Words they say are cheap and nothing is as sweet as
beating up the weeping boy as all, including weaklings
suddenly gain strength and bury their own weaknesses in
the collective attack. Unfortunately, it bellies current
failures and provide a ready platform for discuss even when
we know the lie in it.
No situation affords the above assertion better expression
than what has become the order of the day in casting former
President Goodluck Jonathan in bad light; selling him as a
total failure even in the face of realities. We know that the
heart does not lie but the tongue is deceitful; so one
wonders why even respected men choose to live the lie
because that is the vogue.
Examples to prove the point are legion and glaring for which
one would have been tempted to gloss over them except for
the fact that Nigerians have started acting too early as if we
are suffering from collective amnesia on the issue of
Jonathan’s performance given the circumstances.
Most painful is the fact that we have soon forgotten the
accolades that attended the reformation of our international
gateways and the advertorials that graced newspapers
showering praises on how things had changed. The
question that rushes to ones lips is “Are we being fair to
Jonathan by painting him with the tar of general lack of
performance? Can we stand the pricking of our conscience
over the issue of realities of crediting one man with the
success of another just to scurry favour?
There were certain things that had left our memories which
the Jonathan administration restored to our collective
psyche and never in the annals of the country’s history was
freedom of expression given such a handle as under his
regime. He paid dearly for it with the abuses which it
appears people have been fixated on long after he gracefully
left the stage.
It is incontrovertible that in every sense of it, his
transformation agenda really transformed the country in all
sectors though the rot in the system which had endured
over the years seemed to taint his efforts; but if truth be
told, he left giant marks which his traducers have been
working assiduously to rubbish without success and in the
process; celebrate their own ignorance and lack of
direction.
Rather than fall into the common mistake of attacking ideas
and people, it is more honourable and respectable to take
some issues and address them to prove that Nigerians will
be lucky to have President Muhammadu Buhari leave marks
on the political and developmental space like Jonathan did.
Without even starting, cries are all Nigerians are getting
from the present regime which unknown to them, is
preparing grounds for the explanation of its would be
failures.
Jonathan approached governance with a developmental
mind with the best intentions for the country. He placed
national interest above self, a reason he chose a different
path by conceding victory no matter how it was won just for
the country to be at peace. A retrospective look will reveal
how his opponents in no distant past took their losses at
the polls and the hundreds of Nigerian lives, property and
animosities that went into it. That alone places him head
above all Nigerian politicians and bellied his considerations
for the country. Simply put, he transformed the Nigerian
psyche, giving us an opportunity to think straight once
more.
Another funny thing that has become the order of the day for
example is the praises being showered on President Buhari
over the improvement of power supply across the country.
Yes, power generation and distribution have generally
improved but it was not a feat that was achieved overnight
because it is not like putting on your generator at home and
getting light immediately. Power involves intricate
processes that include building of infrastructure, the
turbines, gas supply, the generation, wheeling, transmission
and distribution before Nigerians get the power in their
homes. The question is what has the present administration
done from May till now to have put those things in place? It
is simply the result of what Jonathan did that Buhari is
getting the praises for. It is like a hunter who shot a game
that in the thrashing of death goes somewhere else to die
and picked by a nursing mother and everyone starts to sing
her praise for killing a big game. Jonathan updated the
transmission backbone of the country which was unable to
carry above 3000 megawatts; built substations, massively
brought in transformers and completed generating stations
across the country that radically increased the generation
capacity of the country.
At a point, notwithstanding that gas is not like crude oil that
thieves could puncture the pipelines to steal, yet each time
power peaked within his tenure, saboteurs would cut the
gas supply and power will drop. What has the present
regime done to stop that other than those who were doing it
have simply stopped because power has changed hands?
Anything that is seen in improvement of power in the coming
years remains a credit to Jonathan; even Buhari knows
that.
Another funny assertion is that refineries in the country
coming back on stream three months after the new regime
took over were the handiwork of Buhari. The simple
question to ask is how long does Turn Around Maintenance
(TAM) of a refinery take? What for example is the average
time and process of replacing the Catalytic Cracking Unit
(CCU) of a refinery like happened with the Port Harcourt
refinery? Answers to these questions would show that it
takes an average of 18 months for TAM and even longer to
procure and install CCU since it is not an on-the-shelf part;
yet gullible Nigerians are plied with sweet stories of what is
not. The fact again is that Jonathan’s regime turned around
the refineries and any result coming in that sector goes to
only one person, Jonathan.
Prior to the coming of the Jonathan administration, road
travel had but died across the country. How many
