8th October, 2010
Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, has declared that some Northern leaders, now claiming to love the North and its people, are just selfish individuals pursuing their own agenda.
The President, in his facebook message titled ‘In Defence Of Life, Liberty And Property’ , noted that when the North was recently plagued by series of human-made and natural disasters, Northern leaders who are now very vocal over the Abuja bomb blast remained silent and inactive.
Jonathan was reacting to the attacks on him by some Northern leaders after the bomb blast on 1 October.
The President reasoned that these Northern leaders specialise in playing one part of the country against the other and riding on sectional sentiments to promote their narrow ambitions.
“To prove to you that their interests are personal and not for the people they claim to represent, you will notice that while this administration has spent considerable time and resources as well as focused attention on the recent floods in Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi and Jigawa states and the cholera epidemic in certain parts of Nigeria as well as the lead poisoning that has consumed 400 children in Zamfara State, these so called concerned people have not been known to address any of these issues or offer a word of succour to the victims.
“This is irrefutable proof that their only focus is how to get power and not the wellbeing of the long suffering people of Nigeria whom I have sworn to Almighty God to protect.
“At this critical time, we should be mourning the dead and praying for the families left behind. What they need at this sad hour is not politics but compassion and empathy,â€Â Jonathan said.
The president promised that the Federal Government will do everything possible to share in the pains of the bereaved and the injured.
“We will give the best medical care possible to the injured. We recognise that nothing can compensate for the loss of a loved one. But we offer our shoulders to the bereaved in this moment of need.â€
—Simon Ateba