The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in this interview with OLALEKAN ADETAYO, reacts to some of the criticisms trailing President Goodluck Jonathan and gives reasons why he deserves a second term
Despite the achievements President Goodluck Jonathan claims to have made, what will you say is responsible for the general perception that this government has performed below expectation?
I like it that you used the word perception. There is a negative sinister perception created by the opposition. I will tell you how. The opposition has a tremendous influence on Nigerian media and therefore, most of these achievements are suppressed from coming to public glare. The second one is that achievements and good news do not make news but when Boko Haram keeps bombing and killing, that is the news. I have looked at newspapers' headlines for one year, 75 per cent of headlines are on Boko Haram. It doesn't matter even if you say that the President had just gone to commission an industry somewhere but when you say 285 killed in Monduga, Borno State, that is what people will remember.
Insurgency has been overplayed to the extent that it has overshadowed the laudable achievements of this administration and it is deliberate. I know for a fact that the issue of Boko Haram was designed and executed from the beginning to malign this administration. There was Boko Haram before this administration, but the evil people in the society who felt there was no way they could remove the administration saw an opportunity and they encouraged it one way or the other to the extent that we never had rest in the last two to three years.
Do you exercise any fear of possible post-election violence in the country?
That question should go to APC people. They are the ones that are identified with violence and also canvass for violence and perpetrate violence. There is no doubt about it, they have said it before and they have made it happen. We have nothing to do with violence. We win all the time, we are going to win again. We just pray that when we win, people will accept it readily and not create violence as they did in 2011. Many people who suffered the 2011 violence have not recovered from it.
One of the achievements being pointed to by this administration is the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, why is it that Nigerians still do not have electricity?
The unbundling of the PHCN is a major event. It took 15 years and finally it took the courage, tenacity and commitment of President Jonathan to see it through. Without the unbundling of the PHCN, we will be a non-starter in terms of power generation. Government cannot provide what is required to provide Nigerians' electricity needs. Nigerians today need 50,000MW. We are looking at about $40bn to $50b, that is multiple trillions in naira. All we have in our capital vote in a year is about N1tr, where will we get that kind of money from? So we have to break down the power infrastructure so as to encourage foreign direct investors to come and invest and take it over just like the telecommunications.
Don't you think the issue of the missing Chibok girls has affected the political fortune of the President?
It is not just Chibok girls; everything that has to do with this insurgency has affected the political fortune of the President. The good news however is that in spite of it all, this administration has verifiable and concrete achievements that nobody can argue about.
How do you react to the claim by the opposition that the President lacks the capacity to fight Boko Haram?
It is only the mentally derailed that will say that. Because there is insurgency here, then the government is not doing well. It is nonsense talk. It is absolute nonsense talk. Insurgency is not a Nigerian affair. How much is our national budget? About N4tr. How much is that in dollars? Is that not $2b? That is not up to what America gives to Egypt on a yearly basis. It is only foolish peopl

HE'S RIGHT THO...

So Jonathan that wants to handle them is their commander? Well, Doyin will know.