kilometers of motorable roads did we have before then?
Travelers between Lagos and Benin, Edo State slept more
on the road than the days they made the journey in a day.
The Ore axis if it had mouth, would have testified to how
many travelers it swallowed through accidents, not to talk
of those it hosted in traffic snarls while armed robbers had
field days. Yet those who ply the route now can attest to the
difference. Soon too, maybe, those would be credited to the
vaunted “change”. Roads across the northern parts of the
country are even better now as more works were done
there. Some bridges conceived in the 70s and left in the
drawing board breathed the air of realisation under
Jonathan while the South East which has the worst roads
also got some relief. There is no part of the country that did
not feel the road rehabilitation and construction. We await
Buhari to surpass those records.
Airports across the country could be said to have had the
best of it as modernisation spread evenly for the first time
since our independence under Stella Oduah as Minister.
Even today, no one can without covering his face in shame;
say Jonathan did not reform our airports from Lagos to
Kano, Sokoto to Kaduna, Calabar to Owerri, Benin to Abuja
and Enugu airport which started enjoying international
flights. Jonathan had a fair mind so much that
developments other heads of State had vowed would be
executed over their dead bodies are now functional when
they are still alive.
Rail transportation which is supposed to take pressure off
our roads died long time ago. Also, the political and military
class used it as the worst conduit pipe to drain resources
for years without anything to show for it. Infact, rather than
shop for tar list to nail Jonathan with, one thought that the
present regime would probe the rail contracts prior to the
time Jonathan revived it. Today, Lagos to Kaduna, Kano
route is back on stream, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri is also
back on stream among many long hauls. The speed rail
between Kaduna and Abuja is nearing completion while
modern coaches and heads have been brought into the
country, yet people are behaving as if they are not seeing.
Can one remember the amount the country lost to food
importation even with the land mass that it is blessed with?
Have we forgotten that fertilizer importation, allocation and
distribution created emergency billionaires while the real
farmers that needed them never had access to that
necessary farm input? Can we remember how rice farmers
craved for patronage and milling machines without getting
positive response from the required quarters? Do we not
know now that we are inching towards self-sufficiency in
rice productions? How many people know that Nigeria is the
highest cassava producer in the world? So many milestones
the mind could not fathom in the past were achieved in
agriculture under Jonathan. We thank God that Buhari is a
farmer; we shall see how far he would consolidate on what
Jonathan did.
One thing that needs be said is that even though the
achievements are like work in progress, the effect of those
projects are going to be positively felt decades from now
and therefore beyond Buhari’s tenure, so posterity should
be kind enough to credit Jonathan with his good works.
Coming to the issue of statesmanship, he still stands head
above everyone which has lionised Jonathan in the African
continent and beyond. How many sitting heads of state ever
conceded defeat at a poll they superintended? What would
have happened if he decided to contest the results with all
the proof of underage voting and the lopsided distribution of
permanent voters cards? Have we forgotten the assertion of
the “baboon and the monkey to be soaked in blood” should
a particular candidate lose the elections? He is not in the
category of desperate politician who wants to be in power
by all means. We can remember not in the distant past, the
sharing of the treasury to elongate constitutional given days
in power by some who today are masquerading as political
saints, yet Jonathan sacrificed the office for peace.
He had the army, police and other security apparatchik at
his control to have foisted himself in power or even put up
credible challenge to the election results but refrained from
doing so because of the thousands that would have died
from the aftermath. Putting the nation first, he saved lives.
From the foregoing, should we attack a man because he
refused to pull punches? Should his peaceful disposition be
taken for weakness and therefore pummeled with the notion
that he lacks power to go into an offensive or defend
himself? Caution should be exercised when aiming a sledge
hammer on the skulls of the innocent.
Every Nigerian has been a victim of the fraud in government;
while some looted the treasury within very short periods of
time and are answering statesmen today, others try to hide
theirs in bantes and aso oke, casting the impression of piety
and modesty but we know that their worth when they
assumed power is not what it is today after selling our
common patrimony to themselves and cronies in the name
of privatization and yet they bask in the euphoria of being
protected from probes.
Probe is good but why not being fair to all and probe every
regime, at least within the era of democratic rule? It appears
the probe is just another name for going after Jonathan who
pre-scientifically had warned his ministers to brace up for
persecution. Apply the golden rule and probe all instead of
picking and choosing
In the event the suspicions of reasonable minds that
Jonathan is the target hold true, know that the seed of
discord has been sown unless the plot is to tar a certain
section of the country in order to exclude them from power
in the future. Humiliating Jonathan is humiliating the office
of the President and the consequences can be dire after all,
there had been probes without consequences in the past.

