Media Chat: Ghanaian Professor Blasts Goodluck Jonathan, Says: “This Guy is a Joke”




One of the World’s foremost economists, Professor George Ayittey has lashed out at the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ), describing him as “a joke” and a mediocre President after his (GEJ’s) encounter with the media last night.

According to Professor Ayittey, Nigeria “deserves a better leader”, judging by GEJ’s poor, almost unfortunate responses to some of the questions posed to him by the Nigerian media last night.

The Professor indicated that GEJ’s refusal to declare his assets and his failure to tackle the Boko Haram crisis suggests that he is of an unsound mind.

He therefore called on Nigerians to rid themselves of GEJ as soon as possible.

He said: “Nigerians should not put up with such mediocrity and should mount a RECALL GEJ campaign. They should check Chapter VI of their Constitution. See Sections 143 and 144 about removing the President and Vice-President from office other than through elections”.

“137; 1c: “A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if under the law in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind.”

Professor Ayittey, a Ghanaian economist, author, president of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington DC, professor at American University, and an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, made this known on twitter this morning.

Read the entire tweet below:

“Look, this GEJ guy is a joke – a meretricious mediocrity. Nigerians deserve a better leader. Fancy his statements and responses to questions in a media chat on June 24, 2012:

• He has not visited Borno state, the center of Boko Haram attacks, because the airport there was not functional at the time he planned to visit. “And we did not want to land somewhere and fly in to Maiduguri with a helicopter for obvious reasons.”

[Why is the airport not functioning? Why hasn’t it been fixed? And are there no ROADS into Borno State?]

• Asked why he had not declared his assets, Mr. Jonathan replied in an impatient tone, stating “I don’t give a damn” about declaration of assets. He related that he had gone to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to caution “that we should not play to the hands of some people [by openly declaring their assets].” Mr. Jonathan added, “That is a matter of principle and I am not going to declare. It is not the president declaring his asset that will end Boko Haram.”

• The president said it’s a matter of principle and whether he is criticised from “head to toe” he will not declare his assets. “It is not right,” he said. “I didn’t want even want to declare my assets as VP” but was forced by the then president, Umara Musa Yar’Adua. He said asset declaration is “not the right thing to do.”

[Damn it, it is a constitutional requirement to declare your assets, Mr. President. See Chapter VI, Part 1, Section 140 of Nigeria’s Constitution: “Declaration of assets and liabilities, oaths of President.” And what the hell has Boko Haram got to do with declaration of assets?]

• Agriculture: The president said his government is revolutionizing agriculture in Nigeria.”We are giving cotton seeds free in the North” he said.

[This is the most crass definition of an “agricultural revolution” – by providing free seeds.]

• The President said the government is doing very well in railway construction. “You may not know, but we are working,” he said. He added that his government has made a “significant progress” in railway construction. “You should commend us,” he adds.

[What “significant progress” has been made in railway construction? How many Nigerians are working on railway construction with the contract given to Chinese firms?]

• UNILAG name change: The president said what he did, in terms of law, was correct. You change the name first, then send the bill to the National Assembly later, he argues. “What we did, was the normal procedure,” he said.

[No, Mr. President, you had it backward. Before you change the name of University of Lagos (UNILAG), you consult with the university and the student body, which you did NOT do.]

• Crude Oil Theft: “The stealing of crude oil is a Nigerian phenomenon,” the president said. He adds that it has gone cancerous. “We will stop it, but it is like allowing a cancerous cell to grow into a major tumor.”

[Mr. President, theft of crude oil is a CRIME, not a “Nigerian phenomenon or a disease afflicting Nigerians. Describing it that way means you are CLUELESS about how to solve it.]

Nigerians should not put up with such mediocrity and should mount a RECALL GEJ campaign.

They should check Chapter VI of their Constitution. See Sections 143 and 144 about removing the President and Vice-President from office other than through elections.

137; 1c: “A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if under the law in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind.” Link: http:///MSxUws ”

Professor Ayittey holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Ghana, Legon, an M.A. from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and a Ph.D. from the University of Manitoba. He has taught at Wayne State College and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

He held a National Fellowship at the Hoover Institution in 1988-89, and then joined The Heritage Foundation as a Bradley Resident Scholar.

