₦airaland Forum

Posted by Op-Ed Editor
by Femi Aribisala

The English have an expression: “give a dog a bad name in order to kill it.” It refers to the malicious misrepresentation of someone in order to discredit him. This has been strategy of the opposition to Goodluck Jonathan to date. This opposition comprises an unholy alliance between the APC, the Arewa Consultative Forum, the Northern Elders Forum as well as the Boko Haram. In complete disdain for the office of the president of Nigeria, the membership of these institutions has gone to great lengths in despising, disdaining and abusing the person of Goodluck Jonathan.

“Clueless” opposition

One favoured insult is to refer to him as “clueless.” Taking a leaf out of the infamous notebook of George Bush who told all kinds of lies against John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election in the United States, now referred to as “snow boating;” President Jonathan’s traducers are seeking to establish falsehood about him and his administration just by sheer force of repetition. It is therefore necessary to ask the question if, indeed, Goodluck Jonathan can be rightly described as “clueless.” What exactly is “clueless” about Goodluck Jonathan?Shehu Shagari was president of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983. He had very limited formal education and never attended a university. Nevertheless, he was not called “clueless.” Olusegun Obasanjo was president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He did not go to university before becoming President: he only enrolled after he left office. Nevertheless, he was not labeled “clueless.”But some would like us to believe Goodluck Jonathan, who has been substantive president since 2011 is “clueless.” However, Jonathan is the most highly-educated president in the history of Nigeria. He has a B.Sc. in Zoology; an M.Sc. in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology; and a Ph.D. in Zoology. It is preposterous to describe such a man as “clueless.” Indeed, there are few Nigerians with comparable educational credentials. Who are those “clueful” ones ranged in opposition against him? Surprise, surprise! They are former military dictators with no university training whatsoever and dubious politicians with forged university certificates.

Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State wants to be president. But what he displays most of the time is cluelessness. When he captures newspaper headlines, it is to shout things like: “Jonathan wants to kill me;” or “Jonathan is not qualified to contest in 2015.” Somebody needs to advise Kwankwaso that abusing and disparaging the president is no substitute for having substantive policies on how to govern Nigeria.

Legacy of “cluelessness”

Who can be more clueless than many of the Northern politicians who have been in power in Nigeria in the past to very little effect and are still clamouring for power today? These men have defrauded the North and the country over the years? They have ruled for some 38 years but failed woefully to promote meaningful economic development in the North or the South.

In their years of Northern rule both at the state and the federal level, not a single model Islamic school was established in the North that teaches Mathematics. Instead, the children of the “talakawa” are restricted to Koranic memorization and recitation. No single Islamic model school was established in the North that teaches Chemistry. The singular focus was on Arabic grammar. No single Islamic model school was established that teaches Biology. The children of the poor were limited to Islamic history.

Northern politicians failed to draw inspiration from such excellent Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, where Western education is not deemed to contradict Islamic education. Instead of educating the youth, some of our Northern politicians kept them as fodder for instigating insurgencies for their selfish power-political gain. It is no wonder therefore that, in the 21st century, when a “Third World” country like India has landed a spacecraft on Mars; an insurgency has arisen in the Nigerian North-East claiming that “Western education is a sin.”

Northerners opposed to Jonathan, like Muhammadu Buhari, Ango Abdullahi, Adamu Ciroma and Junaid Mohammed have never demonstrated any belief in the education of the masses. Their children don’t attend almajiri schools and beg on the streets. When in power, they pay no attention to the mass illiteracy in the North. This makes them no different from the Boko Haram that maintains western education is sinful. Now that we have a South-South president from Otuoke in Bayelsa State who is committed to Northern education, these same do-nothing politicians are claiming he is clueless. Who needs their “cluefulness?”

Jonathan’s northern agenda

Atiku Abubakar showed remarkable cluelessness when he observed that the North would not be voting for Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. If the North would not vote for Jonathan, who then would they vote for?

In 2011, Jonathan received over 8 million Northern votes. Since then, he has bent over backwards to reward the North. He has highly favoured the region in his appointments. The former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu said: “Quote me; in a long time we have not had a government where the northern extraction has enjoyed so many appointments like this one.” Indeed, under Jonathan, the Vice-president, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are all from the North.

