Goodluck Jonathan is worried. As he sat down at the Eagle Square on November 11 to formally declare his intention to seek re-election, Jonathan cut a forlorn figure, which he attempted to mask with occasional smiles too artificial to be believable.

Jonathan's staunchest governor-ally, Godswill Akpabio, spoke with confidence: "Mr President, we know that the route to 2015 is not going to be very smooth, but we are assuring you that at the end of the tunnel victory is yours," he said.

He went on to compare the president to "David in the Bible […] fighting all the wars".

Hearing Akpabio's words, I was left a bit confused. Why is our president, close to completing four years in office, still a David? He has no victories against the Goliaths to offer at the end of his term? Why is he still struggling to earn public trust?

Four years earlier again at Eagle Square, Jonathan declared his candidacy for the 2011 presidential election, promising to "fight" eight specific battles.

1, Justice
2, All Nigerians to have access to power
3, Qualitative and competitive education
4, Healthcare reforms
5, Create jobs for all Nigerians
6, Fight corruption
7, Fight to protect all citizens
8, To fight for your rights!"

Eight struggles, four years, and no victory yet to declare?

A Corrupt Administration

It is unclear if Jonathan's administration is the most corrupt in Nigeria's democratic history, but never has corruption been this romanticised and institutionalised.

The Code of Conduct Bureau requires all public office holders to declare their assets on assumption and relinquishment of office. But this had no meaning for Jonathan.

Asked during a presidential media chat in June 2012 to explain his aversion to the asset declaration code, Jonathan clarified that he didn't give a damn.

"The issue of public asset declaration is a matter of personal principle," he said. "That is the way I see it, and I don't give a damn about it, even if you criticise me from heaven," he said.

Two years later, he delivered another bombshell. Explaining at another presidential media chat in May 2014 on how his administration was tackling corruption, he said: "Over 70 percent of what are called corruption [cases], even by EFCC [Economic and Financial Crimes Commission] and other anti-corruption agencies, is not corruption, but common stealing.

His disregard for one of his eight struggles - fighting corruption - was put not only into verbal use but also into action.

In 2013, his minister of aviation, Stella Oduah, faced accusations of ordering the purchase of two bulletproof cars for $1.6m - about $1.2m more than the market price. More than a year after the scandal, Oduah, who ordinarily ought to be prosecuted, is still prospering and in fact playing a big role in Jonathan's 2015 campaign.

No one truly knows the exact amount of public funds Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, ex-governor of Jonathan's Bayelsa state, stole. But he had stolen so much that when the federal government started an investigation in the mid-2000s, it was discovered that he had some $1.56m in cash stashed away in one of his London properties.

After investigations and lawsuits in the UK and Nigeria, Jonathan - only God knows what he was thinking - granted Alamieyeseigha a state pardon in March 2013. These are just two out of many such examples.

Litany Of Failed Promises

All of Jonathan's 2010 promises were rehashed into a document he christened "Transformation Agenda 2011-2015", which set out to focus on job creation, education, health, power, transportation, Niger Delta development, governance and public expenditure management, among others.

Truly, Jonathan did attempt to create jobs through the YOUWIN initiative. But it counts for nothing knowing how the masses suffer from the partial removal of subsidy in January 2012, from which YOUWIN is funded.

During the Occupy Nigeria protests against subsidy removal, at least 17 people were killed by the police - people whose rights Jonathan promised to "fight for". Till date, no police officials have been prosecuted for the deaths.

It is impossible to say a president has transformed his country's health sector if his own wife receives medical attention abroad; or if after a prolonged strike by doctors, he ingeniously devises a backdoor approach to sacking them.

I do not blame Jonathan for the insurgency in the northeast, neither do I believe in the conspiracy theory that his government or its key officers are sponsoring Boko Haram. But he can't be exonerated from responsibility for the organisational ill-preparedness of the military and the inferior firearms of soldiers, given the huge amount funds for the military at his disposal.

A Jonathan win in 2015 will not invalidate the fact that his first-term performance was underwhelming. His victory will be brought by a combination of deep-seated ethnic sentiments in his favour, blind public sycophancy and the possibility of opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) collapsing after its presidential primary.

