Hey Guys, I think i should share this with you.


Yesterday’s State of the Union Address by the President of the United States Barack Obama was no doubt another highly important address not just to Americans but to the entire world. A time to add to the pages of history books of the United States Presidential library one of the most respected, valued & remarkable speeches in American history.

Typically, here is one speech which highlights the successes and inadequacies (shall I use the word failure?) of the American entire system from politics, economy, international diplomacy, security et al; and as usual, just like the preceding speeches as far back as the first one delivered by George Washington in 1790, President Barack Obama didn’t disappoint.

Yes he didn’t disappoint! Like George Washington, Abe Lincoln, J. F Kennedy and even his predecessor and least intellectual George W. Bush (yes I said that). A highly intellectual but evasive speech delivering; an undeniable characterisation of a genius political leader. A speech nicely delivered like a FedEx package to-fro romantic lovers on Feb 14. A perfect speech rehearsed to make average Americans feel how worthy and great their ‘God’s own country’ is doing and how everything is going on smooth even when it may be the contrary.

True to it, here’s the irony, the American President didn’t mention his country is broke, he didn’t mention Americans are borrowing 1 out of every 3 dollars they spend, the price of gas (fuel) has doubled up since he took office 3 years ago and he probably forgot to mention that, America’s acclaimed back-on-the-roll economy is built on borrowed money, investors are running to China and that country’s fast closing the gap on becoming the world’s biggest economy and lastly he ignored the fact that credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has downgraded the credit ratings of the US for the first time in its history; a nightmare for investors, a nightmare for any thinking President.

As much as it’s easy to dwell on how his speeches were adequately filled with various successes and how the country should move forward whilst ignoring the shortcomings I aforementioned, we all can agree that speeches are a fast way to start and that’s an undeniable prerogative of a willing leader. Such speeches send oppositions shivering and make critics look ordinary, and yesterday even House Speaker and Obama's arguable number 1 political enemy, Republican John Boehner concurs.

Apparently, we saw a President who was comfortable being the C-in-C; his speeches were coherent, direct & perfected (even if rehearsed). We saw a president who sends out strong messages to terrorists “Our existence cannot be challenged…Human dignity can't be denied”. We heard a daring leader declared "Anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn't know what they’re talking about" and a challenging leader sending out a strong message to opposing countries "I’m announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit charged with investigating unfair trading practices in countries like China."

On jobs & slow economic recovery which oppositions and critics are slamming him for, he defiantly fired back ““Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let’s take some steps to fix that. Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it TOMORROW”

Simply and easily put, he bragged about his successes which the world need not be reminded of anyway and quoting his words thus:

“For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of Al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, ”.

“My message is simple. It’s time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me these tax reforms, and I’ll sign them right away”

“The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now. But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away”

“That’s why I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low interest rates. No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks.”

Now, that’s the typical leader whose words clearly roll the carpet of his actions. Anyone walking along with his talks can clearly see the laden carpet and without bias draw a line of conclusion, he is a working President.

Back home in Nigeria, it’s a different ball game. We have a dysfunctional leader whose level of cluelessness is analogous to the level of ignorance of those who voted him to power based on sentiments & cheap superstitious beliefs. We have a President whose words are rightly & easily dismissed by terrorist groups & militancy circles.

We have a leader whose speeches (even whilst reading monosyllabically from an imperfectly jotted notebook) lack efficacy, coherence, strength, vitality and an obvious sign of disconnect away from his citizens. Speeches like the 2011 Independence Day Speech or President Jonathan's address at the 66th UN General Assembly are nothing but unconvincing and boring to say the least.

We’ve been blessed with a mesmerising but incorrigible Goodluck of a President who dares to tell the entire world ‘he is not a lion’ even when terrorists around the world are hungry lions looking for who to devour? A leader of the so-called ‘African Giant’ who lost his voice until the last day of conflict when Egypt and Libya was under siege, and his citizens being attacked and targeted.

Most unacceptable and unbelievable is a President who tells us to live with terrorism as a new trend amongst us? His excuses and those of his cabinet ministers during the Fuel Subsidy Removal (which I support but with diplomatic reasons especially when perfectly implemented) are baseless and highly unsubstantiated.

Sincerely yours, I could go on and on and bore you with an entire 300 pages of failures of the Goodluck Jonathan administration of governance in Nigeria. However, when the speeches & body culture of leaders do not parallel with the mindsets, opinions & demands of the people (even when contradictory), such is already enough codification for the weakness & incompetence of such leaders in its entirety.

Fair enough to Jonathan, he’s made a few remarkable (although imperfectly drawn up) statements, but he needs to learn one major rule of leadership & speeches; YOU WALK THE TALK – this Obama has fairly done, that Jonathan has refused to do.

In as much as we all can agree Nigeria’s got an incompetent and weak leader, someone who doesn’t seem (at least to me) ready to energise himself, brighten himself up like a sleeping giant and fight the temptations of political leadership anytime soon; can he at least start learning & mastering the act of speeches, body languages, word constructions & convincing skills; who knows what magic that would do?

Nigerians clearly do not have the luxury of time to wait till 2015 before we start counting our losses and clamouring for a change in leadership and that is if our congressmen do not help us easily & constitutionally before then anyway. Once again I repeat, if his speeches would do a magic where his actions obviously cannot, he better started doing that, we just do not have the luxury of time, lives and properties to waste anymore.



Today on Johnny Babybrain (oh that reminds me, here’s my first article on here under this platform for which I’m privileged to engage with you, I welcome you all on board). NOW HERE IS MY QUESTION: Reading President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech and the way he (like his predecessors) send strong signal messages through their speeches and comparing it to those of President Goodluck Jonathan & the entirety of his predecessors and circle of leadership at all levels of government in Nigeria, What do you see?



Be sure to Follow me Johnny Babybrain on Facebook or Twitter @JohnnyBabybrain


I copied it from this link s you know,


http://ascology.com/news/green360/editorials-avenue/21478-Obama-SOTU-Address-Where-Goodluck-Jonathan---Johnny-Babybrain.html

edit