He founded The Free Africa Foundation in 1993, to serve as a catalyst for reform in Africa.

In 2008 Dr. Ayittey was listed by Foreign Policy as one of the “Top 100 Public Intellectuals” who “are shaping the tenor of our time”. He lives in Lorton, Virginia.

http://samuelobour.com/2012/06/25/media-chat-ghanaian-professor-blasts-goodluck-jonathan-says-this-guy-is-a-joke/#.T-jEA2vvGQQ.facebook

He said: “Nigerians should not put up with such mediocrity and should mount a RECALL GEJ campaign. They should check Chapter VI of their Constitution. See Sections 143 and 144 about removing the President and Vice-President from office other than through elections”.

“137; 1c: “A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if under the law in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind.”

Professor Ayittey, a Ghanaian economist, author, president of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington DC, professor at American University, and an associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, made this known on twitter this morning.

See, im no be Nigerian yet im know Nigerian law more than most Nigerians do . . .o ma se oo!!

• Asked why he had not declared his assets, Mr. Jonathan replied in an impatient tone, stating “I don’t give a damn” about declaration of assets. He related that he had gone to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to caution “that we should not play to the hands of some people [by openly declaring their assets].” Mr. Jonathan added, “That is a matter of principle and I am not going to declare. It is not the president declaring his asset that will end Boko Haram.”

• The president said it’s a matter of principle and whether he is criticised from “head to toe” he will not declare his assets. “It is not right,” he said. “I didn’t want even want to declare my assets as VP” but was forced by the then president, Umara Musa Yar’Adua. He said asset declaration is “not the right thing to do.”

Imagine a sitting president telling us he even tried persuading the previous president to BREAK THE LAW of the land. What nonsense?

137; 1c: “A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if under the law in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind.” Link: http:///MSxUws ”

ROFLMAO!!!

• The President said the government is doing very well in railway construction. “You may not know, but we are working,” he said. He added that his government has made a “significant progress” in railway construction. “You should commend us,” he adds.

[What “significant progress” has been made in railway construction? How many Nigerians are working on railway construction with the contract given to Chinese firms?]

ROFLMAO!! And contracts given out back during the Yar adua days ooo!!

_{Any one who cares to know this please contact the Nigerian Federal Tenders office to get all the evidence you need.}

For me, the most ridiculous part of the entire show was when he was asked why he hadn't been to Borno State since the BH attacks began. "Because the airport was not functioning"? Come on!!!

Goodluck Jonathan!!!

Right now, even his handlers and apologists should be embarrassed. He makes their job very difficult.

HNosegbe:

• Agriculture: The president said his government is revolutionizing agriculture in Nigeria.”We are giving cotton seeds free in the North” he said.

[This is the most crass definition of an “agricultural revolution” – by providing free seeds.]

The best part. Agricultural revolution to Jona means eating 'akpu bread' with Sambo on national TV.

"The kind of abuse they abuse me if you hear you wont go to market".

Hehehehe President of Nigeria sounds like Idi Amin of Uganda. Was this addressed to his village meeting?

The gentleman called Mr Goodluck Jonathan is simply an uninspiring leader. He seems to be doing his best anyway, but that best does not meet the minimum requirements.

He can't even gather his thoughts properly and clearly into words. By the way, was he not a lecturer?

I would really like to meet someone who studied under him, or whose project he supervised.

^

Met someone who knew him as a lecturer and he was described as boring to death.

Also someone who knew him in UNIPORT during his Ph.d days and was told he failed his thesis defence thrice and Alams had to call d VC to save his deputy from d embarrassment before he was finally passed. Although I haven't been able to check his ph.d award date against d year of his service as deputy governor.

homerac7: ^

Met someone who knew him as a lecturer and he was described as boring to death.

Also someone who knew him in UNIPORT during his Ph.d days and was told he failed his thesis defence thrice and Alams had to call d VC to save his deputy from d embarrassment before he was finally passed. Although I haven't been able to check his ph.d award date against d year of his service as deputy governor.

That would explain a lot!

