by Oge Okonkwo

In a sincere admission, President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said that many politicians are in politics for want of what the system can do them.

President Jonathan made this statement while speaking at the post National Pilgrimage Thanksgiving service at the Aso Villa Chapel, Abuja, saying that half of Nigerian politicians are in the trade for what they can get.

Jonathan said: “Politics is just like some kind of trade. More than 50% of us who are into politics are not supposed to be politicians. E.g in the profession of nursing and teaching if people with wicked heart and unforgiving spirit are not the kind of people who should be nurses or teachers, but we find them there.”

The Nation reports:

“So most of us who are in politics are not supposed to be there but because we have no other thing to do. So if you see a politician that cannot forgive, he is an impostor.” He added.

Jonathan was responding to the remark by the Aso Villa Chaplain, Obioma Onwuzurumba that most politicians are often very unforgiving.

He said: “These days we learn not to talk, or we talk very little. The chaplain accused us politicians that we do not forgive, or that some politicians don’t forgive. Apparently the bible said this, that politicians are the people who forgive.”

“Politicians, I would not say much are those who forgive because in politics whether local politics or national, the bible word is that you don’t have permanent friends or permanent enemies but permanent interest.”

“If somebody is your enemy today and there is a change of interest and he becomes your friend first of all you have to forgive otherwise you cannot have a friend that you cannot work with.”