₦airaland Forum

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Bukola Saraki remains the best option for Nigeria if we are to make a break from our chequered past. Goodluck Jonathan cannot compare to him, when it comes to leadership ability, passion, creative thinking and foresight. Ribadu is largely a one-trick horse. The problems of the modern world do not yield to absolutism, and I doubt that he would be a successful leader. I find Bukola Saraki to be a driven, urbane, and focused mind capable of leading Nigeria into a modern age. If there is any attribute that characterises his politics - it is stability.

Many of the responses that attend this thread talking about "oyel" money significantly fail to point out that Kwara State under Dr. Bukola is one of the most fiscally disciplined  states. It was one of the first states to open itself up voluntarily to assessment by Fitch the international credit ratings agency, as well as to Federal Government budget monitoring authorities. I don't think that with those antecedents in governance, the issue of stealing "oyel" money is a valid one.

The hottest topic of discussion among political pundits in Nigeria seems to be the emergence of a power bloc, which is now being referred to as the "fourth force." The "fourth force" is a term now being used to refer to younger political leaders from the north such as Bukola Saraki, Danjuma Goje, and Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu. Other observers include Gabriel Suswam, Nasir El-Rufai, and Nuhu Ribadu in the list.

What has emerged over the past few weeks is that, while these younger political leaders are not out for a confrontation with the older generation of Northern Leaders (Solomon Lar, IBB, Atiku, Olusola Saraki etc) they are brimming with self confidence and do not believe that they have to look to their predecessors for direction. This was clearly illustrated, when the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) had to make a presentation to the NGF (Northern Governors Forum) seeking for support for zoning earlier in the year.

In the run-up to 2011, the fourth force will be a political force that will be impossible to ignore even if it does not produce a presidential candidate from its ranks.

I have noticed a disconcerting lack of facts in the submission of one or two people who want to deny the accomplishments of Dr. Bukola Saraki. One thing that a number of people fail to mention in evaluating Dr. Bukola Saraki is that Kwara State has limited resources to say the least. I did some digging around, and I was able to come up with the following pertinent facts about Kwara State.

[list]
[li]86% of its total revenue was coming from its Federal Statutory Allocation, while 14% of its total revenue came from IGR[/li]
[li]It is number 33 out of 36 in terms of Federal Revenue Allocation[/li]
[li]At least 65% of its total revenue is spent on recurrent expenditure - salaries, administrative expenses etc[/li]
[li]The external debt profile of Kwara State as at the time Dr. Bukola Saraki took office was over $333.5 million[/li]
[/list]

Obviously Kwara State is not a state, which has a lot of money to play with. In evaluating Dr. Bukola Saraki, to do so in terms of what is available to him in terms of resources. Going by that. It is clear that even if the total revenue of Kwara State is poured on education alone, or roads alone, it will not be sufficient. I think he rightly chose to make economic growth the focus of his administration. I also think that he was fortunate to have spent two terms, because most of his major projects are medium to long-term projects. It is nothing short of impressive that in a state like Kwara, he was able to pull off huge capital projects such as Shonga Farms, Ganmo power substation, Benin border road, International Aviation College.

A state like Kwara State, which is small has to be innovative. Bukola Saraki has actually demonstrated the kind of thinking we expect to come from places like Lagos - unusual and creative ideas.

Lastly, the failure of some respondents to distinguish between Bukola Saraki and his father is just intellectually lazy and lacks objectivity. It is tantamount to using parentage as a basis for judgement - consequently a man is condemned not for failing in office, but for his parentage. Come on.

I think when talking about the future of the north, the options available to the north goes beyond Nasir El-Rufai, and Nuhu Ribadu. I think the list would also include Bukola Saraki, Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, Danjuma Goje, Isa Yuguda, and Gabriel Suswam. I have detected a divide between the younger generation of northern politicians roughly represented by the Northern Governors Forum, and the older generation represented by the Arewa Consultative Forum. In recent times, these two groups have not necessarily been on the same page. I seem to detect that the younger generation of political leaders seem to be chafing under the leadership of the older generation, and they are showing a desire to forge their own path. The truth is that if the younger generations continue to follow the dictates of the older generation they may soon find themselves totally irrelevant. The following articles may be somewhat instructive.

