Henry Okah
In a just-published interview, Okah described the president as timid and cowardly, The Nation reports.
Okah, who is currently in a South African jail, said he could hardly speak about GEJ without “saying something uncomplimentary”.
“I have met President Jonathan. I knew him though not closely when he was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State. My cousin Chief (Diepreye) Alamieyeseigha was then governor.
“I had a meeting with Jonathan in Pretoria in 2007 when the late President Musa Yar’ Adua sent him to speak with me. He was accompanied by Chief Timipre Sylva. I have spoken to him on occasions.
“In one instance, he was traumatized emotionally by the attack on his country home which he was misled into believing I had a hand in. The last time I spoke with him was in April 2010 when he asked for my support personally. Since my recent arrest, I have had no direct contact with him.
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“As governor of Bayelsa State, and a man whose home had been violated, I expected him to be angry and indignant at this sacrilegious act. Rather, he was physically trembling, terrified and incoherent as he spoke weeks after the attack.”
Okah compared Jonathan with Alhaji Asari-Dokubo:
“I warned Nigerians about Goodluck Jonathan but some people assumed I was speaking in anger and arrogance.
“Nigerians have now seen President Jonathan for exactly what I told them that he is. There is little difference in his speeches and that of Asari.”
Speaking about the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), Okah stated:
“I was quite young when General Muhammadu Buhari was in power so I am compelled by this fact to look at him in awe. This has nothing to do with his personality. General Buhari kept quiet for a long time and I have not kept up with him since after he was deposed in a military coup. He does not appear vain and would very likely be a more prudent civilian leader. This is not to say that I would vote for him in any elections as much as I respect him. I am disillusioned with Nigerian politics and have never voted or participated in any form of politics at any level.”
He also prayed for “a responsible and sensible president who sees the need to properly address the situation of the North and South in the face of Boko Haram and the Niger Delta issue”.
Returning to the comments about Asari Dokubo, Okah said:
“He is unintelligent and has forgotten the different versions he has given in the past. This man once said I was fighting against Goodluck Jonathan because Jonathan displaced Alamieyeseigha. Another time he said my wife is Itsekiri which was why I supported Itsekiris. My wife is from Enugu.
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“He has also said in yet another interview that I am not Ijaw. But Ijaw historians and scholars will tell him that I am a purer Ijaw than he can ever be. Even as I say this I must tell you that the issue of tribe is unimportant to me because I am not tribalistic and regard myself first as a Nigerian before an Ijaw.”
Finally, he lamented the human rights situation in the country, referring first of all to his own case which no one “has any interest in”.
On March 26, 2013, Henry Okah was sentenced to 24 years in prison by a South African court.
Okah, who was found guilty on 13 counts of terrorism, last year was allegedly caught attempting to break out of the Leeuwkop prison in Johannesburg, South Africa.