The piece sums up President Goodluck
Jonathan’s 3 years in office as president of
Nigeria, written by UK Guardian’s Remi
Adekoya. See it below…
Nigerians had no rational reason to believe
their lives would improve after Goodluck
Jonathan became president three years ago
this week. The list of promises their rulers
have broken is so long it would make a virgin
cynical. But then Nigerians can be stubbornly
optimistic.
When Jonathan first appeared on the political
scene in 2007, when Nigeria’s then president,
Olusegun Obasanjo, announced him as the
running-mate of his party’s next presidential
candidate, Musa Yar’Adua, many
mythologised the good fortune that seemed
linked to Jonathan’s first name. And so, when
Yar’Adua died in 2010 from heart disease and
Jonathan was handed the most coveted job in
Nigeria, many voters believed good luck had
come to Nigeria. Were they right?
Nigeria’s economy has averaged an
impressive 7% annual growth since 2010.
Fiscal policy is responsible. The country has a
debt-to-GDP ratio of roughly 18% and a
budget deficit of under 3%, levels Europe
would be delighted with today. This is largely
thanks to finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala, a former World Bank managing
director. But Jonathan deserves praise for not
intefering.
Still, his end-of-year report is not spotless.
While the economy is booming, precious little
wealth trickles down to the poor. Jonathan
must be more energetic about changing that.
The electricity supply is erratic, so businesses
and individuals spend fortunes on generators
and diesel. This in one of the world’s biggest
oil exporters. Things have improved since
2010, but far too tepidly: Jonathan only gets a
C minus.
Infrastructure also remains a problem.
Without a modern road network, doing
business in Nigeria will remain prohibitively
expensive and logistically challenging.
Nigeria is a federation: individual states play a
big role here. In the richer, well-governed
states such as Lagos, where the commercial
capital city is located, progress is visible. But
Jonathan needs to do more to facilitate
modernism in poorer states: he gets a C.
On healthcare, Jonathan gets an F. If a
Nigerian gets cancer today and can’t afford
private treatment, he will die. Even obtaining
aspirin in a public hospital can prove
impossible.
Education is particularly problematic: tens of
millions of Nigerians are illiterate. Most
cannot afford an education: without
government assistance, thus far feeble, they
will remain intellectual invalids. Nigeria’s
rulers need to understand that a country is
not respected because of the number of oil
barrels it sells, but because of the quality of
citizen it produces: F.
Jonathan’s record on corruption is a disgrace.
A recent report from the US State Department
was spot on when it cited “massive,
widespread, and pervasive corruption
affecting all levels of government”.
Asked to disclose his assets, the man whose
parents couldn’t afford shoes refused. For
emphasis, he said he “doesn’t give a damn”
what anybody thinks about it. The Council of
States, led by Jonathan, meanwhile pardoned
his former boss, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha,
who had been convicted of money-
laundering.
On security, Jonathan has dithered. Boko
Haram, the Islamist terrorist group, has killed
thousands on his watch, while he seems
unsure whether to use crushing force or
grant “amnesty” (read: bribes), as he has
offered. Boko Haram laughed in his face. It is
Jonathan’s government that should plead for
amnesty, it has suggested.
In a country where the rule of law remains a
dream, Jonathan’s message is terrible: he is,
in effect, saying: “Prove to us you are strong
enough to make our lives difficult and we’ll
give you a share of the pie.” How can a
president expect loyalty from his citizens if he
appears to lack the power to protect them?
It’s no easy job running a country that is half-
Christian, half-Muslim, underdeveloped and
home to some 250 ethnic groups. Some say
Jonathan is too weak for the job. But you
don’t have to be a great man to be a great
president, as long as you are clever enough to
you surround yourself with wise advisers,
possess the intelligence to process
information and have a steadfast desire to
improve things for your people.
I personally don’t deny that Jonathan some
good intentions. But he is hostage to the
powerful interests that catapulted him to the
top. Ultimately though, he is Mr President,
which gives him some pretty sharp fangs. If
he wants to be remembered fondly, he should
start baring those fangs in the interest of his
people. Otherwise, he might as well call it
quits in 2015, and spare us a second term.
Nigeria has a lot of catching up to do. There is
no time to waste. Fellow nairalanders, let's analyse this piece.