I have no problem whatsoever with the man called Goodluck Ebele Jonathan but as my Leader/President, i have big issues with him and his personality. He simply doesn't inspire confidence. Charisma can't be bought but it can be learnt. He should shed the toga of the son of a fisherman but at the same time not forget his humble roots.

I don't care about him as a person or his personality. That is all of no mind to me. However, that the man has taken on the highest seat in the land and REFUSED, absolutely REFUSED to work towards moving the nation forward, that is what I have a problem with.

Nigeria continues to invest billions of it's limited funds to produce what exactly? The man is sitting on the futures of over 150 million people and he didn't even bother to do his homework before a 2 hour chat/update meeting before the nation.

HNosegbe: I would really like to meet someone who studied under him, or whose project he supervised.

You don't have to look far to see one- His wife Patience was his student.
When he said with a bare-face about caring less about asset declaration and even pushing Yar Adua to do so, shows how corrupt the guy is. A teacher who was sleeping with his own student (Patience) you don't expect him to be on the front line of moral crusade.

Its unfortunate that some silly people make out his dullness as being mild.
I have always said it that- one thing I can bet my life about Nigeria is the fact that any new leader will be worse than the one he/she succeeded and I had never been proven wrong till this day.

HNosegbe: For me, the most ridiculous part of the entire show was when he was asked why he hadn't been to Borno State since the BH attacks began. "Because the airport was not functioning"? Come on!!!

I bet even his most ardent supporters were thoroughly embarrassed by that remark.

Who would have thought a nation of 150 million could possibly be presided over by someone who appears to revel in ineptitude (in 2012), eh?

Where did they go to pick this character from? There's no end to what theses Gej haters will not do to get at him. Suddenly, they hve gone to generate a Ghanian professor to come and give a disjointed analyses of that interesting Media chat. Who interviewed this professor? Who made him world's foremost economist? I will not be surprised if this man was cloned by SAHARAREPORTERS or Kobojunkie to lend credibility to their falsehood. Let me assume that the man exist and face the issues raised.
1. He acted in ignorance when he said the president didn't declare his assets. The president indeed declared his assets but it was not made public. Even if you doubt it, the assets declaration that he did as Vp under Yaradua still subsists as he has not left office since then. So why the noise over assets declaration?
2. It is an insult on the sensibilities of Nigerians for the so called Ayitteh to label our President as insane and with unsound mind. Who adjudged Jonathan as having unsound mind? Did Ayitteh evaluate a medical report to that effect? How did he arrive at this weighty derogatory statement against a PHD holder? Who is Ayitteh to tell us we voted an insane President? please there must be an end to useless propaganda.
3. The so called Ayitteh questioned why GEJ has not fixed Maidugri airport for his usage. I want to ask, has Ghana even fixed the airport at Accra talkless of the one in hinterland? Is it Not the airport where a cargo aircraft crashed due to water logged runway. Meanwhile, Gej is carrying out massive reconstruction of airports across the country. He is doing in less than one year what many of his predecessors could not do all thru their tenure. Go to Abuja airport, the domestic wing has been closed down for intensive renovation. New car parks are being built. At the international wing, the runways are being built and the entire airport infrastructure is being rebuilt. Similar projects are going on simultaneously in Enugu, Lagos, etc
4. He said GEJ's Agric revolution is only restricted to distribution of palm seedlings. What an affront on truth. Even a toddler in Nigeria has come to know about the cassava revolution and fertilizer distribution reforms scheme.
5. Thankfully, the fake prof accepted the massive construction of rail lines across the country but only faulted the projects on account of what he described as non inclusion of Nigerians in the contract. Who told him? And since when has a Ghanian assumed the role of our local content enforcement officer?
6. He ended up betraying his true identity as an interested party when he said the president needed to consult the university authority and students body before renaming Unilag. What a joke!

Goodluck Jonathan, was an accidental President, d mistake OBJ did was allowing Yardua to choose him as a running mate. Duke or Attah of Akwa Ibom would have been a better choice.

It's unfortunate that out of all the brians we have in Nigeria, we had to settle for less(GEJ). If an American president had made 30% of the atrocious comments that Jonthan made, he would have been impeached by now.

Eziachi:
You don't have to look far to see one- His wife Patience was his student.
When he said with a bare-face about caring less about asset declaration and even pushing Yar Adua to do so, shows how corrupt the guy is. A teacher who was sleeping with his own student (Patience) you don't expect him to be on the front line of moral crusade.