Jonathan’s opponents would have us believe he is “clueless” but, within four years, Jonathan built 125 Almajiri Schools in 13 states in the North; something Northern rulers themselves failed to do. At the commissioning of the first Almajiri Model School in Gagi, Sokoto State, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad III, observed that Jonathan’s action was unprecedented in the history of Northern Nigeria.

“Clueless” Jonathan went on to establish ten new federal universities; seven of them in the North. It is important to list them, so Nigerians can be in no doubt how ridiculous the allegations against our president have been. Jonathan established the Federal Universities in Lafia, Nasarawa State; Lokoja, Kogi State; Kashere, Gombe State; Wakari, Taraba State; Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State; and Dutse, Jigawa State. No other president in the history of Nigeria has this kind of legacy, North or South.

The Jonathan administration has more than doubled the budgetary allocation to education in the country. It sponsored 7000 lecturers for post-graduate studies at home and abroad and licensed 100 Innovation Enterprise Institutions, while also granting 101 Presidential Scholarships for innovation and development. 51 Polytechnic laboratories have been rehabilitated and
34 new NCE awarding institutions created.

The result has been remarkable. There has been a 10 million student increase in basic education enrolment (UBEC) in the country. There has also been a 75% increase in O’Level credit pass in Maths and English under the Jonathan administration.

Health transformation

Part of the grouse of Nigerians against past governments is that when subsidies are removed (especially that of petroleum), the extra money disappears into thin air without any appreciable public benefit. For this reason, Nigerians insist on the retention of subsidies so that the man-in-the-street can at least get something out of it. However, under the Jonathan administration, it has been possible to identify the salutary effect of the subsidy removal on the well-being of the people.

With the drastic reduction of the petroleum subsidy in 2012, the government created the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). This is designed to invest the savings accruing from the subsidy reduction in critical infrastructure and human-resource empowerment projects across the length and breadth of the country. To this end, the scheme has included maternal and child-health programmes.

Within two years, the Maternal and Child Health scheme of the SURE-P has reduced the maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria by 26%; reduced neo-natal mortality by 22%; increased the percentage of births by skilled attendants by 33% and increased the percent of reproductive aged women using family planning by 100%.

Road transformation

SURE-P has also been invaluable in engaging in a number of road rehabilitation projects right across the country. For example, the Onitsha-Owerri and the Vom-Manchok roads have been completed. Work is underway on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos; the Benin-Ore-Sagamu dual carriage-way; the Onitsha-Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriage-way; the Kaduna-Maiduguri dual carriage-way; Lokoja – Benin road; Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; Mokwa-Bida road; Akure-Ilesha road; Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega road; Enugu- Abakaliki- Cross River road; Ogoja – Ikom road; Vandekiya-Obudu road; and the East-West road.

The Kano-Maiduguri and the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja roads are currently undergoing dualisation. The Onitsha Head-Bridge Flyover (Ojukwu Gateway) and the Oweto Bridge across River Benue have been completed. The Second Niger Bridge is under construction and the government is also undertaking the dredging the River. There is also on-going seaport construction and the expansion of existing ports, including Warri, Baro, Calabar, Onne, Owerri and Onitsha.

Rail transformation

The railway system in Nigeria had been comatose for over 30 years. However, the “clueless” Jonathan administration has managed to revive this within two years. The Lagos-Kano line has been rehabilitated and is now functional again. The Port Harcourt-Maiduguri line is being rehabilitated and will soon be operational. Kano-Maiduguri, Kaduna-Abuja and Lagos-Port Harcourt rail-lines are also under construction.

President Jonathan inaugurated two Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) train-sets and six air-conditioned passengers’ coaches at the NRC terminus in Lagos. His administration also launched the Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS); deploying 11 trains carrying close to 15,000 passengers daily within the Lagos metropolis. This has drastically reduced the cost of intra-city train transportation within Lagos.

