Over the last eight months, I have watched with keen interest how opposition political parties and some notable Nigerians have criticised President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration.
While some of these criticisms have been objective, constructive and have portrayed nationalist interests, some have been unnecessary and at best, political.
Ordinarily criticisms are meant to correct and keep one on course but when they become unconstructive, biased and appear to have veiled motives intended to pitch the citizenry against the President, then, they not only become laughable and seen as mere academic exercise, but make mockery of the original critic.
The fact is that I am not a member of PDP,or by any means a beneficiary of this administration, and like most ordinary Nigerians, I am a victim of PDP misrule since the last 12 years. But the point is criticizing the President should be constructive, objective and seen to have nationalistic interest.
I was particularly piqued by the recent outburst of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, averring that the President's submission at the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association, that he is the most criticized President in the world, and more so he inherited the insecurity problem, power failure and collapsed national infrastructure from previous administrations, is a sign of failure, incompetence and unpreparedness for governance.
But let us be sincere: Was the President's assertion far from the truth? It is a general knowledge that the challenges President Jonathan faces today are no doubt the creation and offshoot of previous administrations in the country.
But while it will be acknowledged that as the current President, the responsibility of steering the nation out of these challenges lies squarely with him, it is not out of place for him to admit that the country's current challenges are a product of previous administrations and should not have been registered by the ACN as a sign of failure or incompetence.
The truth is, the criticisms from opposition political parties should be to get the President to sit up, and they must be objective, transparent and constructive.
Criticisms should not be dished out with the aim of scoring cheap political points or whipping up political sentiments and emotions. In criticizing the President, the interest of the nation should be paramount and not the parochial interest of any political party, ethnic nationality, religion or region.
Mr OHWEVWO UFUOMA EUGENE, wrote from Warri, Delta State
Vanguard Nigeria
As i've said before they will only try but never suceed.I feel if we give Goodluck more time we will see changes