hamingra:
Of the 5 Presidential candidates in the 2nd session, the biggest LOSER was President GEJ. He was floored by the other candidates in all the questions he was asked. He couldnt even articulate those points where his administration was doing well.

In the area of SECURITY, he fumbled to answer straight questions. He failed to talk about the Chibok girls again>

On corruption, he was woeful. I wonder what type of Advisers he has! How can he still be sticking to this CORRUPTION IS STEALING nonsense!

On the issue of the Refineries,the other contestants took him to the cleaners! He didnt just have anything to say except that the PIB has not still been passed! As if that is the magical wand to fix everything that is obviously wrong in the Energy sector!


Over all, it was a Good thing GMB did not come, it would have been an avalanche against GEJ.

Goddex:
GEJ and Onovo shined.

GEJ displayed a very good grapse of the realities eventhough Onovo sounded more like an activist

Goddex:
GEJ and Onovo shines.


GEJ displayed a very good grapse of the realities eventhough Onovo sounded more like an activist

Boss13:
I did not watch the debate. I would try to search youtube if it has been uploaded. As president, I would be expecting Jonathan to be more knowledgeable than all contestants and if its the otherwise, then Jonathan does not deserve a 2nd chance. We may as well vote for other candidates. It would be horrible to watch the president flinch on sensitive issues. Well I need to watch the debate so that I may not be biased and I also wonder why Buhari refused to attend, this is a platform to sell yourself. What questions would the umpire ask other than issues already circulating on social medias such as certificates, islamisation of the country, link with boko haram etc. I don't think his campaign organisers are doing him any good.

Goddex:
GEJ displayed a very good grapse of the realities although I don't expect anything positive from an APC brainwashed 'egift'

kheart:
All dose candidate in first session re losers. Mrs Oluremi and onovo should be included in GMB regime.

nationwide1:

For me the questions were direct and predictable. Same question for everyone. Buhari still feels he has nothing to explain to Nigerians as his integrity is enough to get him votes. I think that is arrogant of a man who wants to rule 170 million people.

Boss13:
Okay I am back. I have watched the debate. It has been uploaded by NTA on youtube. I will try to be unbiased. First, I am a huge critic of Jonathan (I still remain so) because I expect so much from him. I must also appreciate the organisers of the debate, it was well organised and I believed subsequently, it will form a bedrock to launch future presidential candidates. Though they forgot to ask about housing, transportation, foreign policy etc.

Back to the debate, I am totally disappointed with the debaters. Many of them, if not all, lack knowledge on the current issues in the country. I must honestly admit that only President Jonathan understood the questions posed to him (please note that I bolded understood). The president was not the most vocal or eloquent, but he was able to first, explain what his administration was doing though, he in some instances, could not explain what further actions his administration would do if voted again.

Martin Onovo (presidential candidate NCP), expressed himself uniquely and I begin to wonder why his party did not pursue a rigorous campaign strategy so that Nigeria can have a good breed of candidates to vote for. Though eloquent, he lacked in-depth knowledge on the issues afflicting the country as a result, his responses were based on ineffective leadership and corruption. On the other hand, I preferred his response on Education and Corruption. Both him and the president shared a similar concept on handling corruption. Even the president admitted the same. I disapprove his responses/suggestions on Petroleum, Agriculture, Security etc Perhaps because of his lack of knowledge he had to conclude that corruption was the problem for all these sectors and he disagrees with privatising the downstream oil sector. I laughed and said, this guy must be a joker. The president corrected him on that (i.e. explaining the basic components of the downstream oil sector and the need for privatising the sector).

The other candidates to me were fulfilling all righteousness and not true contenders. Many indulged in criticising, including Martins Onovo, without offering solutions. Some were not confident about their ability (of course, they are hardly known) and possibly turned the debate to one of advice. Others, including Onovo, used it to remind Nigerians of their qualifications (home and abroad) and even the qualification of their fathers'.

To conclude, the debate provided a platform for Nigerians to know the presidential candidates and what they would be offering. However, the quality of the candidates presented was poor. It is a shame that many, from their responses, have no manifesto on the basic issues in the country. Probably, they were moved by passion to contest, but passion alone cannot get you votes. Some relied on newspaper publications, which are readily available to the public, rather than set up committees to first, understand the problem and then offer solutions. Only the president truly understood the questions, though I observed him reading out from perhaps, a source/medium on his table but I will not presumed or assume if he was handed the questions before time. He was the only one engaging in this practice. Hence, my suggestion.

Also, on the president, I was not comfortable with some of his responses. He spent time explaining what his administration had done, which to me is yet to be felt by the general public, than what he would do if elected again. The only positive response I enjoyed was that of Agriculture, where he mentioned that food prices did not go up despite falling oil prices (that is very true) and the need to move from groundnuts pyramid exportation to processing the groundnuts (good response from the president). Apart from this, I was not comfortable with the other responses/comments. Though the president was caught up by time and again because he spent time speaking on things his administration had done rather than things he would do.

Before I conclude, I do not understand why Buhari (presidential candidate APC) failed to attend the debate. The same questions were asked to all participants. The umpires/organisers did not focus on personal issues or try to make a caricature of any participants. This behaviour of Buhari is discouraging. Buhari may have a point on the debate being biased or the president being provided with questions before the debate, that is a plausible possibility but requires evidence. However, it is not a strong excuse for him to absent himself, rather he should have prepared himself better and utilise the medium to convince Nigerians. At the moment, Buhari's behaviour is unacceptable and disrespectful.

To conclude, it was good hearing from all the presidential candidates. Though I was not impressed with their comments and if I have to rate their performance, I would give it to President Goodluck Jonathan and that tells you a lot about the other candidates. Next, was Martin Onovo. Martins should stop being a critic and start to see himself as a problem solver, he must thoroughly understand Nigeria's problems and likewise, set up a good campaign team that would first, come up with the solutions and then promote his strategy further. I noticed he also earned the president's respect. That is a good sign.

Congratulations and best wishes to them all.

hamingra:


Bros this ya "doctorial"thesis pass oga Jonathan own ooo! You sure say na the same debate you go watch so? Understood? How?

For a sitting President for 5years what were his responses on why we are still importing fuel? Or what plans his administration has for the ravaged NE? Or on why corruption is endemic and what he will do about it?

Na Wa for u bros oo!

ANYWAY THANK GOD YOU ACCEPT SAY THE GUY THE READ FROM PAPER!