Sometimes politicians forget that they have said several
months or even years ago. But media remembers
everything. Do you recall these quotations of two
potential ‘duellists’: President Goodluck Jonathan and
General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd)?
1. On elections 2015:
“My dear, I do not like to talk about it. I’m not interested in
2015 because you and I do not know whether we will reach
2015. We do not know who will be alive to witness 2015. The
truth is, 2015 is really not my business and it is politically
irresponsible for people to be talking about 2015,” Goodluck
Jonathan, January 2013, about his participation in 2015
elections.
READ ALSO: President Jonathan Assures Free And Fair
Elections In 2015
“This campaign is the third and last one for me. I will not
offer myself again for election into the office of president,”
Gen. Buhari promised that the 2011 presidential contest
would be his last one. On October 15, 2014 he declared that
he would run for presidency in 2015 .
2. On Boko Haram:
“No, no, no!! Boko Haram is not as a result of misrule;
definitely not. Sometimes people say it is as a result of
poverty; definitely not. Boko Haram is a local terror group,”
President Goodluck Jonathan said in an interview with CNN’s
Christiane Amanpour, 2013.
In his return, Muhammadu Buhari, on October 15,
Wednesday, called the Boko Haram sect “Godless people,
marauding murderers in communities and kidnappers.”
3. On corruption:
“Over 70% of what are called corruption (cases), even by
EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) and
other anti-corruption agencies, is not corruption, but
common stealing,” the most famous quote from Goodluck
Jonathan’s 7th media chat, May 2014.
“We will stop corruption and make the ordinary people, the
weak and the vulnerable our top priority,” Gen. Buhari said
during his declaration of participating in the 2015 elections.
4. On each other:
“We have decided to rescue Nigeria from the Poverty
Development Party,” and“PDP has done a lot of damage to
our country, this time around we will deal with them,”
Buhari’s supporter, ex House of Reps Member Dino
Melaye stated during All Progressives Congress (APC) rally
and Buhari’s declaration in Abuja on October 15, 2014.
The response by Jonathan’s media aide, Dr. Reuben Abati,
came almost immediately. President Jonathan’s media aide
described Buhari’s claims made in the declaration speech as
“reckless, baseless, and unsupportable”. Dr Abati said
Buhari’s statements reflect the bad nature of the political
opposition in Nigeria.
5. On Islam
Apart from declarations on Boko Haram, Muhammadu
Buhari clearly challenged Muslims and the government to
implement the Sharia law on full scale. In a speech, which
he delivered at a seminar organized by the Supreme Council
of Sharia in Nigeria, August 2001, the retired general said:
“I will continue to show openly and inside me the total
commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all
over Nigeria… God willing, we will not stop the agitation for
the total implementation of the Sharia in the country.”
At the same time, his counterpart likes to call for unity:
“Whether we are Muslims or Christians; rich or poor; from
the north or the south; east or west; regardless of our
political affiliations. This is a time to pull together” , Goodluck
Jonathan’s speech on the 53rd anniversary of the country’s
independence.

una still one vote for Buhari? Full implementation of sharia?? Ehee mori re!