Guardian: SEARCH BEGINS FOR “NEW ODER” IN THE NORTH
Nigerian Compass: 2011 PRESIDENCY: SARAKI, GOJE, SUSWAM, YUGUDA DIVIDE NORTH

I will have only three objectives as follows.

1. FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS
2. FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS
3. FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS

The Ministry of Information would be mobilized to conduct a nationwide sensitization program urging Nigerians to defend their vote morning, day, and night until the elections next year.

Despite all attempts by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan's spokesmen to burnish his CV and make him appear to be a high-achiever, the truth is that he lacks any record of achievements prior to becoming the President of Nigeria, on which to base his aspiration to be elected president. I have nothing against him as a person, but I have issues with someone with no track record of significant achievement and vaguely defined moral character aspiring to be elected into the highest office in the land. I have challenged again and again his supporters on Nairaland to list his achievements prior to becoming president without result. I have also challenged them to enlighten me as to his guiding principles (moral) with concrete examples of how he has defended these principles.The achievements, which have been dressed up by his media handlers are frankly unimpressive and unremarkable. The CV he submitted to the Bayelsa State Assembly can be viewed at:

http://nm.onlinenigeria.com/articlefiles/6036-drjcv.pdf

Excerpts:

POSITION HELD:

IN MATER DEI HIGH SCHOOL, IMIRINGI:
CLASS CAPTAIN      CLASS 3 – 4
SECRETARY COLLEGE FOOD COMMITTEE   CLASS 3
HOUSE PERFECT MASTERSON HOUSE   CLASS 4 – 5
CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE OF PREFECTA  CLASS 4 – 5

IN RIVERS STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, RUMUOLUMENI, PORT HARCOURT
SECRETARY BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT ACADEMIC STAFF MEETINGS
DEPARTMENT TIME TABLE OFFICER
MEMBER SENIOR STAFF APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION COMMITTEE 

HONOURS AND AWARDS:
BEST PERFORMING STATE DEPUTY GOVERNOR
AWARD 25TH MAY, 2002 BY THE INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRA
HONORARY FELLOWSHIP NIGERIA ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY (NES)

Beaf: Shame on you! Jonathan was governor of Bayelsa state for just 1 year 4 months plus. Why are you scrambling to over stretch credulity? It is thoroughly disingenuous.

Following along the same weird lines of the original article, you feel that you can somehow hang the crimes of Alams on Jonathan. By any length, that is an incredible stretch.
You are against Jonathan having served under Alams, but what do you say about Fashola having served under Tinubu? Has it stopped Fashola from being the performer he is? Of course the answer is no.
It seems you are looking for a politician to drop from the sky, like some holy myth. Its never gonna happen.
You have no understanding of the Nigerian political landscape, otherwise, you would realise that it is impossible for anybody to rise without serving one of the corrupt masters whose nests are now being decimated. You rise through the ranks and when you get there, you clear the nest; a good example is the fact that you now have constant fuel at low cost, fuel scarcity is gone; how many butts and vampires do you realise have been very quietly kicked in that sector?

I'm sorry, but I asked you for a list of remarkable achievements creditable to to Goodluck Jonathan prior to his elevation to president, in order to counter the allegation that he is an incurable mediocrity and you tell me that he was only governor of Bayelsa for 1 year and 4 months. Excuse me, but what about the period (1993 - 1998) when he was a director at OMPADEC. What about the period (1983 - 1993) when he was a lecturer at Rivers State college of education. I stumbled across his CV - http://nm.onlinenigeria.com/articlefiles/6036-drjcv.pdf - and allow me to refer to it. First of all, it is silent about any achievements during the period at OMPADEC.

IN MATER DEI HIGH SCHOOL, IMIRINGI:
CLASS CAPTAIN      CLASS 3 – 4
SECRETARY COLLEGE FOOD COMMITTEE   CLASS 3
HOUSE PERFECT MASTERSON HOUSE   CLASS 4 – 5
CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE OF PREFECTA  CLASS 4 – 5

IN RIVERS STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, RUMUOLUMENI, PORT HARCOURT:
SECRETARY BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT ACADEMIC STAFF MEETINGS
DEPARTMENT TIME TABLE OFFICER
MEMBER SENIOR STAFF APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION COMMITTEE

These do not strike me as a particularly remarkable list of achievements. Frankly, it strikes me as, uhm well MEDIOCRE.

