Abati: Jonathan fought corruption, introduced 60 reforms

Former presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, on Monday, declared that it would be difficult for the Muhammadu Buhari administration to erase the legacies of the immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
To him, Jonathan fought corruption and also introducted 60 reforms as Nigeria’s 14th Commander-in-Chief.
Abati said it was wrong for some Nigerians to see the Jonathan administration as ineffective, reiterating the fact that while the Buhari administration may desire to run the country with a different style, the fact remains that Jonathan worked very hard to ensure that Nigeria attained its rightful place in the comity of nations.
Speaking as Guest Lecturer at the 2015 Press Week of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ogun State, he urged Buhari not to reverse Jonathan’s reforms.
The event was held at the popular ‘Iwe Irohin’ House, Abeokuta, with the theme: “Media and economic renaissance.”
Abati spoke on “Media as veritable tool for Nigeria’s economic diversification”.
In attendance were former Ogun State Information Commissioner, Mr. Niran Malaolu, former Special Assistant, Information, to Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Mr. Yemisi Fadairo, media chiefs and journalists.
Abati, who urged Buhari to sustain economic reforms of previous administrations to develop the country, said: “There is the need for continuity in government. I urge the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari not to reverse Dr. Jonathan’s reforms in the nation’s interest.
“And it will be wrong to say the Jonathan administration did not fight graft. The incumbent president should not be misguided towards discarding all the policies and programmes of his predecessor on the pretext of partisanship.
“I know the Jonathan administration introduced 60 reforms ‎and it would be counter-productive to reverse them all. The Jonathan government continued from the Yar’Adua government and the Yar’Adua government was itself an offshoot of the Obasanjo government and all of them fall under the umbrella of PDP.
“But the new government is in office. Once a cabinet is in place and the economic framework becomes very clear, we would know the exact direction. Obviously, the government has shown its own priorities. The priority is to ensure integrity in public governance, to fight corruption. The Jonathan government also fought corruption but the greater emphasis in terms of effort and approach is different from how the present government is going about its own.
“So, there is continuity but also‎ in a different setting. But by the time the cabinet settles in and the economic framework is out, then we will know what the other priorities are.
“But what I would recommend is that administrations should not start afresh. There should be continuity, there should be sustainability because there are many things that a previous administration did that a new administration would inherit. Whether we like it or not, there would be projects by a previous administration.
“But where a new government comes out and says everything that a previous administration did ‎would be reversed, then there is a problem.”
On the nation’s economy, Abati did not spare governors “running to Abuja for handouts to pay salaries”, urging them to be creative.
Stressing that Nigeria’s economy requires overhauling, he declared that the Federal Government must focus‎ more on the development of the non-oil sector, such as agriculture and solid minerals.
Abati urged journalists to learn more, acquire more tools and always make elected officials to know that they have a responsibility towards ensuring a better country.
‎He said: “As journalists, it is important we understand the interconnection between macro, micro and political economy. The matter of economy must not be left to the business desk alone, we must all get involved.
“Nigeria’s economy dropped by 2.5% between second and third quarters, Nigerian economy is in ‘stagflation’. The reality is that there is economic crisis.
“We must prioritise issues of economic diversification. We must be interested in economic policies, we must acquire the skills to interrogate and analyse economic policies and we must interrogate people at the helm of affairs so that we can be crusaders of a good society.”