7-point agenda for Goodluck Jonathan

By Tolu Ogunlesi

May 16, 2010 01:20AMT

Let me be candid. As much as I admire you, Mr. President, for your good fortune, and statesmanlike mien, and as much as I am intrigued by the remarkable nature of your rise to the Presidency, I am sometimes tempted to think the worst – that you don’t have much to offer Nigeria. That nagging voice of doubt tells me that you are only more of the same.

Struggling to be heard amidst the din of that negative voice is another; a smaller, but more reasonable voice, insisting that you can make a huge difference; that you can be to Nigerians what Barack Obama was (and I daresay still is) to millions of Americans: one more reason to believe in our country, at a time when cynicism is the new enthusiasm.

I have made a decision to listen to the smaller voice, and am therefore more than willing to give you the benefit of doubt.

Tied to that ‘benefit’, however, are words of advice, obviously unsolicited, but wholeheartedly and genuinely offered - a ‘7-point agenda’ for you to aspire to live by:

1. Vacancy: Radical reformers! – One thing former President Obasanjo will always be credited for is the vibrancy of government agencies under his watch – NAFDAC, EFCC, NCC, BPE, CBN, etc. Baba sought the finest talent, wherever they existed, employed them, empowered them, and allowed them to shine. That’s how we came to know of Dora Akunyili and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Oby Ezekwesili and Nuhu Ribadu.

Stick to that winning formula. It paid off handsomely for Obasanjo; sadly,Yar’Adua somehow never quite managed to pull it off.

2. Surprise, surprise. The greatest failing of our leaders is that they have lost the capacity to surprise us. They are so damn predictable – throwing sirens and pot-bellies around, closing down airports because they are VIPs, generally acting like they are doing the electorate a favour, spending all their time fighting real and imagined opponents, Surprise us Mr. Prez. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Life is short. Power is transient. Transparency and accessibility are key. How about a weekly unscripted 30-minute television and radio address to Nigerians,to establish a visceral connection between the governer and the governed. Every week tell us in unambiguous, cliché-free English what concrete steps you have taken over previous week to make Nigeria a better place. For our self-esteem and our morale Nigerians need a President who’s not only performing, but also seen to be performing.

3. Tame the Dame. Let your wife know that it’ll no longer be business as usual. We don’t need another Turai or Maryam (or ‘Mariam’,for that matter!) in this country. Tell Patience not to bother calling any meetings of Nigerian, or African, first ladies. Tell her to jettison any plans to launch a pet project. We’ve had enough. Let her use her clout to support already existing projects, especially private sector ones. There are orphanages and women shelters and cancer foundations all over the country. Let the first lady support them wholeheartedly, not compete with them for attention!

4. And those gallivanting Governors. Politely but very firmly put them in their place. It’s very annoying to see a bunch of governors – emblems of unadulterated mediocrity – strutting the land in the name of a ‘Governors’ Forum’ and portraying themselves as ‘power brokers’. Let them know that their constitutional and moral responsibility is to provide good governance in their states, not run a purposeless Governors Forum or turn Abuja into a holiday resort. And while you’re at it kindly put an end to those jamborees a.k.a ‘state visits’ on which those same governors squander public funds to take you on painstakingly packaged ‘sightseeing’ trips around their capitals, and make you commission white elephant projects. Step away from the sanitised, festooned paths. Pay unscheduled visits. Allow yourself to come face to face with the poverty and want that have blighted the land.

5. Click ‘n flip. Obasanjo boasted that he never did it (which is probably why he had not the slightest idea how much his 3rd term agenda riled Nigerians). Yar’Adua may have had no energy to do it (and Turai evidently didn’t). But you must. It is imperative that you pay attention to what Nigerians are saying – online and in the newspapers. We are a garrulous lot, in love with the sound of our own voices, but you can’t afford to not listen to us. Never depend on aides to feed you second-hand. (Need I ask you to make www.234next.com the default homepage on the presidential Blackberry’s browser?)

6. Show us your friends, : the legacies of Obasanjo and Yar’Adua will forever be tainted by the transparently shady characters they surrounded themselves with – the Andy Ubas and James Iboris and Michael Aondoakaas to name a few. Keeping those kind of people around you is the fastest and surest way to self-destruct.

7. Tune the talk. I listened to your inaugural address as President, and was disappointed by the surfeit of platitudes therein.

I desperately hoped to see you break free from the prepared speech and speak to Nigerians, ‘man to man and woman’. I want you to look us in the face as a nation and tell us something inspiring. True, you are no Obama,and will never be, but I think you can learn a lot from paying attention to the American. Tired speeches are a hallmark of tired thinking. Hire new speechwriters, try out a teleprompter; and endeavour to speak more from the heart.