To Jonathan's advantage, APC has offered the public scant argumentation on why it should be voted into power. Journalist Frederick Nwabufo recently asked John Oyegun, APC's supremo, what his party would do differently about Boko Haram should it gain power next year.

"We will make the system work," he said. How? He didn't say.

So it is clear that in 2015, Nigerians will be torn between the devil and the deep blue sea; between a Jonathan who promised but failed to transform Nigeria and an opposition whose chief selling point is directing tirades at the presidency. Surely, there couldn't have been a worse time to be Nigerian.

Jic

This is the same opinions we read month in month out but some ignorant dolts keep on shouting gej till 20whatever, have we lost our sense of reasoning?

diluminati:
This is the same opinions we read month in month out but some ignorant dolts keep on shouting gej till 20whatever, have we lost our sense of reasoning?

Them dey collect their own share of the national moinmoin,so what we need to do is to fight for our own "share"(roads,water,light,security ...you get the point) cos nothing you say will change their minds. Its the swing voters you need to appeal to.

Virtually GEJ achieved nothing in his last 6 yrs as d president of this great nation.i am urging all Nigerians to pu sentiment, tribalism,Religius aside and d right person into office that will move dis nation to greater high.

I saw this Article here on NL. I just want the world to see it. Pls Support by Rebroadcasting
Mubi,the biggest commercial town in Adamawa state, was thrown into chaos the day
Boko Haram descended on them and the people found themselves running for their lives.
The terrorists shot sporadically, killing a lot of people while those who could escape
jumped into any available car to run to safety.
Christians,Muslims, Igbos, Yorubas, Tivs, Hausas and any tribe or religion,
jumped onto any vehicle that was headed outside the town.
Soldiers scampered onto trucks with civilians, begging to be saved,
hundreds of people who could not get a vehicle ran into the hills.
In their frantic effort to stay alive, no one paid attention to anybody's religion
or ethnicity before asking them for help or helping them to stay alive.
It was a community of people, united by their desire to
escape the common enemy that hunted them all without discrimination.
Ethnicity and religion vanished, all they were left with was their humanity. Those climbing the hills stayed
together, helping one another stay on their feet
as they all tried to survive.

The most interesting part of the narrative is that
the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Badeh is from the same town of Mubi.
It has been reported that few hours before the attack, helicopters flew in and evacuated his family
members from the town. The chief of Defence staff by the way,
is the most senior military officer in Nigeria and he controls the army, navy and air force. Before that sad day,
someone from Mubi would have boasted that
the Chief of Defence Staff is from their home town.
But on the day that it mattered the most, he
evacuated only his family members and abandoned everyone else to their fate.
It means he had information of the Impending attack and
as the most senior military commander,
he did not fly into the town to lead his men to battle to defend his community.
He quietly saved only his family and left even
the soldiers without an inspiring commander to
motivate them to engage the terrorists and defend his community.

One lesson all Nigerians must learn from this
story is that as a people, all we have is our neighbours. When you need some help at home,
you knock on the door of your neighbour. The president, governor, senator or minister is not
there to help you. Why then should you continue
to fight your neighbour because of a man or
woman who cares only about his own family?
Our elites may deceive us about sharing the same religion or ethnicity with us,
but time and again, they have proven that they do not care.
We have been fools, killing one another on the
basis of religion and ethnicity while they stay
united across all the divides and plunder our wealth.

The time has come for us to rise, educate one another and unite to fight our biggest common enemy.
The politicians are our enemies and not the poor struggling men and women in our neighbourhoods.
What now will the people of Mubi boast about as
the gain of having their son as the chief of Defence Staff? If you go to Otueke where Jonathan comes from, there are many people
who live in excruciating poverty!
There is still a lot of poverty and suffering in the home towns of all our governors, ministers,
parliamentarians and former presidents, while they and their families live in scandalous affluence.
The minister of petroleum spent over 10 billion Naira on a private jet. That money can end the poverty of several communities in her state.
Stella Oduah bought two cars with 120 million Naira while there are people in her home town
who can't afford 500 Naira to feed their family in a day.
The time to throw away the sentiments is now!
Support only a man or woman who has a just
heart and will serve everyone and every community regardless of if they come from there
or not. The moment anyone begins to talk to
you about religion or ethnicity, reject him.

summarily!
We need leaders who will unite us because our shared humanity is greater than any differences between us.
And if someone does something wrong or fails in governance, do not support them simply because they're your own

diluminati:
This is the same opinions we read month in month out but some ignorant dolts keep on shouting gej till 20whatever, have we lost our sense of reasoning?

