Four years ago I was an avid supporter of General Muhammadu Buhari but now I wholeheartedly support the candidature of Goodluck Jonathan. I have written articles to explain why I no longer support General Buhari but I just realized I should also explain why I now endorse Jonathan. As a social commentator, critic, analyst and activist, I believe I owe my readers, admirers and followers a duty to explain the basis for my support. I have had people- well-meaning friends- ask me to watch the current of events and not go against the tide but I always follow the courage of my convictions as the test of courage comes when you are in the minority. I know leadership is not a popularity contest- it is always about doing the right thing. According to Mahatma Ghandi, In matters of conscience, the law of majority has no place. And for me this is a matter of conscience. As a player in the financial sector and a full time resident of Nigeria, I have seen the groundbreaking efforts made by the President to tackle the numerous issues which plague our polity. Just like a friend put it, the fact that you think Goodluck Jonathan doesnt look, talk or act presidential does not mean you should doubt what he has done or refuse to accept the good he has done. That is tantamount to cutting the nose to spite the face. A few years ago, I lost a very dear friend of mine to a ghastly motor accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. She was coming back from the Redemption Camp after the monthly meeting and her vehicle ran into another on-coming vehicle while trying to avoid a very big pothole. It was a very sad moment for me when I visited the widower who was my lecturer in the University and I saw the toddler she left behind. That same road that used to be the nightmare of motorists is now being turned into an amazing infrastructure at a frenetic speed. I am a frequent road-user and I can tell the difference on a good portion of what used to be a death trap. Others have told me about the Benin-Ore road and some other roads across the country. A few months ago, I took the train from Lagos to Ibadan for the first time in this country. While a few of my friends have derided it as locomotive in this time and age, no one can doubt the fact that goods are being transported via trains now. I took pictures of WAPCO LAFARGE and Dangote coaches as they hauled cement on the tracks. Do we know how much our roads have been spared from wear and tear and carnage associated with heavy trucks and trailers which hitherto transported these goods? The same derided trains carried APC delegates to the Presidential primaries in Lagos from Kano in December. The same trains also carry Osun State indigenes free of charge from Lagos to Osogbo every festive period. There is no denying the success of the intra-city trains which daily operates within Lagos and which according to some reports carry 5m people monthly. The PH-Enugu rail line was opened a few weeks ago and Abuja-Kaduna which is a 150km per hour rail line will be commissioned next month. I have personally visited farms supported by this government through various initiatives such as the CBN Agric Scheme and the Bank of Agriculture. I have heard of how fertilizer scam which was rampant a few years fizzled out under this government through the creation of some initiatives. The rate at which agriculture is being encouraged and developed is unprecedented in the annals of the nations history. I have personally visited factories set up in an arrangement with the Bank of Industry. One of them which just started operations and now manufactures a key raw material hitherto exported from an European country, will soon start exporting to Benin Republic and Cameroon. That company has hired 53 people. Many people did not know that the BOI has been in operations for about 30 years. I can see the SME sector gradually getting its groove back. I know people who have benefited from NEXIMs entertainment fund- the same fund that was accessed by the makers of the highly popular film Dr. Bello. The rapid expansion of cinemas across Nigeria is a direct result of this support. Ibadan alone has two large-screen cinemas, Abuja has at least two, Lagos has at least five, Uyo, Port-Harcourt and Kano have at least one each. This is the reason most Nollywood practitioners are supporting the President. A few months after the rollout of the automotive policy, I visited an auto assembly plant that was just established. I watched as 2 brand of vehicles were assembled. I saw the technicians work on the CKD (Completely Knocked Down) parts and pass them through the chassis line up to the final product. That same plant assembles the BRT buses in use in Lagos. I was informed that auto plant hired over 200 new staff as a result of that policy. Made-in-Nigeria cars are now being sold. This past year, I visited the creeks of the Niger Delta and saw local companies now benefitting from the Local Content Bill. Jobs that were previously outsourced to expatriates are now being handled by Nigerians. Major OICs are now forced to look for local technical partners by reason of the Bill. I know a textile factory that recalled workers that had been laid off after accessing the CTG (Cotton, Textile and Garment) Revival Fund managed by the BOI. I can only guess how many jobs were saved or created by those who accessed the fund. I know the new Universities created from scratch by this government - about nine as we speak. The new Universities have created employment and have been able to assist more people have access to education. Being a frequent flyer also, I have visited a few of our local airports. They look far better than before. Even if you think they could be better, there is no denying that progress has been made. A new wing is now being built at the MMIA where the car park used to be. The car park has been moved to a new site beside the Airport Chapel. This is apart from the extensive renovation of the existing structure. I know three people who have benefitted from the YOUWIN programme. One of them has a very viable shoe business (set up from YOUWIN proceeds) in the Mokola area of Ibadan where he employs a few people. The setting up of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company is one of his best kept secrets. It beats me hollow why not much noise is being made about this achievement. The World Bank has set apart $300m for this PPP arrangement which is to service the housing deficit in Nigeria. For the first 10,000 forms issued in November, about 66,000 applied. This means that people will soon have access to mortgages for between 10-20 years at single digit interest rates. Please just google it up. I can imagine the huge number of jobs that will be created from 10,000 mortgages to be created every quarter! He has successfully unbundled PHCN. This was something Obasanjo and Yaradua did unsuccessfully. He has privatized the power sector through a very successful bid process. Is the power sector now out of the doldrums? Not yet. There are still challenges such as distribution and sourcing for gas. New power plants have to be built. Financing this sector is not a monkey business and that gave rise to the Power Intervention Fund which power firms can access for facilities up to 10 years. In my opinion and in line with a social commentator Mark Amaza, the case of the power sector is akin to Jonathan pounding yam for another person to eat. It will take about 3 to 4 years for the investments to begin to show. Some call them baby steps but they are tiny steps that make a huge difference. Slowly but surely, a foundation that will last for a lifetime has been laid. On the issue of corruption, 48,861 names (ghost workers) were removed from the FGs payroll after the IPPIS (Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System) was deployed. This singular act saved N139b. No one has controverted this fact. After the exposure of the subsidy scam, it has been said that it is now easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for fuel importers to access subsidy payments. The number of fuel importers have been drastically reduced from about 120 in 2011 to about 39 presently. N671b has been saved from subsidy claims when you compare the payments in 2013 ( N1.3 trillion) to 2014 (N679b)- January to October. On the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, Nigeria was rated 136 in 2014- an improvement from 153 in 2006. Is this the best that can be done about corruption? Of course not! But theres a significant shift from the braggadocio of the Obasanjo years. Not many will forget how the EFCC pulled down the gates of the personal house of one of the major players in the telecoms sector, all because of the suspicion of business relationship with one of the opponents of that regime. How well has he performed on the issue of security, especially with the raging insurgency of Boko Haram? In my opinion, he dealt the fundamentalist sect a cruel blow when he reduced the number of bureau de change operators by increasing their capitalization. It is widely believed in security circles that BDCs fund terrorism and nipping it in the bud will go a long way to limiting the reach and impact of their actions. He also started the building of almajiri schools to cater for the education of the nomadic northerners. The only way to prevent the corruption of these young minds was through education. These are schools their respective state governors should have built. Most people dont understand the nature of insurgency and the fact that the army inherited by Jonathan had been crippled militarily by previous governments. I believe hes trying his best and if we all rally around him, we will conquer Boko Haram which is now the second largest terrorist group in the world- after ISIS. President Goodluck Jonathans children attend schools in Nigeria. Thats one of the things that attracted him to me. I dont remember the children of past Pre
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 21:52:59 +0000