Nigeria has a date with destiny as
March 28 and April 11 draw near.
These are two significant dates that,
on one hand, present Nigerians
with an opportunity to strengthen
democracy through the ballot.

These dates, on the other hand, are
also beaming scaring danger
signals. No thanks to politicians
who are beating drums of war,
stumping across the country,
making campaign statements full of
fury, with little about issues of
concern to most Nigerians. As is
typical of Nigerian elections, the
tension is thick in the air, so much
so that the putrid smell of
Armageddon has enveloped the
country. Fears are palpable,
generating serious concerns among
Nigerians and within the
international community.

Nigeria has traveled this route
before, not once. There are
however reasons for genuine and
heightened concern this time. The
last few years have seen widening
cracks along the Nigeria’s well-
known fault lines of religion and
ethnicity. The security situation,
especially in the northeast, has
been a huge sore on the reputation
of the Africa’s most populous
country. The abduction of more
than 200 girls from the Borno State
community of Chibok nearly one
year ago, and the perceived lack of
enough effort from the government
of President Goodluck Jonathan to
ensure they are rescued, are
making the prospect of a peaceful
poll a tall dream.

President Jonathan has had to take
the blame for virtually everything
going wrong in Nigeria. Admittedly,
there are issues that currently feed
this perception. They include the
security situation, corruption and
poor living standards of most
Nigerians. Ordinarily, the buck
stops at the desk of the president.

The opposition seems to have
succeeded in creating the
impression that Mr. Jonathan
merely wakes up on daily basis and
does nothing. But things don’t
always seem as they look in Nigeria.

That the president has been doing
nothing would not pass the muster
of nonpartisan scrutiny. What
would be correct is that the
president has actually done little to
publicize the many things he has
been doing. In the last six years, the
government has been confronting
more fundamental issues of growth
and development with the type of
vigor and single-mindedness
uncommon in Nigeria.

The Jonathan administration would
trump any previous administration
in the effort made to tackle the
near-complete collapse of
infrastructure such as roads,
transportation and power supply.

The same can be said of
employment generation and
capacity development. Nigeria’s
economy has not only survived
major shake-ups affecting most
advanced economies, it has actually
also been growing in leaps and
bounds, emerging as Africa’s
largest.

He has perhaps taken an ingenious
route to fighting corruption. He
understands the difference
between the symptoms of
corruption and the underlying
causes. While many had expected a
frontal attack at the symptoms
through demonstrative — even if
unlawful — actions by deploying
anti-corruption forces in a frenzy of
mass arrests, media trials and
public sentencing of suspects, Mr.
Jonathan has chosen to allow the
justice system the space to work.
He hasn’t stopped at that. He is,
with the skill of a surgeon,
identifying the underlying causes of
corruption and taking them out one
after the other. This is what he did
with a fertilizer distribution scam,
which had hampered food
production and diversification
effort for decades. Perhaps, he did
not make enough noise on this, but
the result of his approach is loud
enough for the thousands of
Nigerian farmers who now have
easy access to fertilizer, completely
eliminating the meddlesome
middlemen. The action is equally
loud enough for the vested
interests to fight back and join the
now-profitable president-bashing
choir.

The security challenge is a bit more
complicated. Mr. Jonathan’s
emergence represented a paradigm
shift in the Nigerian political
arrangement. He was the first
person with no strong political
background or affiliation, and from
a minority tribe to become a
democratic president in Nigeria. He
had not benefited from any of the
important pillars of power such as
the support of a major ethnic
group. The template for success in
the Nigerian environment requires
much more than the timing of
response to a security situation,
such as the Chibok abduction saga.
It requires the willingness of the
players within the affected area to
put the safety of lives and
protection of properties of the
people ahead of their own
immediate political advantage. It is
not going to be easy trimming the
hair of someone who continues to
run. It could take time to either
catch up with him or get him to
willingly agree to the need to solve
a problem. The ability to keep calm
rather than adopt a knee-jerk and
high-handed approach in the face
of treachery and impunity is a great
asset the president is endowed
with. This, as the opposition is wont
to do, can also be mistaken for
weakness or incompetence.

