Presidency, PDM clash over Jonathan’s Jerusalem pilgrimage

The recent pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Israel by President Goodluck Jonathan and some members of the Federal Executive Council has sparked a war of words between the Presidency and the newly registered Peoples Democratic Movement. The Presidential Assistant on New Media, Reno Omokri, and the founding Chairman of the PDM, Bashir Yusuf, were at the weekend embroiled in a frenzy over the pilgrimage. Yusuf threw the first salvo when he stated in a post on Twitter that he was disturbed by the picture of the President, which has circulated widely on the Internet, showing him praying at the Wailing Wall in Israel. He alleged that it was a great disservice and double standard for the President to “seek the face of God” for the country’s development and yet “return home” and encourage “corruption and looting.” The PDM leader and political associate of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar noted that Jonathan ensured the circulation of such pictures to make him look like he is now “born again” and to fool voters in the build up to the 2015 polls. Noting that he was “fired up” to engage Omokri in a Twitter fight, Yusuf said he had no issues with the pilgrimage. But he insisted that the President should rather start taking responsibility for the “rot” in the Nigerian polity on his return. Yusuf said, “GEJ’s picture in Jerusalem is everywhere. He (GEJ) is doing what he knows how to do best: manipulation of religious sentiments. As 2015 draws near, he is now born again. “You pray before the Wailing Wall seeking the face of God and you return home to loot the treasury. You make jest of your creator. Don’t worship today and loot tomorrow. GEJ can fool some people some of the time, but he cannot fool all the people all the time. “I want to speak about GEJ and corruption today. He is my President today and I want to hold him accountable for the looting perpetrated under him. I say it without fear of contradiction that GEJ’s government is the most corrupt in Nigeria’s history. “Nigerians are wiser now. We want to hear what you have to say about Oduahgate. Nigeria has never been bled this badly.” But Omokri wouldn’t let go without a fight. He rebuked Yusuf for the outburst, describing him as a “religiously intolerant fellow.” He said Jonathan should not be singled out for criticism for embarking on a pilgrimage, as many Nigerian leaders, including Atiku, whom he described as Yusuf’’s boss, had gone on pilgrimages while in office. Omokri noted that it was unfortunate that the PDM chairman will resort to religious sentiments to unfairly “attack” Jonathan and his government for selfish and political reasons. Omokri said, “Mallam Yusuf, Nigerian leaders have been photographed and shown on TV while performing pilgrimages for decades. Why attack now? In fact, your boss Atiku was photographed and televised during hajj while in office. There is nothing wrong with it. Please respect religious freedom. “You should be ashamed of yourself for criticising the President for going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It’s unthinkable that such a religiously intolerant fellow as yourself managed to become the chairman of PDM. Voters, please note his tweet.” However, Omokri appears to agree with Yusuf that there is indeed “rot” under the Jonathan administration where he is serving. In his advice to Yusuf, he noted, “If you want to criticise the rot, then do so; but don’t hide under the President’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem to insult him.” Responding to allegations of widespread corruption in the Jonathan administration, the President’s new media aide referred the PDM boss to the book written by a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, titled The Accidental Public Servant. According to the Presidential aide, el-Rufai’s thoughts as captured in the book were instructive response to his allegations. “I will not even condescend to discuss with someone like you (Yusuf), who can criticise a man for going on pilgrimage. “If you want to talk about looting, read Mallam Nasir el-Rufai’s book and what he said about you and your boss (Atiku). He (el-Rufai) worked with you guys,” Omokri added. Although Atiku, who now makes use of Twitter, did not dabble into the disagreement that ensued between Yusuf and Omokri, his son, Mustapha, rose in his defence. Mustapha wrote on the micro-blogging service that he was taken aback that the same el-Rufai that Omokri allegedly describes as an hypocrite is now his standard to proof corruption against his father. “Omokri, it bugs me that the same el-Rufai you consider a hypocrite and unstable is your proof of corruption against Atiku and Yusuf,” he said.