I'm sorry, you want to absolve Jonathan of accountability for his actions, because a publicly acknowledged high performer has been in the same situation as he is. I think it is not a credit to either of them. If you take the comparison further, the comparison breaks down, because unlike Goodluck Jonathan Fashola already had a track record of performance prior to entry into government, which is very easy to point to. Already he was a Senior Advocate. It is no secret that he was the Lead Counsel and highest fee earner at the law firm K.O Tinubu and and company from 1994 to 2002. I beg your pardon, this commands my respect over someone acting as secretary biology department academic staff meetings.

Pure sentiment is keeping too many people from realizing that GEJ is not equipped to discharge the office of President will. It lies beyond his competence and temperament. He is indeed an incurable mediocrity as alleged.

@ Beaf
I am still waiting for my answer to the 3 questions below.

1. Give me a list of the remarkable accomplishments of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in the positions which he held prior to the presidency to counter the allegation that he is an incurable mediocrity.

2. Tell me how you reconcile being a man of honesty and integrity with his willingness to serve and remain loyal to a man who was convicted and jailed for money laundering and serious financial crimes?

3. Tell me how you reconcile being a man of honesty and integrity with the readmission of same Alamieyeseigha into the fold of PDP under his watch?

Please just answer these 3 questions. I'm quite sure that is not beyond you.

@Beaf: You seem to be very skilled at evading issues. I have asked you to do three simple things:

1. Give me a list of the remarkable accomplishments of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in the positions which he held prior to the presidency to counter the allegation that he is an incurable mediocrity.

2. Tell me how you reconcile being a man of honesty and integrity with his willingness to serve and remain loyal to a man who was convicted and jailed for money laundering and serious financial crimes?

3. Tell me how you reconcile being a man of honesty and integrity with the readmission of same Alamieyeseigha into the fold of PDP under his watch?

Please just answer these 3 questions. I'm quite sure that is not beyond you. This questions are personal to you, so you do not need to redirect me to his Facebook Page.

@ Beaf: I do not really buy into the last two paragraphs of the initial post concerning the actions of Nwodo, or the constitution of NCC. However the writer raises a number of serious issues, which I would like you to address (as opposed to evade). The writer states that:

Jonathan has no record on which to lean in his desire to become our president in 2011. His entire public service record reveals an incurable mediocrity:

If you disagree with this, could you please state his accomplishments in the positions, which he held prior to becoming president.

Secondly, the writer of the article accused him of being a cowardly deputy governor. One of the things, which gives me pause when it comes to Jonathan is his record as deputy governor of Bayelsa State. Here was a man who was comfortable to serve under a man convicted of money laundering and financial impropriety. Till date he has never condemned the action of this man. A lot of people have described him as being loyal, however loyalty cannot be an excuse for tolerating corruption and thievery. It seems to me he has a very high tolerance of corruption. If he could not speak up against the financial impropriety that went on during his watch as deputy governor, then what is the guarantee that he will speak out (much less act) against corruption if he becomes president. No matter how many exhortations he posts on Facebook, no matter how many projects he commissions, or foreign visits he goes on they do not define his moral compass. This is why some of us have been looking to understand his guiding principles - what he stands for. If one of his guiding principles is honesty and integrity, how does he square that with his silence over the actions of Alamieyesiegha, the readmission of same into PDP under his watch. If he prizes his sense of loyalty over the interests of the society at large (which it seems) then he should be loyal to his cohorts in an arena which will not jeopardize the interest of the society. If he is indeed a man of integrity, let him explain:

- why he never complained about Alamieyesiegha criminal embezzlement of funds
- his stance on the readmission of a convict into the fold of PDP

Please square this with honesty, integrity and moral fitness for high office.

@labiyemmy:
^^^^^^

Mediocre and cowardly!


What is the meaning of his performance was mediocre?

and what is the meaning of he was a cowardly deputy governor - ?? oe do you just want to make statements and assertions and you think peeople wil just take it hook line and sinker? These are your opinions bro.