Mr. Jonathan’s civilized approach to
tackling issues is built around the
need to ensure social justice, equity
and the rule of law. This should,
ordinarily, be worthy of global
acknowledgment and
commendation. But the concerted
noise from the opposition camp
and the penchant of some
international observers to rush to
judgment without taking full
account of peculiarities of an
environment are a bit deafening
and blinding to the reality on
ground.

As elections are getting closer, the
president is faced with the facts
that Nigerians are in a hurry.
They’ve waited for too long. This is a
situation that is being exploited by
opposition leaders, who have been
calling for mob actions as against
the rule of law. Mr. Jonathan has
equally shown that he understands
that Nigerians are expecting a
leader with a magic wand, who
could with a snap somewhere, turn
age-long and deeply rooted social
decay into an instant state of bliss.
But the magic wand could actually
be a possibility if current efforts are
allowed another four years to take
root, grow and bear fruits.

• William Reed is president of the
Black Press Foundation.

Source:http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/5/william-reed-goodluck-jonathan-steering-nigeria-wi/#ixzz3TkQJUpRm

Never again should we fall into the hands of evil cabals been controlle by tinubu and his evil minions from the sea/hell
Nigerians shine ur eyes ur destiny is in ur hand APC and their evil minions are the biggest problem we are having and facing if we make any mistake with these people then and then you are on ur own.
Last warning

Yes, like the captain of titanic. Awon oniranu jatijati

Never again !!!

March 28 will decide

Im here

nice writeup.wonder what u will wrire come may29th when the new president is sworn in.


#march4buhari

This is neither a pro GEJ or pro GMB post, just a call for some reflection:

Our inferiority complex sometimes knows no bounds. I find it quite insulting when Nigerians seems to think that the opinions of foreigners somehow carries more weight than anything else. Why is this so? Who is this writer for the Washington Times? How do we know he's not been approached and 'settled'.

Please my people if you must vote for either GEJ or GMB, do it based on your OWN opinion based on YOUR judgement of what's going on in the country and which man YOU think is better placed to move the country forward. NEVER let your opinion be swayed by the foriegn media, for the one thing you can be sure of is that, deep down they only have their own nations and paymasters interest at heart, never YOUR own.

In GEJ we trust.

The Jonathan administration would trump any previous administration in the effort made to tackle the near-complete collapse of infrastructure such as roads, transportation and power supply.



God bless Jonathan... Nigeria; let's support him to do more!!!

The opposition seems to have succeeded in creating the impression that Mr. Jonathan merely wakes up on daily basis and does nothing. But things don’t always seem as they look in Nigeria.



The above statement clearly defines APC and its false stance and propaganda... APC represents everything wrong with the Nigerian polity...

The malcontents can only have their say.

After all is said and done, Jonathan will still carry the day.

We say no to one chance salon.

The op is fraudster! The link doesnt lead to the paid article!

PDP and desperation!!!

Written by Abati's former coursemate. I smell Abati's handout all over the piece.

Even the Washington times now think that GEJ has ruled for 6years.

Truly, GEJ was right about perception.
I loved the interview where he was asked about the level of corruption and he told the journalist that the ICPC, EFCC, NPF and courts are there for tackling all of that. But the perception of most Nigerians is that the president should be doing the work of those agencies. Same way most Nigerians thought GEJ postponed the election even though they know that he has no constitutional power to do that especially in house where the opposition is the majority.

God bless the president of the federal republic of Nigeria.

Hope this one is not sponsored by the opposition as usual?

