Goodluck Ebele Jonathan unarguably has an impressive dossier among Nigeria's living and dead presidents. Like Barak Obama, his story is too good to be true – one of such that make atheists to reconsider their stance on God, nature, spirituality, deity and the trinity.
His ascension to the highly coveted post (ask Atiku how bad he wants it) is meteoric, and when made into a film directed by a veteran director like Spike Lee or our own Tade Ogidan, his story could become more successful than Fela on Broadway. This is the only good thing that I can make of an unpresidential president.
Deciding which presidential candidate to support in 2011 has been an almost impossible task for non partisan citizens like me who greatly loath Nigeria's version of politics. For some time, I was considering President Jonathan as a likely candidate until I saw him at the National Youth Summit, live on national TV. At the event, he announced handsome prizes for the winners of the website design competition organized by the Nigerian Youth Forum. While the gesture might be seen as commendable from several angles, the résumés of the award recipients revealed that they don't really need the money. The three finalists attended universities outside the country (India, Kenya and England), and are working with desired employers like the British Council. Yet Mr President didn't hesitate to dole out his or our millions. This got me thinking about his perception of the Nigerian nation, his orientation on the problems of Nigeria, his attitude to Nigerian problems and the appropriateness of his candidacy.
For months, I've patiently waited for the time he'll finally fit into the shoes that unforeseen circumstances had put him in, yet times without number, he has consistently shown that he is not different from past Nigerian leaders since 1971 when the civil war ended, thus necessitating the need for another man (or woman) as the landlord of Aso Rock Villa.
Since 1971 when new oil fields were discovered in the oil rich Niger Delta region, oil exploration has reached an unprecedented rate with millions of barrels coming out of the bellies of Ken Saro Wiwa's motherland on a daily basis. But despite the stupendous wealth revenues, unemployment and crime continue to rise steadily, incessant strikes consistently plague every sector of the nation, inflation remains mounted and millions of graduates are either unemployable or cannot find jobs apart from selling MTN recharge cards.
It's rather funny that every time we say "it cannot be worse", it gets worse. Under the Jonathan-led administration, Nigerians have not faired better hence there is nothing exceptional about his government except his ascension to power, and a fascinating first name. In addition, his style of ruling the nation highlights the resounding gong of danger that warrants our collective and individual close attentions. This is the major issue that I have against President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
He leads a government that flows with the tide — telling us what we want to hear, instead of doing what he's supposed to do as the Commander-In-Chief. Like every past Nigerian president, President Jonathan's administration has been characterized with incessant strikes. The way he has handled them so far present him as a pusillanimous leaders who waits for problems to arise before seeking "common sense" solutions.
Unlike the military era when the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) could embark on strikes within short notice, Dame's husband has enjoyed working with extremely patient workforce that gives long notices before embarking on strikes, yet none of such strikes was averted. It's like he enjoys daring the labour by testing their resolve to lay down the tools. The eighteen thousand Naira basic minimum wage saga is a perfect example of one of such Jonathan Moments.
It wasn't until the rank and file of the NLC embarked on warning strike that the presidency took them serious and set up an impromptu roundtable discussion to address the issue. The same scenario repeated itself with the strike that was embarked on by RATTAWU members; other unions are already aware of the fact that without strike, it's impossible to attract Jonathan's attention. This familiar trend spells doom for our nation since essential service providers like PHCN, medical staffs are now applying Jonathan's Formula to press home their demands.
It's not only labour matters that the president's attitude to pressing issues is having strong impacts; it's also affecting issues of national security. The new trends in societal unrests are a good illustration.
Times without number, Mr President has spoken eloquently on his resolve, and that of the various security outfits, to keep Nigeria and Nigerians safe; he has also vowed to apprehend perpetrators of evil acts yet these actors keep repeating their acts (just like Ocean Eleven), sometimes confidently pre-empting us by issuing privy statements to the government about their intentions. They can now blow up – successfully, whatever they feel like blowing up knowing that the president will only make another reassuring speech on national TV, vowing to catch the perpetrators at all cost. The perennial Jos crisis is one of such numerous instances that showcase Goodluck as a poor crisis manager. Despite his assurance and reassurances, the city remains ablaze.
By Adepoju Paul Olusegun via SR (http://www.saharareporters.com/article/chronicle-jonathan%E2%80%99s-misdemeanours)