THE MISTAKES OF PRESIDENT JONATHAN

My name is Dumebi Ifeanyi and I am a political animal. This article is in no way meant to insult/derogate the personality of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Its main motive is to show his mistakes and what he ought to have done.
I feel compelled to write this article in order for aspiring young politicians like myself to learn from the mistakes of one whose actions led to the near destruction of a great party which I dearly support. Many might be pleased, many might not, but affairs of state ought to be seen/stated for the way they are and not the way they ought to be. So let’s begin…..

His Nature

Any good, prudent leader knows that in order to thrive and grow in politics, he ought to know how to be Soft and Hard, Jonathan is a good man…an overly good man and in politics ‘soft/good men’ don’t go very far. He found himself in several situations where he was supposed to take the best possible action which might have been seen as morally ‘bad’.
You see, in politics and governance as a whole, you are required to be objective….certain circumstances require that you do that which might be viewed as morally ‘bad’, but in order for your government to stand, for your people to survive and for your position to remain, you must take these actions. There are situations whereby you do that which is viewed as morally ‘good’ and you will come to absolute ruin.

Image

How the people see their leader is also very important.GEJ did not manage his image well; he was viewed by the people as ‘weak’ because of his lack of charisma and confidence.

The Love of the people

Of all the mistakes that will be stated here, please pay very good attention to this one….NEVER EVER LOSE THE LOVE OF THE PEOPLE!! This is Paramount! Why? The power truly lies with the PEOPLE!
Jonathan came into power with the love of the people (the ‘I had no shoes’ story), everyone loved him but along the line, he made the people lose faith in him, especially after the Chibok girls issue.

Media/Chibok girls

The Media controls the minds of the people. President Jonathan made grave mistakes in managing the media’s representations of his actions. His leadership skills were already not to impressive and the media was not helping matters, even when he appeared to make a little improvement it still did not help as people had already grown fond of getting negative reports about him, so what should he have done? Two things I propose….
1. He should have befriended/enriched some top media house heads, gave them contracts…I mean…everyman has a price.
2. Anyone who refused to be his friend, he would have crushed…how? Influencing the revoking of broadcast licenses, strongarming…..(there a whole lot of ways to deal with them…contact me if you need more..:-)
You might say these are wicked and underhand but anyone who derives joy in destroying me before thousands of people, poisoning their minds and causing me psychological problems has no RIGHT to enjoy while I suffer! I would be foolish to have the means to deal with them and I don’t....:-)
On the chibok girls issue, the president’s lukewarmness caused his great misfortunes, had he immediately given a speech, a good one, a sympathetic one….even if he had no information yet…he would have just addressed the nation and told them that they were working on the matter/ investigating not releasing press statements through Abati….The people needed to know that they had a leader…If they had seen his face, heard his voice…it would have been much better. Had he mobilized the army earlier(or hired mercenaries), had he also given more speeches, speeches that all media houses, TV stations, radio stations would broadcast live(suspending all other programs), supported the Chibok girls campaign, heavily publicized appeals to the AU,UN..etc, these actions could have salvaged his already battered image.
He should also have invested heavily in social media at an early stage, he greatly underestimated it and thought it to be ‘’child’s play’’ but anything causing you great harm and loss of peace of mind is NOT ‘’child’s play’’.


Poor Advisers
A leader’s strength is measured by the advisers/men he has around him. He should have properly vetted those he chose for advisers and he should have weighed his political alliances. He also trusted the wrong people.

Biting the Finger that fed him

His biggest mistake till date is not keeping OBJ satisfied, biting the finger that fed him. You see, those who rise to power on the shoulders of others depend on the fortune and goodwill of him who has elevated them, Jonathan let his rift with OBJ thrive and that was a very, very grave mistake. You see, so far the Old military junta, so far the former military leaders live, Obasanjo is still as relevant as he was in the old days…..He should never have underestimated the power of the Iroko of Owu…he should never have!
In choosing enemies, make sure you know everything about your enemy….his alliances, his strengths. Obasanjo is a man who has ruled this country for a combined 11 years so he knows the inner workings of governance including its weaknesses. GEJ should have been wiser.


He was soft when he had to be firm

He could have salvaged a little of what’s left of his already battered image had he left the likes of Oduah, Abba Moro etc out to dry i.e given them up. He could have successfully built an image of a president who did not condone corruption had he done this, thus increasing the confidence the people had in him.

He associated with the STAINED

A leader should never be found associated with the STAINED, Those who have been publicly labeled as corrupt and evil. He associated himself with men who had been indicted, arrested and had one problem or the other with law enforcement thus giving the opposition media fodder and ‘staining’ himself in the process…come on…never play with ink if you have white clothes on.

Marginalizing the South west

Frankly speaking, He should never have marginalized the south-west…For God sake; they control the media and the Judiciary. I am being very realistic; He should have been friends with those with heavy political influence and should have kept them satisfied early enough. He should have sent more developments and foreign investments their way.

