PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday promised that his
administration would move faster in the New Year to accede to the
yearnings of the citizens.
“In all our key sectors of the economy, we have laid solid
foundations and now we are moving ahead. We will move very fast to make sure
that what Nigerians expect from us as a government, we will do,” the President
said during a New Year service at the All Saints’ Anglican Church, Zone
5, Wuse, Abuja.
“We are working very hard and I am convinced that
2013 will be a better year for this country,” he added.
The Jonathan administration has been criticised many times
for its alleged slow response to the expectations of the citizens.
The President, during a Christmas Service in Abuja
last week, had said his administration appeared to be slow in taking decisions
on national issues because he wanted to avoid making mistakes.
He said experience had shown him that when rushing to take
decisions, government might make serious mistakes which would be difficult to
correct.
The statement drew criticisms from opposition political
parties and human rights activists who felt the President could not justify the
slow pace of his government in delivering dividends of democracy to the people.
Jonathan, however, stressed that his government had been
working hard to satisfy Nigerians, especially in the area of checking
insecurity in the country.
He said, “On the part of government, we are also not
sleeping. We are working very hard. I am constantly being briefed on security
matters that I don’t need to publish in the media. I can assure that our
security operatives have been working very hard.
“Most of the people who have been involved in these crimes
like bombing of the Catholic Church in Niger State, bombing of the UN Building
and bombing of the police headquarters have been arrested. Almost all of them
have been arrested,” Jonathan said The President announced the arrests while
recounting the “silent” success of his administration as congregants gathered
to usher in the New Year.
The violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, had claimed
responsibility for the bombing of St. Theresaaa’s Catholic Church in Mandalla,
Niger State, as well as the attack on the UN building, in Abuja, on
August 26, 2011. A bomb-laden car had ripped through security barriers and
rammed into the building, killing at least 25 persons, mostly aid workers.
A lone bomber from the sect similarly attacked the Louis
Edet Police building in the Federal Capital Territory on June 16, 2011. The
lone bomber and a policeman died during the attack while more than 70 vehicles
were destroyed by the fire ignited by the explosion at the car park.
Jonathan said his administration had been working
very hard, mostly without the knowledge of the citizens, to solve the
insecurity in the country.
While thanking the Church for its prayers in the past, the
President urged them to continue to assist his administration.
He recalled that the support of the church for the nation
dated back to when the country was struggling to transit from military to civilian
rule.
“The church has been praying for this country, not just
now. I remember during the period of transition from military to civilian, when
this country was drifting and we did not know where we were going, the church
prayed. God intervened and stabilised the country,” he said.
Jonathan said because of the nation’s large youth
population, his administration was committed to job creation, adding that many
of the problems facing the nation were caused by Nigerians’ attitude and ways
of life.
He said the get-rich-quick syndrome had led many people
into criminal activities, including robbery, embezzlement in offices and other
anti-social behaviour.
Earlier in his sermon, the Primate, Church of Nigeria,
Anglican Communion, Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh, had asked Jonathan and others in
positions of authority to circumcise their hearts so that they could deliver
the dividends of democracy to Nigerians in the New Year.
He also asked those in the civil service and the private
sector to take a similar step in order to shun vices that had contributed to
the country’s woes over the years.
In his sermon titled, ‘Circumcise Your Heart,’ Okoh
defined circumcision as the cutting off of the old life of sins such as
corruption, cheating and hypocrisy, among others.
He said it was the seal of the covenant between God and
Abraham which could be likened to modern day baptism.
He said, “As we start the New Year and mark the naming and
circumcision of the baby Jesus today, Nigerians should circumcise their hearts.
“Pastors in the vineyard of God must circumcise their
hearts. Captains of industry must circumcise their hearts; civil servants who
hide files to make money must circumcise their hearts.
“Politicians at all levels, federal, state and local
governments as well as in all arms of government, the Executive, Legislature
and Judiciary should circumcise their hearts.
“Lecturers who harass female students for marks, and
ladies who tempt lectures with their skimpy dresses must also circumcise their
hearts.”
Source: Punch
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