Its unfortunate that some silly people make out his dullness as being mild.
I have always said it that- one thing I can bet my life about Nigeria is the fact that any new leader will be worse than the one he/she succeeded and I had never been proven wrong till this day.

What I like about you haters is that no one tales you seriously. Why do you think there are so many of you on NL? Where else would you go?

afam4eva: It's unfortunate that out of all the brians we have in Nigeria, we had to settle for less(GEJ). If an American president had made 30% of the atrocious comments that Jonthan made, he would have been impeached by now.

You did not settle for him. You and your vampire brothers and sisters tried everything including shedding blood (for which God Almighty will punish you all one by one)to stop us. We the SANE MAJORITY voted PDP and GEJ into office.

Mekusnwa:
4. He said GEJ's Agric revolution is only restricted to distribution of palm seedlings. What an affront on truth. Even a toddler in Nigeria has come to know about the cassava revolution and fertilizer distribution reforms scheme.

If this is what agricultural revolution means to you, then you need to have your head examined.

Secondly, a Professor who appears on TED Q&A is a fake Professor? You are sick but you don't know. Your lengthy post would not deceive us. The day Jona appears on such a platform, he would collapse before the end of the event.

Finally, the President expects his citizens to live at the level of universal ethical principles by "working even when NEPA takes light"- which is almost impossible- but won't live at that level by declaring his assets. Is he not a hypocrite?

Johndoe100:

What I like about you haters is that no one tales you seriously. Why do you think there are so many of you on NL? Where else would you go?

some of these people you call haters do have sympathy for goodluck.goodluck is definately no where near being the best presidential material,but I will definately choose a gej over ibb,buhari,atiku and other vipers who want to rule us by force.Its unfortunate the caliber of politicians we are stuck with as presidential hopefuls seem to revolve around unqualified/wrong set of people.
why cant the likes of donald duke step out seriously for the presidential race? The answer is partly because nigerians usually reject good presidential materials and prefer the likes of gej,ibb,atiku,buhari.nigerians deserve the kind of leaders they have.

“137; 1c: “A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if under the law in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind.”

chie this Prof. must be a buhari supporter or a Northerner or SWesterner

Eziachi:
You don't have to look far to see one- His wife Patience was his student.
When he said with a bare-face about caring less about asset declaration and even pushing Yar Adua to do so, shows how corrupt the guy is. A teacher who was sleeping with his own student (Patience) you don't expect him to be on the front line of moral crusade.

Its unfortunate that some silly people make out his dullness as being mild.
I have always said it that- one thing I can bet my life about Nigeria is the fact that any new leader will be worse than the one he/she succeeded and I had never been proven wrong till this day.

Abeg if na curse make you stop am o!! surely we cant get someone worse that this!! we thought yaradull was bad (was he bad or just slow)

And our own amala professors will be bootlickin the politicians and will not have the courage to say the truth. I weep for Nigeria

Dis Guy:

Abeg if na curse make you stop am o!! surely we cant get someone worse that this!! we thought yaradull was bad (was he bad or just slow)

Yar adua was slow, no doubt!.

The current guy? I still say INCOMPETENT . . . he has 3 years to prove me wrong though.

The newspaper forgot to include Jonathan Goodluck admitting to his suggesting a 7 year term to the Nigerian people only for it to be turned down. I never before yesterday believed that the President could come up with such a suggestion. But after yesterday's admission, I am with the professor here.

High_Chief: And our own amala professors will be bootlickin the politicians and will not have the courage to say the truth. I weep for Nigeria

Our own professors would quickly be sectioned; by his tribe, then his party affiliations even if he/she has none, then he/she will be linked to one general or the other


imagine his handlers actually making him the VICTIM lol

Wonder what other countries think of us

when someone interviewed him on CNN the person was accussed of being disrespectful

no we know its not polite to ask mr president difficult questions o

Much appreciated

For those saying the professor is A made up character, please follow the link below to read about him
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ayittey

The following is a presentation he made at TED conference

http://www.ted.com/talks/george_ayittey_on_cheetahs_vs_hippos.html