A return-trip from Agege to Ebute Metta under the MTTS now costs less than N150, as against the more than N1,000 it costs by taxi. Transportation from Lagos to Kano now costs less than N1,800 as against between N4,000 and N5,000 by car or bus.

This is what Babatunde Fashola had to say about the “clueless” Jonathan administration’s contribution to mass transit in Lagos State: “It is a very welcome development to our nation, Nigeria and to the Centre of Excellence, Lagos State. No doubt, we require this infrastructure. We appreciate it and we will continue to give every moral support that the corporation requires as we now have complementary services in the transport system of Lagos State.”

These are by no means the tokens of a “clueless” presidency.

Goodluck Jonathan is Clueless Personified!!


NEXT!!!

It is increasingly apparent that if Jonathan is “clueless,” his “cluelessness” is the magic that Nigeria needs at this very moment in time.

By the time you are reading this, by the grace of God, the 218 kidnapped Chibok school-girls may have been released. If not, their release is imminent. A ceasefire with the Boko Haram has been negotiated. Never mind that there are still skirmishes here and there. “Clueless” Goodluck Jonathan has forced the insurgents to consider seriously putting down their arms.

He has done this in spite of the nagging of the opposition about his “cluelessness.” He has done this through the much-maligned Nigerian military; and without mortgaging the nation’s security to foreign troops. Now is the time to give the microphone to Lai Mohammed, who talks about Nigeria’s security as if he were a Chadian. Now is the time to hear from Muhammadu Buhari, who claimed in the past that Boko Haram is a malevolent Southern conspiracy against the North.
On hearing that a ceasefire had been negotiated and that the girls might be released, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso still had this to say: “What we need to do is to take appropriate military step to stop insurgents and protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria or we sit down and negotiate with the insurgents.” Now that is what is called new original thinking. Clearly, Kwankwaso has nothing worthwhile to contribute to this matter but hot air.What would these implacable critics of Goodluck Jonathan say if the girls were released now? Would they be gracious and eat their words? Don’t bet on it. Don’t expect them to commend the purposeful tactical manner by which the Jonathan administration has forced the Boko Haram, at the very least, to the negotiating table. It is increasingly apparent that if Jonathan is “clueless,” his “cluelessness” is the magic that Nigeria needs at this very moment in time.

Politicising Chibok

Only in Nigeria does a national tragedy get so mischievously politicized, just because of the rampaging ambitions of a power-hungry cabal. In the face of insurgencies, nations close ranks. No British government was ever pilloried for the terrorist activities of the IRA. However, in Nigeria, the leaders of a roguish opposition party accuse the government of complicity in the insurgency. They undermine the resolve of the military. Then they maintain that the government is incapable of dealing with the situation.

The fact is that in Nigeria, the APC opposition is fundamentally unpatriotic. It is not averse to play political football with Nigeria’s security. It has yet been able to tell Nigerians what it would do differently from the government to achieve more immediate results. Would it carpet-bomb Sambisa forest and bring home the dead bodies of the girls? Would it use black magic to pinpoint their precise locations? Or would it send the loquacious Lai Mohammed into the hideouts of the Boko Haram as Nigeria’s distinguished Ambassador?

All the opposition has offered to date is a load of sound and fury designed to divide the North from the government. Now that this is backfiring, let us hear what the acerbic Northern Elders Forum and the wolf-crying Arewa Consultative Forum have to say. They said they would not accept the re-election of Goodluck Jonathan unless the girls were released. Would they campaign for the president if the girls were now to be released?

There was never a magic wand to the release of the girls. But you would not think so if you were to listen to these ethnic jingoists. These people forget that it was the same “clueless” Goodluck Jonathan who midwifed a durable peace with the militants of the Niger Delta. They were hoping to seize power by cloak-and-dagger means under a democratic dispensation, threatening to soak the dogs and the baboons in blood unless they have their way.

Promoting democracy

There is something anomalous about having military dictators take off their uniforms and then masquerade as democrats. We had this charade with Obasanjo. Whatever anybody might call our dear former president, he was anything but a democrat. Every election conducted under his watch was massively rigged and highly disputed.

