President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday said despite the various challenges facing the country, Nigeria’s situation was not that bad. Jonathan spoke while granting audience to a delegation of the Yoruba Council of Elders, led by Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo, at the State House, Marina in Lagos. He then expressed confidence that with the strategies already put in place by his administration, the story of Boko Haram would change in the next two weeks. Jonathan said:
“My position is that let us all collectively defend and protect this country and that is why I always feel bad when people make statements that expose Nigeria as if it is the worst country on earth. We are not that bad. Yes, we have issues in this country. Even issues of security, like this Boko Haram, because we are managing a very delicate situation. Sometimes people define Nigeria by the Boko Haram.”
“Nigeria cannot be defined based on Boko Haram alone. There is terror all over the world. We have unfair share of the terror. But luckily with what is happening now, I tell people that in the next two to three weeks this story will change. Because we have got the equipment that we can withstand the excesses of the Boko Haram.”
“That is why these few days, you will see that the movement, we don’t want to say much, is going on gradually. My belief is that in the next three weeks or so if we don’t completely take over all our territories, we would have handled the Boko Haram to the extent that it will no longer be a problem to the elections that will come up.”
Jonathan also warned public office seekers across all political parties to always put the country first.
“No matter what we want to do, that is those of us who are aspiring to run this country or even at the state level, first and foremost you must have a country. If we don’t have a country, there will be no office to hold; whether it is the office of the President or office of the Vice President or office of the minister or whatever office, there must be Nigeria first,” he said.