I have made an assertion that Goodluck Jonathan's performance in all his previous positions was mediocre. In saying that I am voicing my opinion, oyu have not come out to contradict my statement by saying that his accomplishment as an academic or as a director at NDDC was stellar, brilliant, or remarkable. I have based my assertion on the fact that there is no record of remarkable achievement on his part while he occupied these offices. My point can be proved by lack of evidence. You can only invalidate my assertion by bringing me evidence of remarkable achievement while in office. It is very telling that his spokesmen have been significantly silent about his previous accomplishments. It is as was pointed out in the article that I posted at the beginning of this discussion:

Jonathan has no record on which to lean in his desire to become our president in 2011. His entire public service record reveals an incurable mediocrity:

Secondly, I claim that he was a cowardly deputy governor. I am not a citizen of Bayelsa State, and I am not an expert in its politics. However, his silence on the criminal activity of his erstwhile boss is to say the least disturbing. His view on the activities of his former boss are unknown. The only thing that we know is that he remained loyal to the man till the end. I have to ask myself, what kind of man remains loyal to a confirmed criminal. Certainly if I harboured an armed robber, or a murderer, I am sure that I would be viewed as a man of questionable repute. The crimes of which his erstwhile boss committed were definitely not trivial, and I have to ask myself, what exactly does one have to do to arouse this man's sense of moral indignation. His silence does not strike me as particularly brave. If his inability to condemn a despicable act of thievery passes as bravery on the part of anyone else, it does not with me. How many more things will he be silent on. If he is too compromised to effectively lead, and challenge wrongdoing, then let him excuse himself from the race for office.

You can find nothing against the man so its time to fiddle and reach for straws. If you want to know about Jonathan, simply get in touch with him. He is the most open President Nigeria has ever had. So get in touch and ask him directly, instead of whining in the dark.

Beaf, you have not answered the question, which I asked. I asked you what the stand of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was on significant issues, which affect this country, I asked you about his politics, his ideology, and you basically tell me I DON'T KNOW GO AND ASK HIM.

If you are going to vote for a man, are these not the kind of things that you would like to know about him. Apparently you are not interested in knowing the answer to these questions.

There are also issues which have been raised that you have avoided.

1. He cannot campaign based on his record from the previous offices, which he held (lecturer, director at NDDC, acting governor, because his performance was mediocre)

2. He was a cowardly deputy governor. This for me is one of the great albatrosses of GEJ. I have hesitated to raise this issue, but I need to ask, how was he comfortable to be the deputy governor to a corrupt individual such as Alamasiegha. It begins to show a very high tolerance of corruption, little moral indignation, and a facility for compromise.

Is he that he was unaware of the corruption going on under his watch as deputy governor, or was he part of it, or was he unwilling to do anything about it, or was he comfortable with it.

The easy association of GEJ with men of dubious or doubtful integrity is one of my great fears and concerns. He seems to have a very high tolerance for corruption and corrupt people going by his antecedents. If that is the case, he is certainly not the kind of man that we need.

Over to you Beaf. But as you said, there is nothing in his public record to let us know what his moral principles, politics, ideology, moral limits are. There is nothing in the public record to tell us what he stands for, unless we start asking him on Facebook.

Do not imagine that these questions will go away. These are the kind of issues that will be raised in a proper presidential campaign, and people are not going to go away without answers to these questions. Let him define his moral compass for us, with practical examples of how he has stood by his moral principles, and defended the interests of the common man i.e How he has refused to accept inducements to subvert the rule of law, how he has stood up for the rights of the oppressed and underprivileged, how he has carpeted corrupt and venal individuals etc as a lecturer, director, governor etc

What troubles me about Jonathan is very subtle and fundamental, blink and you might miss it. It is not so much what he has done, as what he has not done. Has he ever come out to state his stance on corruption? Has he ever come out to say that we can trust him never to be involved in any corrupt practice? Has he ever come out to say that he will defend the interests of the ordinary Nigerian against entrenched interests and self-seeking groups and individuals? Has he ever come out to say that he will always stay on the side of truth and justice no matter the cost?

What I am getting at is that almost no one knows what he believes in, what his moral principles are, how deep they run, the things that he will do and will not do. Nigerians are totally clueless about his values, his ideology. Many of us harbor the fear that the failure to circumscribe his moral boundary may suggest that he has none or it is very poorly defined.

When a man does not come out to declare his principles and moral boundaries clearly, he does not give you a yardstick for judging his actions, and evaluating his past. In short many of us are clueless about what he stands for.