Our politics is a game of partisan.

Most times poverty has blocked our sense of reasoning which allow people to despise the truth and even when we hear the truth its just hard to hold on to the truth.

mikolo80:
Them dey collect their own share of the national moinmoin,so what we need to do is to fight for our own "share"(roads,water,light,security ...you get the point) cos nothing you say will change their minds. Its the swing voters you need to appeal to.

What do we do when the voters are not loyal?

2011 as a case point.

Everybody believed APC own south west at Presidential level but PDP won massively.

akaahs:
Virtually GEJ achieved nothing in his last 6 yrs as d president of this great nation.i am urging all Nigerians to pu sentiment, tribalism,Religius aside and d right person into office that will move dis nation to greater high.

Now that PDP has established Ministry of Stomach Infrastructure whats the way out?

We all know what hunger can do to human being.

Nigeria has politicians but no progressives, be it pdp or apc at present. All of them are just struggling for positions. All they 'plow back' is hate, propaganda and deceit.

Rexyl:
Nigeria has politicians but no progressives, be it pdp or apc at present. All of them are just struggling for positions.

You are right but when a system isn't working for years then i think it has to change for someone with new idea and strategy to take over.

PDP systems isn't working and nothing to show that it will ever work because their system is controlled by the same people for the last 15years.

It has been proven over and over.

Its time to try new party with new system just as Fashola said.

lol he wasnt even successful in any of the 8 battles.. what a shame! and hes come to deceive simple minded people again for another 4years

rebranded:
lol he wasnt even successful in any of the 8 battles.. what a shame! and hes come to deceive simple minded people again for another 4years

8 Battles

6 Years

No single victory

Everything is worse than he met them.

He discredited efcc.
No one heard about icpc again.

Legislooters take over investigation.

A sane man would have allowed his achievement to speak for himself.

But same noise and promises are back, we Nigerians tend to forget easily.

Its a shame.

OYINBOGOJU:


8 Battles

6 Years

No single victory

Everything is worse than he met them.

He discredited efcc.
No one heard about icpc again.

Legislooters take over investigation.

A sane man would have allowed his achievement to speak for himself.

But same noise and promises are back, we Nigerians tend to forget easily.

Its a shame.

This is what I have always insisted . I.e Jonathan has failed at tackling the major issues ailing Nigeria. He has even worsened many of our biggest problems deliberately and directly so that him and his group of private jet Oligarchs can loot Nigeria brazenly and mercilessly. It really is amazing how , in this day and age, a nation can end up voting for a President whose history shows he likely to be a big part of the problem rather than the solution.

This President has then gone on to show he has nothing to offer over 5 years, as your list shows, yet some pathetic clowns are trying to say our monumentally failed President deserves another 4 years? Nigeria is simply an Incredible and logic-defying nation.

@Gbawe

Any person who call corruption a common stealing is not fit to lead a group of animals talk less of human.

For this kind of person to lead the largest party in Africa that means the party must be embodied with animals in human skin.

Gbawe2:


He has even worsened many of our biggest problems deliberately and directly

Yet some pathetic clowns are trying to say our monumentally failed President deserves another 4 years?

Nigeria biggest problems lies in her leaders, until we change the head other part of the body are just a mere follower.

It is absolutely obvious that he doesn't give a damn and he will never give a damn.

He has tried and he failed woefully.

Come 2015, Jonathan must go back to Otuoke. Vote 4 change, we are tired of PDP and its band of looters. Buhari 2015-2019

Funniez:
Come 2015, Jonathan must go back to Otuoke. Vote 4 change, we are tired of PDP and its band of looters. Buhari 2015-2019

You can say that again.