Mr Tonnie Punanga is the coordinator of the Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Worldwide Network (GJPWN), which was formerly Yar’Adua/Jonathan Presidential Worldwide Network (YGJPWN). In an interview with Charles Akinsete, he speaks on the reasons the group is canvassing for President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2011 presidential election.

Can you shed light on the objective of your group?

The main objective of the group is to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan not only contest, but make also make sure he gets to the position of presidency again in 2011.

Why?
We have seen various kinds of people aspiring to become the president of this country. We know their pedigree, history and what have you. Some of them are simply butterfly politicians, while some others have committed unprecedented atrocities in the years past.

Jonathan did not contest elections and he became the president and this is to show that he is divinely ordained to be there.

But that is not all, the main issue is that President Jonathan is accepted both locally in Nigeria here and even among international communities. With what we have seen on the ground, he is a man of vision, geared towards developing the nation and alleviating the problems that have besieged it for donkey years.

The electricity situation has been stabilised. He is the only man who did not show any interest in jumping into his master’s position. He was redundant for 97 days, while the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was away. He is the first person to be made an acting president, but he did not use his power in any negative way to do whatever he likes. The position of acting president is a dangerous one, because anything done may not be accountable for. For instance, with the occurrence in Jos, Jonathan did not use his veto power to influence the situation of things. Rather, he went there to push for peace.

In addition, the way he handled the Abdul Muttallab case was very apt. He went to America to defend the rights of the nation, saying that the whole country cannot be adjudged to be a terrorist nation, just because of the action of one man, out of about 150 million people. He was able to convince the American nation and the whole world and that was why they delisted Nigeria from the list of terrorist nations.

Also, Nigeria is enjoying relative peace since Jonathan has been in power. The issue of Niger Delta is also being appropriately addressed. Jonathan has assured that the agenda of the late President Yar’Adua would not be dumped, saying that he will follow it through. Through this action, Jonathan represents what this nation needs – continuity. Many governments have come and gone, each bringing in a different agenda, and we all know how that has affected us negatively.

But the president is yet to declare his intention, despite the fact that there has been massive clamour for him.
It is wrong for Jonathan to just use government paraphernalia to declare, if you know what I mean. But he will declare immediately after the Muslim fast. He is the president of Nigeria, Christians, Muslims and even the traditional worshippers, but it is only expedient he does so after the fast. And the constitution gives him the right to contest, forget about what other people are saying. We are doing the job of a forerunner or pathfinder for him. He will declare and contest the 2011 presidential elections and our group is doing everything humanly possible to create an enabling environment for a soft landing for him.

Speaking of soft landing, how prepared is your group in Oyo State to support the Jonathan presidency cause?
First, let me emphasise this. Although we have about 1,001 Jonathan support groups, not all of them are completely honest. We are from the real source; we are not here to make money or whatever. We started with Yar’Adua/ Jonathan group before we metamorphosed into Jonathan group. So, we have been on for quite a while and that’s to show that we are on ground. I have a letter written by the Senate President, thanking us for our efforts. This group has the largest contingent of supporters for Jonathan, especially in Oyo State. So, we are ready.

But former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and, of course, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida have signified interest for the position of the president on the platform of the PDP, don’t you see this as a setback for Jonathan?
I will describe the trio as the good, the bad and the ugly.

Please expatiate.
Atiku is a butterfly politician. A butterfly flies from one place to another. He was in the PDP. Later, he defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Then suddenly, he said the ACN did not have a good political structure. Now, he is sort of back to the PDP. Babangida married from my town. I like him, but he has no business with being in the presidency again.

But you initially agreed that anybody is legally free to contest.
He is entitled to contest, but you and I know better. I personally lost 6 of my family members as a result of his annulment of the 1993 presidential election. This is man who said he is an evil genius. Then, he later came back to say that Abiola’s election was the freest and fairest election ever conducted in this nation. IBB is like a double edged sword with no handle. Where do we hold it? Is it at the middle, edge, where?