How can I evaluate the actions of a man who has refused to give me a basis of doing so. We totally have no idea what he may do or may not do. Let us know his minimum standard of acceptable conduct as a politician, so that we can hold him up to it.

Source: 234Next
By: Seun Kolade
Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010

Most people can hardly remember now, but on April 12 2010, few weeks after officially assuming the title of ‘acting president’,

Mr Goodluck Jonathan delivered an address to the American Council on Foreign Relations.

In his speech the then acting president said he recognised he was “confronted with the greatest test of his political career” and that his administration has therefore chosen for itself “foundational responsibilities which, if well shouldered, will form a solid base for the development of Nigeria from this point onward”. He expressed high hopes that the remaining period of the administration will not merely be “a transitional period but one which we hope will one day be viewed as a watershed, a transformational time in our young democracy”.

Very inspiring words. Here was a leader who appeared to show remarkable insight, and with such clarity, into the heart of the problem bedeviling the Nigerian nation and he was unequivocal in his declaration, “for us in Nigeria, this is our time. Either we continue with more of the same or we change the game”.

Regarding what would be the defining priorities of this transformational government, Mr. Jonathan was precise and to the point:

“our domestic focus must be on electoral reform, delivering peace dividends to the Niger Delta and the rest of the country, and standing strong on our resolve against corruption”.

Nigerian citizens everywhere latched onto his every word, especially the younger generation who have had their future thrown into the mud. Indeed, his installation as acting president was not without the committed and sustained effort of civil society groups, who, against the machinations and plotting of the evil cabal, stood their ground that Jonathan must assume the presidency in accordance with the provisions of the nation’s Constitution.

Four months after the speech, and here we are. Now make no mistake, no one expects President Jonathan to wave the magic wand and solve all the nation’s problems in 4 months. No one expect him to deliver uninterrupted power supply in 4 months. No one expect him to get rid of corruption within a year, fix the education system in a flash, or promptly rid the streets of all hoodlums. We shall return to these later, but let us consider the ‘foundational’, priority areas identified by the man himself.

On electoral reform, the Niger Delta and anti-corruption, the choice, spelt out by the president, was to continue with “more of the same or change the game”, and in each of these key areas the administration has not only persisted with the same game but has taken it to new heights of recklessness and callous indifference. On electoral reform,

the committee set up by the previous administration consulted widely and made strong, comprehensive recommendations. Everyone, including the president recognises that the current system has failed miserably.

In spite of this, President Jonathan has persisted with the game by continuing with “more of the same”, to use his own words. He has, with the active connivance of the national lawmakers, swept the electoral reform bill under the carpet, the same lawmakers with whom he has worked to pass the budget as well as the recent extravagant spending bill for the nation’s 50th anniversary.

On anti-corruption and the Niger Delta, there has been little or no movement. It is again “more of the same”.

In place of substantive progress, the Jonathan administration has chosen to sell us the dummy of sweet talk, and we should actually be inclined to give him good marks in the art of seduction. For right on the Internet, on his Facebook page especially, we see how citizens are presented with the cozy illusion of significance. Contributors are called by their first names, and the president himself is presented in the image of a down-to-earth “leveller”, unusually humble and ready to engage ordinary citizens, and willing to take their opinions and counsels on board.

None of these is of course true. Or new. For we once had a gap-toothed , ever-smiling general who presented himself as a passionate supporter of civil liberties and a great advocate of press freedom,

among others. His tyrannical regime turned out to be the complete antithesis of his lofty promises.

President Jonathan set out, at the beginning, clear criteria by which he expected to be judged. By his own criteria, and none other, he has failed. Indeed, on the single most important issue of electoral reform, the failure cannot be more spectacular. The Nigerian citizens have for years been deprived of their basic rights to choose their own leaders, but right now there is a new twist to the sordid tale: for once we have a leader who openly identified the problem, a president who understands what to do to fix it, and yet, against his own better judgement and in defiance of public clamour, he has chosen to persist with the old system of mass disenfranchisement. But will this horror show last?

For the full speech given in April 2010by President Jonathan to the Council on Foreign Relations, please visit http://www.cfr.org/publication/21888/conversation_with_goodluck_jonathan.html

Seun Kolade, engineer and human rights activist, lives in Essex, London.