That's Nigerian people's signature.
They always believe that anything new is the best. Even to remember an atom of good thing about the old is a phobia for them. They love to learn from experience not from learning.

There are even many more reasons Jonathan will for posterity be judged as one of Nigeria best presidents ever....Time will reveal all..

chocolateme:
.

Chairlady of SBAAAAAA!!!!!!3rd to comment..

1miccza:


Chairlady of SBAAAAAA!!!!!!3rd to comment..

I will sue u.

Those criticising Jonathan and throwing stones are the same people making all the noise we know very well what they are up to and as "the kingsmen" said time will tell and they'll be exposed..

chocolateme:
I will sue u.

Go get your lawyer bae

People have soon forgotten his giant strides that made Nigeria the best country in the universe for foreign direct investment according to Wall Street Journal and every other international agencies.

[img]https://www.nairaland.com/avatars/flde3rlv6gh189k5qbp3p1h0vijwb5z7412359[/img]


The fear of Buhari as they put it, is now usurping every accolade due to Goodluck Jonathan. What a form of hatred and ingratitude.

That is why we are where we are now. Our method of playing politics is dubious and very sentimental. Pull him down mentality is the real problem.

Op please space your write-up with paragraphs, it's hard and uninteresting to read in this format. I'll be back to read when it's done.

surprisingly they even rate obasanjo above GEJ. Except comnig from Southwest and making sure our vote never counted, telling us to our face that election is a do or die affair, that even Jesus cannot conduct a free and fair election here, he did nothing. Yet they sentimentally rate him above GEJ with no conscience at all.

As unfair as he's been to us!

Jonathan was an unmitigated failure. QED.

Everyone else sees it, though it's understandable that some people desire that he is linked with a legacy considering he was the first minority President.

.

Rawani:
Jonathan was an unmitigated failure. QED.

Everyone else sees it, though it's understandable that some people desire that he is linked with a legacy considering he was the first minority President.

Show us what a pass or good performance looks like and allow Nigerians to judge if Jonathan was a failure or not. Propaganda can't sustain a movement for a long time. The good thing about Jonathan's administration is that events and the giant strides are on tapes, media and most importantly on ground.

It is only among APC sycophants that content of administrative or operational query becomes evidence and facts without corresponding answers (explanations) to the query.

Everyday, we are bombarded by Gov. Oshemhole on how ridiculous Dr Iweala's performance and activities were as Coordinating Minister, thank goodness, his acts of desperation never lasted nor did it took time to rebound and today Nigerians see him as the latest slowpoke in town - what a tragedy.