Who is William Reed (the writter)? He claims to be the president of the 'Black Press Foundation' . No info about this 'foundation' on google. The only info about this 'foundation' is this article by WT.
I honestly think this is another 'Wendel Simlinn*' orchestrated by the desperate team GEJ.
This was also an opinion piece (i.e written by members of the public and sent to the editor to consider for publishing). Could this have been written by Abati and sent in using a non existent name William Reed, and a non existent foundation called Black Press foundation?
Investigation begins!

Front page pls.

bjdon:
This is neither a pro GEJ or pro GMB post, just a call for some reflection:

Our inferiority complex sometimes knows no bounds. I find it quite insulting when Nigerians seems to think that the opinions of foreigners somehow carries more weight than anything else. Why is this so? Who is this writer for the Washington Times? How do we know he's not been approached and 'settled'.

Please my people if you must vote for either GEJ or GMB, do it based on your OWN opinion based on YOUR judgement of what's going on in the country and which man YOU think is better placed to move the country forward. NEVER let your opinion be swayed by the foriegn media, for the one thing you can be sure of is that, deep down they only have their own nations and paymasters interest at heart, never YOUR own.

Sometimes in a football match, people outside the pitch see better than the players in the field. That is why the referee most times gets instructions from the one outside the pitch with a clearer view.

Most times our understanding of things in Nigeria are not clear and influenced by people who might be pro or anti govt..

Someone who is a ghost worker and has been fished out by the biometric excercise will say the govt is bad.

Those who have been benefiting from fuel subsidy scam, would make the masses believe the govt hates them when they tried to remove it.

Like the issue of bokoharam, when it started elders in the north including buhari made the northerners believe the govt was against them while bokoharam was their friend. This led to northerners accommodating the sect members and withholding information.

In the case of unemployment , there has always been a shortage of employment and the govt will never have enough employment opportunities for all the unemployed youths. But the policies of govt encourages investors which in turn creates more jobs.

The rails are back but we dont see it as employment, neither do we see you win etc as employment.

As dangote, innoson motors aand other firms increase in their capacity due to govt support and patronage this also creates employment.

What about the single digit sme loans made available . When u wear red glasses, everything will be red to u. The enemies of this administration have succeeded in puting on red glasses in the eyes of most Nigerian youths.

Some are even inside the trains traveling from one location to the other and causing goodluck online.

Some are even buying food at the same price despite the fall in oil price but still insullt the president online.

bjdon:
This is neither a pro GEJ or pro GMB post, just a call for some reflection:

Our inferiority complex sometimes knows no bounds. I find it quite insulting when Nigerians seems to think that the opinions of foreigners somehow carries more weight than anything else. Why is this so? Who is this writer for the Washington Times? How do we know he's not been approached and 'settled'.

Please my people if you must vote for either GEJ or GMB, do it based on your OWN opinion based on YOUR judgement of what's going on in the country and which man YOU think is better placed to move the country forward. NEVER let your opinion be swayed by the foriegn media, for the one thing you can be sure of is that, deep down they only have their own nations and paymasters interest at heart, never YOUR own.

Thank you. William Reed, who is a black American, writes like someone with business interests in Nigeria or connections to Jonathan, rather than a professional journalist. But the opinion of those feeling the pinch, Nigerians, is what matters most. I do sometimes like to refer to respected foreign media to show Jonathan is "incompetent" or "clumsy" because Jonathan himself, when it suits him, acts as if the foreign media know best.

Truth, and nothing bu thetruth.

Rejected by the "progressives:, accepted by the real progressives.

The transformation is going on!
Let it continue.

Never before did Buhari win and never will he win.Nigeria is too big for Buhari to lead,considering his academic background and age.It is Jonathan all the way.

PR at work

will be back to modify

God Bless GEJ!
GEJ till 2019

GEJ is Working..
Haters are hating..
APC are phantasmagoring
Osibanjo is celebrating
Buhari is Certificating
Amaechi is stealing
Jega is castigating
Obasanjo is switching
Tinubu is waiting (for whom??)

Gej till thy Kingdom come..

Bioked