@ ajoguegbe: While reading an article on FDR I came across a transcript of a VOA program entitled - 1933: President Roosevelt's First 100 Days Gives People Hope. If I take this title as a departure point - "it is possible to give possible to give hope in 100 days." If Jonathan cannot be asked to give results in 100 days, is it too much to ask him to give hope by his conduct, demeanor, attitude, and focus? If by any of his actions (not words please) he has inspired hope, confidence, expectation, and promise please inform me.

Talking all this emotional stuff doesn't cut it. Jonathan has been President for three months and an incredible amount has occured in those three months; mose people are balanced enough not to make extreme judgements in three short months, but hey! If all one can deduce from your writeup is a stream of emotional strings, then you might really be appealing to tribalists and sectionalists, rather than the balanced majority who know that a mere three months is quite a bit too short for some of the words you have chosen.

Lets calm down and take a deep breath and approach matters in a rational way.

There is a saying "morning shows the day." It may seem hasty to be passing judgment on Goodluck Jonathan in just 100 days in office. If this period has not been long enough to assess results, it has been long enough to assess attitude, direction, priorities. If anything can be read from the body language of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, it is that the situation of Nigeria is not desperate, and does not demand urgent attention.

We are marking 100 days of Jonathan in office. The concept of benchmarking a leader by his first 100 days in office came from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). In that first 100 days, he met with congress and passed an astonishing number of bills, aimed at revitalizing the economy of the United States, which was depressed. Ever since then it has become quite common to judge leaders by their performance in their first 100 days in office. Why should an exception be made for Jonathan?

While students of leadership agree that first 100 days of a leader in office may be largely symbolic, and may not necessarily be indicative of the eventual accomplishment of a leader, it is generally agreed that it is important for a leader to set the tone of his leadership, and frankly the tone he has set is weak, limpid, and uninspiring. That much is clear.

Even if a man is yet to change anything, it is still possible to discern that he means to change things. While FDR did not turn America around in 100 days, it was unmistakable that he meant to make a difference. Is intent so difficult to discern that one requires months or even years in order to see it. Intent can be discerned by the things that a man gives priority, spends time on, acts upon, even distances himself from.

The message that one gets from GEJ by the things he gives attention to, ignores, spends time on, and acts upon is that his primary intent is not to change things in Nigeria for the better. While he cannot transform the entire country, there are areas in which definitive action could still be taken. I do not want to sound like someone trying to find fault, but I saw quick action in the withdrawal of Nigeria from international football, purchase of presidential jets, commissioning of projects throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria, conferment of national honors etc What about power? What about genuine electoral reforms? What about corruption? Even if he cannot solve these problems overnight, shouldn't we see the intent to tackle this problem? This plea for more time on behalf of GEJ does not cut it. We expect too little of our leaders - really.

@komando: Perhaps you are referring to my stating that he is winning the political battle for his candidacy - by this I mean that at the party level, the obstacles, which would have prevented him from running on the platform of PDP are seemingly being cleared. However among the wider generality of Nigerians, he is losing appeal. Getting the nomination of PDP, does not mean that people see him as fit to be president. More and more Nigerians are getting the feeling that he is not capable of leading Nigeria purposefully - that his what I mean by his approval rating is dropping.

There seems to be a growing groundswell of resistance to Goodluck Jonathan. While he may be winning the political battle to contest the 2011 elections, among the populace, his approval ratings seem to be dropping by the day. The longer he has stays in power, the more is unsuitability and incompetence, and lack of vision continue to be revealed. By the time the elections come around, he is more than likely to have been so demystified that there will be significant opposition to his candidacy.

The truth is that a genuine desire to confront the challenges of Nigeria will put him on a collision course with powerful interests, and place his presidential hopes in jeopardy. Apparently, he is not the man to pursue the best interest of the country single-mindedly - if at all.

It seems to many people are being dazzled by the fairy-tale rise of GEJ to power. It seems that so many people are mesmerised by his meteoric rise, and the pithy notes he drops on Facebook. For once if Nigerians care to read his actions, and not his lips it should be apparent that he is eminently unsuitable to be the President for Nigeria. Totally clueless as to how to move the nation forward, derivative, weak in conviction - a political animal to core. A leader not a politician, opportunistic rather than proactive - part of the same good old boy network that is an intrinsic part of the problem of this country.