Can anybody imagine what would have happened if Obasanjo was labeled as “clueless” during his presidency? How quickly they forget. By the time some offending journalists disappear, nobody would have dared any longer. Have we forgotten the rash of political assassinations under Obasanjo? Even the country’s Attorney General was not spared.

But now we have the government of Goodluck Jonathan. The opposition is calling him “clueless” and no one gets arrested. No one gets shot. Jonathan continues to smile. Under him, the press is free and unfettered. Finally, Jonathan has signed a Freedom of Information bill into law. This has made the Nigerian press one of the freest in the world. It validates the right of Nigerians to information about how they are being governed and safeguards our freedom of expression. Why was this legislation not passed until Jonathan came into power? The answer is simple. Jonathan is the first real democrat to rule Nigeria.

Nigerians need to remember this before we surrender our freedoms to another military turncoat masquerading as a democrat in the person of Muhammadu Buhari. Nobody who knows Buhari would accuse him of being a democrat; no matter the convenient noises he is making now. Lest we forget: Buhari overthrew a democratic government; jailed ministers without trial; muzzled the press; killed innocent Nigerians under retroactive decrees. Surely we cannot allow this military man in civilian clothing to violate our freedoms yet again.

“Clueless” Jonathan has supervised truly democratic elections. Despite the noises made by people like Lai Mohammed, who are paid to make negative noises, Jonathan has not rigged any polls to prevent the opposition from prevailing where they have genuine support on the ground. As a matter of fact, it is on record that opposition parties have won more elections under Jonathan than under all previous dispensations put together. This can be attributed to the democratic inclination of the president, and he has erased the do-or-die politics of the past.

From Edo, to Ondo, to Anambra, to Ekiti, to Osun, the Jonathan administration has overseen free and fair democratic elections, devoid of acrimony and violence. In Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, Jonathan declared a state of emergency to quell the Boko Haram insurgency. Nevertheless, unlike Obasanjo, he was mindful of the prevailing democratic structures and did not tamper with them.

Ebola-free Nigeria

While the power-hungry opposition is determined to blame Jonathan for every negative national happenstance, even including car accidents on federal roads; it is equally determined to deny him of plaudits for successes under his watch. The deadly and highly contagious Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) came into Nigeria by way of Liberia, claiming precious lives. The government swung into action, mobilized resources and organised a resistance that contained the epidemic in record time. Thanks to this forthrightness, the whole country now breathes a sigh of relief.

Three months down the road, the World Health Organisation has now declared Nigeria Ebola-free. It did not declare Lagos State Ebola-free. It did not declare Rivers State Ebola-free. It declared Nigeria Ebola-free. The president of Nigeria is Goodluck Jonathan. It is not Babatunde Fashola. It is not Rotimi Amaechi. And yet these two APC state governors are claiming that Nigeria’s victory over Ebola is due to them. This is poppycock! The victory belongs to Goodluck Jonathan who is the only man charged with the responsibility for what happens in Nigeria. The buck starts and ends with our president.

Even former president Olusegun Obasanjo, an implacable opponent of Goodluck Jonathan, could not help but commend the Jonathan administration for the way and manner it moved with speed and determination, and kept the Ebola virus at bay. Should the epidemic return to ravage Nigeria (God forbid), Jonathan would be held responsible. Now that we have prevailed over the scourge, Jonathan deserves all the praise. Indeed, Western governments are now sending people to Nigeria to study how we dealt with Ebola.

Goodluck factor

The truth of the matter is that there is something compelling about this South-South man from Otuoke in Bayelsa State. This accounts for his very mysterious rise to the presidency. Under his stewardship, Nigeria has attained milestones that have eluded us in the past. With four more years of Goodluck Jonathan in the presidential saddle, we are bound to achieve even more. Without wanting to sound too fatalistic, it is undeniable that Goodluck Jonathan brings good fortune to Nigeria.

Under Jonathan’s presidency, Nigeria’s Under-17 football team won an unprecedented fourth World Cup title in 2013, making Nigeria the most successful country in the tournament’s history. We also won the African Cup of Nations football tournament in 2013; the first time since 1994. No government in the history of Nigeria has ever had this combination of accolades.

