Last
week the presidency released a statement to hit back at the Former President-
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for scoring the administration of President Goodluck
Jonathan below average.
The
statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs,
Dr. Doyin Okupe, read thus, I quote: “Our
attention has been drawn to comments made by a former President of this
country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo regarding the performance of the
administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. We aver that Chief Obasanjo’s
comments are untrue, misleading and clearly do not tally with the facts on the
ground. We therefore wish to assert
without equivocation that in terms of performance and achievements, no
administration since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain, has
done as much as that of President Jonathan. Every discerning and unbiased
Nigerian will definitely attest to this fact as the evidence stare all of us in
the face…..”
Logically,
for the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin
Okupe to have considered this administration as the best since independence, it
means to him that President Goodluck Jonathan is the best president since
independence. I really do not know the benchmark that he used in rating his boss
as the best since independence in terms of performance and achievements, but
the global fact is, the statement is deceptive, a propaganda and far from
reality.
You
see, to whom much is given, much is expected and to whom much is within his
disposal much is also expected in return.
Nigeria
is not a nation begging for funds. It is also a global fact that the country is
blessed and stupendously rich. Even the president at various occasions has
testified to this. This means that Nigeria has enough to take most of its
citizens out of poverty line and make them enjoy good governance through
remarkable achievements and also has all it takes to be a great nation.
Nigeria
is not Benin Republic, nor Niger Republic or Chad that the senior special
assistant to the president would regard the little and infinitesimal
performance and achievements of President Jonathan as the best since 1960. Such
statements belittle Nigeria as a nation and a gross embarrassment on Nigerians.
Such statements regard Nigerians as people with low expectations and low self
esteem. If President Jonathan was the president of any of those countries
mentioned earlier, one could have partially accepted Dr. Doyin Okupe`s
assertions as partially true, due to the level resources in those countries.
In
term of performance, President Jonathan is the most clueless among his elected
counterparts since independence. You cannot be the best performed and yet find
it difficult and impossible to defeat the terrorism under you watch for over
4years. While in term of achievements he is the most under-achieved president
among is elected counterparts since independence. You cannot be the most
achieved and yet call corruption mere stealing and do more or less nothing to
alleviate the poverty of the land.
Also
there is only little on the ground to reflect the huge budgetary allocations
from 2010 till now. From 2010 through 2014, Nigeria`s approved budget is
approximately N23.42 Trillion. See breakdown by year below:
Year
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
2013
|
2014
|
Total
|
Approximate
Value (N)
|
4.61
tn
|
4.484
tn
|
4.7
tn
|
4.987
tn
|
4.64
tn
|
23.42
tn
|
This
is an enormous amount that is only read on the edges of the dailies but barely
felt in the key sectors of the nation and in the lives of the citizen. You
cannot have so much as president within your disposal but do so little and
flaunt yourself as the best in Nigeria since independence. It is absolutely
derogatory and absurd!
Nigeria
has had 4 different elected presidents since independence whose individual
achievements no matter how controversial they are, are far better and cannot be
compared to that of President Goodluck Jonathan. Starting from Chief Benjamin
Nnamdi Azikiwe (16th January 1966 - 1st
October 1963), to Shehu shagari (1st October 1979 – 31st December 1983), then
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (29th May 1999- 29th May 2007) and Umaru Musa Yar`
Adua (29th May- 5th May 2010).
President
Goodluck Jonathan has been president for approximately 5 years. I would not say
that for these years that he has done nothing. Saying that would mean exaggerating
the scenario, but the truth is, his achievements do not in any way match up the
weight of resources and strength within his disposal. Don`t be deceived by the
recent fall in Brent crude oil price. His administration is the richest since
independence yet the most under-achieved. Yes, assessments of the key sectors
of national life under President Jonathan show that the president has not in
any way performed up to expectation.
Yes,
it is true that the North Eastern parts of the country have been faced with
incidents of insurgency and terrorism especially in the last few years. But you
cannot possibly say that is the reason why the president has not been able to
tackle corruption squarely. Or is the insurgency also responsible for the use
of force and military power against the opposition? Does terrorism prevent him
from fixing the health sector too? And others
Of
course, I do not shy away from the fact that majority of these challenges have
been before this present administration, but at the same time all actions on
ground show that this present regime is not willing to address these challenges
and his actions so far have only aggravated the challenges and made them look
unsolvable.
Sincerely,
am only being fair on President Jonathan by considering him the worst elected
president since 1960, and not the worst president Nigeria ever had. This is not
to say that he is better placed than the military dictators that ruled the
country since independence but just to be fair to him.
Take
for instance, you may want to consider General Sani Abacha as the worst
president since independence but remember he was just a military ruler who
hijacked power for selfish gain.
However,
comparing the level of corruption of both regimes, you would find out that
President Jonathan`s regimes is more corrupt than that of General Sani Abacha.
This is because, cumulatively you might sum up Abacha` s and his boys` embezzlements to $15billion which I know is
not up to that, but in few days, President Jonathan and his boys could not account
for $20billion oil revenue. Let alone the depletion of the foreign reserve, the
massive corruption through oil subsidy and various scams among others. This is
not to vindicate Late General Sani Abacha of his atrocities.
Holistically,
if you consider the whole regimes from independence till now, you would notice
that Nigeria has never had an outstanding President since independence.
However,
if one must choose the worst elected president since 1960, one might just end
up by choosing the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. That is to be
fair to him because he probably is the worst since independence.
God Bless Nigeria
Ogundana Michael Rotimi
Follow me on Twitter @MickeySunny
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