This man has nothing to offer Nigeria. I am not against a south-south president, but surely there must be someone more able from that region.

@Beaf: Stop changing the subject. Okay I give it to you IBB is in no way fit to be the president of this country. OK? That is settled. Let's get back to the original issue GEJ. How does his actions on corruption, electoral reform, national rewakening, development, equity and justice, and national rebirth inspired confidence in his candidacy?

What may strike one is possibly his inaction on this issue. He is today in a historic position to do something about the malaise in this nation, and the manner in which he is using this opportunity does not inspire confidence that he is a strong or focused leader. If you can begin to cite actions that he has taken, to inspire this country to greatness, and set it on the right track, please let me know.

In my opinion, the candidacy of Goodluck Jonathan is subtle and clever fraud, which is being swallowed uncritically hook line and sinker. To be sincere, there may not be one clearly suitable candidate in the whole cast of potential candidates being touted. We may have to make have to settle for compromise candidates that we can live with, or drag entirely new names who have steered clear of the murky water of politics into the fray to have a truly fresh start (wishful thinking). Possibly Nigerians are not even interested in a fresh start at all.

I think the candidacy of Goodluck Jonathan has been accepted uncritically in many quarters. I will not argue the fact that his emergence has a fairy tale quality that as human beings we find fascinating. However, I am personally disturbed by his antecedents, and his omissions as well as some of his actions. Firstly, I do not even know what he stands for as a person. His actions (or is it lack of it?) make it impossible to know what his core values are.

It is easy to say that one believes in something, but these beliefs may not necessarily translate into action. First off, I do not know how he was comfortable enough to stay on as the deputy of Alamesiagha - a man who was convicted of corruption. What kind of human being lounges under such a system. How do you explain that? A man who has absolutely no sense of outrage or moral conviction? He was so quick to withdraw Nigeria from international football, did it escape him that such tough action is required in other aspects of our national life? Why has he refused to take such action against corruption, infrastructural decay, national drift?

There are matters even more important than football that need addressing in our national life. Why is he abandoning them to tackle relatively inconsequential issues such as football?

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Going by the evidence available, tracking mobile phones is a technology that is taken for granted in many parts of the world. What excuse do our mobile phone companies have for not providing this service. I know that they are certainly capable of doing this. They seem to be more concerned with charging for services, which they should provide free and charging outrageous prices for their services. I want to believe that their refusal to make this service available as a public service shows that they are operating in bad faith. Someone correct me if I'm mistaken.

The problems of SGBN were political rather than business-related. In 2003 SGBN was barred from the clearing floor because it overdrew its balance at the CBN. Even according to a CBN press release at the time, the incidence of a bank overdrawing its account is not new - it occurs regularly during clearing house operations. In fact CBN can legally provide overdraft accommodation to any bank that overdraws its account. If SGBN had not been barred from the clearing floor it would not have had all the problems it had.

At any rate, SGBN has several shareholders, and it is a bit odd for people to talk as if its problems and solutions are their personal responsibility. No distressed bank in the country has worked harder than SGBN to revive its operations - not Savannah Bank, Triumph Bank, Fortune Bank, or any host of others. SGBN merely fell foul of the politics of the day - and that is not the first time we will see that in Nigeria.

Nigerians, it is high time we start judging people on their own merit in their own right. When Dr. Bukola Saraki became governor of Kwara State, a lot of people felt he would fail at governing the state. Instead he steadily racked up achievement after achievement. Many of his detractors give the impression that they are not interested in merit, and that they would prefer any nonentity as long as his name is not Saraki. Please let's separate issues - Dr. Bukola Saraki is in the first tier of governors in the country, and the counsel he has given is solid. Young people - participate in the political process.

It is actually news to me that Dr. Bukola Saraki is undecided about his ethnicity. I like going with facts. In 2009, Kwara State had a budget of 72 billion, while Lagos state had a budget of 405 billion naira. In 2009 apart from ongoing projects in Kwara, Shonga Dairy Factory, Kwara State University, Ganmo Power Substation, CHIS to name some were completed or expanded. Many of these projects have been consistent with his strategy of private-public partnership and sustainable economic development.

Whatever one's feelings about the man, he has demonstrated leadership ability, and focus. I think if you have to disagree with the man, it will have to be on his economic strategy, but not on his commitment, or leadership ability.