At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, we won 11 gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze medals, to place eighth overall. That is something of a record. We also won four medals at the World Athletic Championship; the last time we won a medal there was in 2000.

This Goodluck factor also extends to international relations. In 2010, Nigeria was elected into the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent, non-veto member for the 2011-2012 sessions. In a most amazing manner, we were re-elected again in 2013 for the 2014-15 sessions. This is unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria. The UNSC is the most important and prestigious organ of the U.N. Nigeria has only served on the UNSC on three previous occasions.

Four more years

I am not from the South-South. I don’t know Goodluck Jonathan from Adam, and I don’t want to know him. I will never accept a government job. But I am a Nigerian, and I feel affronted when I see all these power-mongers bad-mouthing our president, simply because he is from the minority South-South and they want power at all cost.

There can be no question that Goodluck Jonathan has been an effective president, and he should be allowed to continue for another four years. Two terms of South-South presidency is surely not excessive appreciation for our chronic reliance on South-South oil.

berem:
Goodluck Jonathan is Clueless Personified!!


NEXT!!!

Understanding is not your strong point,u r ignorance personified


Gej till 2019

This article is meant for objective,sane and unbiased minds


Pls read thid topic with a open mind and an unrestricted attention for obvious facts

Femi Aribisala: Is the sky really blue?

raumdeuter:
Femi Aribisala: Is the sky really blue?

Stay off kid

raumdeuter:
Femi Aribisala: Is the sky really blue?

Femi Aribisala: it is somehow reddish blue!!!


N.B; may God help Nigeria from political hatchet jobs

theshadyexpress:
He has a B.Sc. in Zoology; an M.Sc. in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology; and a Ph.D. in
Zoology. It is preposterous to describe such a man as “clueless.”

With the way some Nigerian behave both online and offline, me think zoology qualification should be a must for our future presidents. Animal farm

raumdeuter:
Femi Aribisala: Is the sky really blue?

Question for the immortals.

theshadyexpress:
Posted by Op-Ed Editor
by Femi Aribisala

The English have an expression: “give a dog a bad name in order to kill it.” It refers to the malicious misrepresentation of someone in order to discredit him. This has been strategy of the opposition to Goodluck Jonathan to date. This opposition comprises an unholy alliance between the APC, the Arewa Consultative Forum, the Northern Elders Forum as well as the Boko Haram. In complete disdain for the office of the president of Nigeria, the membership of these institutions has gone to great lengths in despising, disdaining and abusing the person of Goodluck Jonathan.

“Clueless” opposition

One favoured insult is to refer to him as “clueless.” Taking a leaf out of the infamous notebook of George Bush who told all kinds of lies against John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election in the United States, now referred to as “snow boating;” President Jonathan’s traducers are seeking to establish falsehood about him and his administration just by sheer force of repetition. It is therefore necessary to ask the question if, indeed, Goodluck Jonathan can be rightly described as “clueless.” What exactly is “clueless” about Goodluck Jonathan?Shehu Shagari was president of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983. He had very limited formal education and never attended a university. Nevertheless, he was not called “clueless.” Olusegun Obasanjo was president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He did not go to university before becoming President: he only enrolled after he left office. Nevertheless, he was not labeled “clueless.”But some would like us to believe Goodluck Jonathan, who has been substantive president since 2011 is “clueless.” However, Jonathan is the most highly-educated president in the history of Nigeria. He has a B.Sc. in Zoology; an M.Sc. in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology; and a Ph.D. in Zoology. It is preposterous to describe such a man as “clueless.” Indeed, there are few Nigerians with comparable educational credentials. Who are those “clueful” ones ranged in opposition against him? Surprise, surprise! They are former military dictators with no university training whatsoever and dubious politicians with forged university certificates.

Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State wants to be president. But what he displays most of the time is cluelessness. When he captures newspaper headlines, it is to shout things like: “Jonathan wants to kill me;” or “Jonathan is not qualified to contest in 2015.” Somebody needs to advise Kwankwaso that abusing and disparaging the president is no substitute for having substantive policies on how to govern Nigeria.