Let me be specific, I expected more from him and he failed to deliver. He had the highest revenue from oil in our history with little done to improve human life. Just visit Bornu and you would weep at what you see. My senior colleagues were sent to battle with rubbish weapons to fight and yet you come here to praise him. Forget party affiliations and think deeply about life's lost that could have been avoided.

nnachukz:
surprisingly they even rate obasanjo above GEJ. Except comnig from Southwest and making sure our vote never counted, telling us to our face that election is a do or die affair, that even Jesus cannot conduct a free and fair election here, he did nothing. Yet they sentimentally rate him above GEJ with no conscience at all.

Obasanjo did everything the writer wrongfully ascribed to Jonathan. Jonathan/Yar'Adua could not build on Obasanjo's success hence there era will be forgotten. Obasanjo is synonymous with GSM/Telecoms, Banking, Stoch Exchange, EFCC, NAFDAC etc. Gas to Power and construction of power plants was equally Obasanjo's brainchild which Jonathan inherited at very advanced stage but could not achieve results because of corruption, political interest and impunity.


http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nnaji-jonathan-s-administration-breached-fg-s-agreement-with-geometric/212267/

almost 3 months after swearing in and 5 months after winning an election, all the present government has been talking about is probe and missing $.
Like I said before the election and I will repeat it here again, Buhari does not have a clue of what it takes to lead and develop this country. They will keep throwing propaganda to the masses and the masses will keep rushing towards it like hungry dogs to bones while the economy and infrastructural development is at stand still.
May God continue to bless and protect Goodluck jonathan .

Time will tell.

One thing I know for sure is that one day, thoae that deny the truth today will acknowledge it.

May God continue to bless Jonathan, the man of peace.

Firefire:
.

Lol

Sychophants looking for a soft landing for a president who was rejected by his countrymen for gross incompetence and failed leadership. Criminals fleeced this country in broad daylight under his watch, what more do these GEJites want from Nigerians?

If you want to talk about GEJ, talk about forgiveness for him, not soft landing. His name brings back sad memories to Nigerians, don't you guys get it?

otukpo:
Time will tell.

One thing I know for sure is that one day, thoae that deny the truth today will acknowledge it.

May God continue to bless Jonathan, the man of peace.

The difference between you and supporters of Abacha government is that you lack morals and remorse! When Abacha's Government collapsed and his crimes were exposed, his supporters kept quiet and went to the background to avoid the anger of Nigerians. But you're arrogant and unrepentant. Get over GEJ's loss! His government was a near tragedy and a failure!

.

Double post

socialmediaman:
Sychophants looking for a soft landing for a president who was rejected by his countrymen for gross incompetence and failed leadership. Criminals fleeced this country in broad daylight under his watch, what more do these GEJites want from Nigerians?

If you want to talk about GEJ, talk about forgiveness for him, not soft landing. His name brings back sad memories to Nigerians, don't you guys get it?

You want to see a sycophant, the worst of them all? Just look in the mirror

One thing I know is that if people see you doing good things... they are going to hate you for it.......

Sincere9gerian:

You want to see a sycophant, the worst of them all? Just look in the mirror

Lol. The difference between you and I is that, God forbid the person I support fails, I'll take responsibility and accept that he failed despite the 100% support I gave him. I still have 3 years and a few months to accept that I was right or wrong, don't forget that.

But you? You don't give up. You want to force Nigerians to accept someone who failed Them just because the government favored few of you, isn't it a shame? It's not a crime to support a leader, but when he fails, accept it and move on, it's a basic journey of life. Dont try to buy name for GEJ, you're wasting your time, Nigerians are not silly. You did your part, 100%, but despite that, he failed. Move on, don't try to justify his failures or right his wrongs. Where's your conscience, brother?

Time shall tell...

Those who have made careers out of lies, falsehood, propaganda, slurs and abuse take note.

macpetrus:
One thing I know is that if people see you doing good things... they are going to hate you for it.......

Are Nigerians hating Buhari because he has decided to bring criminals to book? They will only start hating when his war on corruption affects only members of the opposition party