changed tremendously from the political parties. What I have observed from the two main political parties is that the campaign is peaceful; not directly attacking each other. They are more or less focused on what the aspirants would want to present to the public rather than attack one another, during their rallies.
The attitude of Nigerians has not changed to conform to the attitude of the two presidential candidates of not attacking people. For instance, when the President went to Katsina state, he was attacked by the youths; his convoy was attacked. From what I have seen in the papers, the ex-militants in Niger Delta have said they would declare war on Nigeria if President Jonathan loses in the election, which I feel is not the truth. Katsina youths are not supposed to attack the president of their country. Jonathan took over from late President Musa Yar Adua; if Yaradua were alive I can’t imagine that if he went to a state like Oyo or Enugu and was attacked by the youths of that area; it wouldn’t jut be nice.
Whoever is the President of this country, he is a president for all. And the president must come from somewhere, but once he becomes president he becomes the president of everyone. The former militants said the attack on the president was an attack on the Ijaw people, and that is also wrong because President Jonathan happens to come from the Niger Delta in Bayelsa as an Ijaw man, but his constituency is the entire country. I am from Benue, but Jonathan belongs to all of us whether you are from Bayelsa, Lagos or Kano.
It is wrong for one to say that because the President was attacked, and he is from their own ethnic group, then they have all been attacked. That is thinking with one’s shoulders; instead of thinking with the head. Jonathan is doing pretty well; campaigning all over the country. If you in the Niger Delta declare that there would be war if Jonathan loses the election, what about the emir of Kano and the Sultan of Sokoto that received Jonathan warmly? Who all spoke with Jonathan and gave him their assurances? What of Sule Lamido, Governor of Jigawa state. I am quite impressed with Sule Lamido. I am happy that Nigeria still has someone like Lamido who is straight forward and committed to the good of the country. I must commend Lamido.
He is one of those from the North that are solidly behind Jonathan; and even being insulted by his people over his political principles. Lamido is an epitome of a highly-civilized and patriotic Nigerian. And he is one of the founders of the PDP. Some of his colleagues have left the party. He is one of the few Nigerians that is committed to the unity and progress of the country, and Nigerians should take a cue from such a person. Wherever part of Nigeria they come from, they should look at Lamido as a true Nigerian that is concerned with the unity, nationalism and patriotism of this country.
What about all those who are supporting him, what do you want us to do? If you want Jonathan to be re-elected, join all those who are working for him.
The Ohaneze Youth Council has said it would retaliate against the youths of Katsina state and Bauchi that attacked the convoy of President Jonathan by ensuring Jonathan’s re-election by massively voting for him. I want to commend them for that; they showed an example of a civilized society. The purported war threat by the Niger Delta ex-militants and the attack on Jonathan by Katsina youths is unacceptable.
Jonathan is doing very well; he is a great administrator. He has performed very well and many of us are supporting him. My own group, The Patriot; a forum of retired military generals as well as many other groups have come together to support him. And we are not from the Niger Delta, so, we are not seeing Jonathan as a Niger Delta person. We are seeing Jonathan as the right Nigerian to rule Nigeria today. In Nigeria today, there is no better person in the country to lead. That is why we are supporting him.
What is your assessment of the Jonathan government in view of the recent criticism of his performance by former Central Bank Governor of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo?
Charles Soludo contributed to the poverty in Nigeria. When he was at the CBN, what did he do to help Nigerians live a better life? Were Nigerians during his time living better than they are living today? And when you look at the issue of poverty in Nigeria, you don’t hold a particular President responsible. These are issues that were neglected from the beginning. From Tafawa Balewa through military regimes, Presidents Obasanjo and Yar’ Adua’s administrations to Jonathan and the next President will come and the problem will continue. Nigerians are refusing to look at the real problems. It is not the problem of one person. It is not the problem of Jonathan. So, how can Soludo be blaming it on Jonathan? Soludo did not do better than the current administration. During Obasanjo’s tenure, there was a lot of poverty in the country.
The APC presidential candidate General Muhammadu Buhari promised to fight corruption if elected. What is your take on this?
When General Buhari was Head of State, did he fight corruption? Why didn’t he stop corruption at that time? Why are we still having corruption today? If he can fight corruption, why didn’t he stop it as the Head of State?
Nobody can fight corruption in this country because of the way Nigeria was designed by the British government. They did not come here to create a nation. They came here as slave traders and it ended; they began legitimate trade. But they failed to integrate the various ethnic groups in the country, all in a bid to exploit the people.
We are not a nation. If we are a nation, how can Katsina youths attack the President? How can the ex-militants of the Niger Delta be talking about declaring war on Nigeria if somebody does not win; that is not democracy.
Away from national politics, what is your assessment of the governorship aspirants under the APC and the PDP in Benue state?
I’m focusing on national politics and Nigeria as a country, with President Jonathan at the centre of it. Despite the difficulties of insurgency, strikes and even the Ebola virus disease, he is performing quite well. I have not focused my mind on Benue; am happy you told me about Sam Ortom and Terhemen Tarzoor. I don’t know about what is happening there. I am a PDP man. My sympathy is with the party. But I want Benue people to do is to vote for President Jonathan.
What is your advice to Nigerian youths and the electorate in general, regarding forth-coming elections?
Nigerians should vote for the person of their choice. And let nobody use force in any way, to compel someone to vote against the candidate of their wish. Everybody should be allowed to vote. The electorate should ignore money from politicians. They should not influence people either by physical force or by use of money to vote.