Legacy of “cluelessness”

Who can be more clueless than many of the Northern politicians who have been in power in Nigeria in the past to very little effect and are still clamouring for power today? These men have defrauded the North and the country over the years? They have ruled for some 38 years but failed woefully to promote meaningful economic development in the North or the South.

In their years of Northern rule both at the state and the federal level, not a single model Islamic school was established in the North that teaches Mathematics. Instead, the children of the “talakawa” are restricted to Koranic memorization and recitation. No single Islamic model school was established in the North that teaches Chemistry. The singular focus was on Arabic grammar. No single Islamic model school was established that teaches Biology. The children of the poor were limited to Islamic history.

Northern politicians failed to draw inspiration from such excellent Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, where Western education is not deemed to contradict Islamic education. Instead of educating the youth, some of our Northern politicians kept them as fodder for instigating insurgencies for their selfish power-political gain. It is no wonder therefore that, in the 21st century, when a “Third World” country like India has landed a spacecraft on Mars; an insurgency has arisen in the Nigerian North-East claiming that “Western education is a sin.”

Northerners opposed to Jonathan, like Muhammadu Buhari, Ango Abdullahi, Adamu Ciroma and Junaid Mohammed have never demonstrated any belief in the education of the masses. Their children don’t attend almajiri schools and beg on the streets. When in power, they pay no attention to the mass illiteracy in the North. This makes them no different from the Boko Haram that maintains western education is sinful. Now that we have a South-South president from Otuoke in Bayelsa State who is committed to Northern education, these same do-nothing politicians are claiming he is clueless. Who needs their “cluefulness?”

Jonathan’s northern agenda

Atiku Abubakar showed remarkable cluelessness when he observed that the North would not be voting for Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. If the North would not vote for Jonathan, who then would they vote for?

In 2011, Jonathan received over 8 million Northern votes. Since then, he has bent over backwards to reward the North. He has highly favoured the region in his appointments. The former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu said: “Quote me; in a long time we have not had a government where the northern extraction has enjoyed so many appointments like this one.” Indeed, under Jonathan, the Vice-president, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are all from the North.

Jonathan’s opponents would have us believe he is “clueless” but, within four years, Jonathan built 125 Almajiri Schools in 13 states in the North; something Northern rulers themselves failed to do. At the commissioning of the first Almajiri Model School in Gagi, Sokoto State, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad III, observed that Jonathan’s action was unprecedented in the history of Northern Nigeria.

“Clueless” Jonathan went on to establish ten new federal universities; seven of them in the North. It is important to list them, so Nigerians can be in no doubt how ridiculous the allegations against our president have been. Jonathan established the Federal Universities in Lafia, Nasarawa State; Lokoja, Kogi State; Kashere, Gombe State; Wakari, Taraba State; Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State; and Dutse, Jigawa State. No other president in the history of Nigeria has this kind of legacy, North or South.

The Jonathan administration has more than doubled the budgetary allocation to education in the country. It sponsored 7000 lecturers for post-graduate studies at home and abroad and licensed 100 Innovation Enterprise Institutions, while also granting 101 Presidential Scholarships for innovation and development. 51 Polytechnic laboratories have been rehabilitated and
34 new NCE awarding institutions created.

The result has been remarkable. There has been a 10 million student increase in basic education enrolment (UBEC) in the country. There has also been a 75% increase in O’Level credit pass in Maths and English under the Jonathan administration.

Health transformation

Part of the grouse of Nigerians against past governments is that when subsidies are removed (especially that of petroleum), the extra money disappears into thin air without any appreciable public benefit. For this reason, Nigerians insist on the retention of subsidies so that the man-in-the-street can at least get something out of it. However, under the Jonathan administration, it has been possible to identify the salutary effect of the subsidy removal on the well-being of the people.

With the drastic reduction of the petroleum subsidy in 2012, the government created the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). This is designed to invest the savings accruing from the subsidy reduction in critical infrastructure and human-resource empowerment projects across the length and breadth of the country. To this end, the scheme has included maternal and child-health programmes.