Poor Foundations

Apart from politics, when you build a house on poor foundations it will eventually collapse. GEJ had strong foundations in the SE and the SS but did not in the southwest and in the north, the whole Boko Haram/Chibok girls issue coupled with his Luke warmness destroyed the little he had built there.

In Conclusion, the president’s mistakes were numerous but if he had addressed the few stated above, he could have still been Nigeria’s leader today and I urge all aspiring politicians to draw lessons from his shortcomings than criticize him. Never forget…Politics is not for all, it is for a particular breed of human beings….wanna know if you have got what it takes?…..then Follow me on twitter @itsdumebi_

Apt analysis....
Another massive low for him was his wife. She was one of d major negative forces that
diminished d Jonathan presidency. Her brash,
uncouth & unrefined disposition especially on
sensitive national issues, e.g, chibok girls
saga, d nuisance & inconveniences her
presence unleashes anytime she pops into
town, just two out of many to
mention.
Good riddance to both of them.......

thanks

blackfase:
Apt analysis....

Too long

Jonah along with all his selfish aides destroyed what's left of this country..never in the history of this country has the muslim seen the xtians as enemies,or the hausaman seen the ibo man as his enemy...Jonathan govt looted and divided Nigeria along her different ethnic and religious divide.I can't wait 4 Buhari to start work and probe all the illegalities which had taken place during GEJ/PEJ administration since Sambo was seen as a figurehead or ghost worker.
As election drew closer,Lagos became the Federal capital territory to him,while he was busy doling out tax payers money just to lobby 4 vote..am so happy the South westerners showed him there is no trace of cluelessness in them,by showing him the way out with their PVCs..Nigeria has gone beyond sweet talking the people,its either u perform or u are thrown out through the exit door.he had close 2 six years,and couldn't make good use of it,let him enjoy his pension in otuoke..you ve succeeded in putting your name among the list of presidents of nigeria, the incorruptible general will show you what you don't know about stealing and corruption. Can't wait 4 may 29 to come. odabo jonah!!

jona f up



e don happen already


nothing can b done better than to accept change

#

You said it all except you did not include the following.
(1) The actions of his wife which has become annoying to every one.
(2) You don't fight everybody, even though they are silly and annoying just draw a line for them not to cross and let them be. He fought some people that are not threat to his ambition if they are on his side but if they crossed to the other side they are problem example is Amaechi, Kwakwaso and Bukola saraki. Tinubu will also make the same mistake if he try to fight dirty with Fayose and I know he knows that is why you won't see him in Ekiti until 2018.

Nothing to add again because you have covered all.

Great write up!

I am sure GEJ is reading this.

no need again.

he was greedy and selfish.

he wanted to hijack something that people have been building for years in just 4 years

Oya show me shoki........ahnnnn shoki

MEDICINE AFTER DEATH.....MORE LIKE AN ADVICE TO THE INCOMING PRESIDENT.....

iyen o kan Aiye

aso fun ti ti ti ti...Ko gbo

d koko b say




Jonahhh is goin back to otuoke

Taking notes ,I must admit some valid points were made esp. The "mafian" style approach to the media, but one thing is for sure if he was from the North even with all this he would have gotten enough block votes but unfortunately he's a minority and needed to play ball, upon all what he did for the North, they never saw him as their own and never appreciated him, something he should have reliased and ignored them rather than pampering them, while they were working against him.

Imagine VP- Sambo - North
Senate President - North
Speaker HOR. North.

Shyooo!!! What more do you want!

True

He appointed goats to guard yam barns.

Jonathan came into power with the love of the
people (the ‘I had no shoes’ story), everyone loved
him but along the line, he made the people lose
faith in him, especially after the Chibok girls issue .

the masses lost faith in him after he removed the fuel subsidy... but too scared to prosecute the subsidy thieves & not even a refinery was repaired till date.



meanwhile in other news...

Remembering our [size=18pt]@Chibokgirls #365DaysOn[/size]

OMG has he been crying?
you are a president to reckon with, come rain come sun.

The OPs just hit the nail on the head, if GEJ had somebody like the OPs as an adviser he would had at least salvaged his already battered image two years after loosing the love of the people and the election. However, this is a BIG lesson to all coming leaders not to disconnect themselves from the people and leave a life of self denial. Shikena !!!

This matter has been overflogged!

This is tantamount to crying over spilt milk

Please ADD corruption, politics of ethnic division and politics of religious division.

"UNCHECKED CORRUPTION"


Negligence.

Jonathans major issue was he wasnt equipped naturally to be a leader.

he doesnt inspire confidence at all. If we are to be honest even his wife inspires more confidence and support than Jonathan

He was very clueless about governance. Making senseless statements after the other

Where are the Chibok girls? I dont know, Where is Gworza, America would know etc

Shows a man who is out of his depth

I am sure he has other competencies. Like the way he destroys bottle after bottle of ogogoro

k u are right, but i think u should composed for Buhari ''the mistakes he is likely to make b4 the next 4 years''

olamilian:
Too long

Reason why a lot of people can never be smart: put good ideas in a book.

How can he be a good man but yet eat and dine with the stained?
That's a very dangerous man IMO!