Within two years, the Maternal and Child Health scheme of the SURE-P has reduced the maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria by 26%; reduced neo-natal mortality by 22%; increased the percentage of births by skilled attendants by 33% and increased the percent of reproductive aged women using family planning by 100%.

Road transformation

SURE-P has also been invaluable in engaging in a number of road rehabilitation projects right across the country. For example, the Onitsha-Owerri and the Vom-Manchok roads have been completed. Work is underway on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos; the Benin-Ore-Sagamu dual carriage-way; the Onitsha-Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriage-way; the Kaduna-Maiduguri dual carriage-way; Lokoja – Benin road; Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; Mokwa-Bida road; Akure-Ilesha road; Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega road; Enugu- Abakaliki- Cross River road; Ogoja – Ikom road; Vandekiya-Obudu road; and the East-West road.

The Kano-Maiduguri and the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja roads are currently undergoing dualisation. The Onitsha Head-Bridge Flyover (Ojukwu Gateway) and the Oweto Bridge across River Benue have been completed. The Second Niger Bridge is under construction and the government is also undertaking the dredging the River. There is also on-going seaport construction and the expansion of existing ports, including Warri, Baro, Calabar, Onne, Owerri and Onitsha.

Rail transformation

The railway system in Nigeria had been comatose for over 30 years. However, the “clueless” Jonathan administration has managed to revive this within two years. The Lagos-Kano line has been rehabilitated and is now functional again. The Port Harcourt-Maiduguri line is being rehabilitated and will soon be operational. Kano-Maiduguri, Kaduna-Abuja and Lagos-Port Harcourt rail-lines are also under construction.

President Jonathan inaugurated two Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) train-sets and six air-conditioned passengers’ coaches at the NRC terminus in Lagos. His administration also launched the Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS); deploying 11 trains carrying close to 15,000 passengers daily within the Lagos metropolis. This has drastically reduced the cost of intra-city train transportation within Lagos.

A return-trip from Agege to Ebute Metta under the MTTS now costs less than N150, as against the more than N1,000 it costs by taxi. Transportation from Lagos to Kano now costs less than N1,800 as against between N4,000 and N5,000 by car or bus.

This is what Babatunde Fashola had to say about the “clueless” Jonathan administration’s contribution to mass transit in Lagos State: “It is a very welcome development to our nation, Nigeria and to the Centre of Excellence, Lagos State. No doubt, we require this infrastructure. We appreciate it and we will continue to give every moral support that the corporation requires as we now have complementary services in the transport system of Lagos State.”

These are by no means the tokens of a “clueless” presidency.

I must say this is well articulated and properly detailed but I must say that your first few points are all heading to the street of fallacy , may I ask you a simple question ? I guess I am permitted , is eduction a channel to elude cluelessness ? Or is it that an individual without a formal education is clueless ? If I didn't get your point wrong.

tosin2013:
Femi Aribisala: it is somehow reddish blue!!!


N.B; may God help Nigeria from political hatchet jobs

VERDICT: Abati's days are numbered. Aribisala's brilliancy like the moon, can no longer be shrouded with a piece of clothing. Atari malu koja nkan t'an ju s'apo aya - The head of a cow is more than what can be tucked in the b.re.ast pockets Welcome to Aso Rock sire!

LeStylo:
VERDICT: Abati's days are numbered. Aribisala's brilliancy like the moon, can no longer be shrouded with a piece of clothing. Atari malu koja nkan t'an ju s'apo aya - The head of a cow is more than what can be tucked in the b.re.ast pockets Welcome to Aso Rock sire!

arindin agaba ni e...abati is far intellectually sound than this aribisala ti o ribi sasi..a scholarly look at baba femi's article will reveal that he thrives on ethnic sentiments and fallacies..i would like to go on and on to educate you for the ailment in your brain..pele... go to your yaba left,that is where you and femi onikatikati belongs..ibe ni ile yin.eyin were adinni.

This topic is frontpage material cos it woill go a long way to enlighten the highly ignorant but unbiased minds

Mods do the needful