President Jonathan could have made things easy on himself. Nigerians are the easiest lot to impress. A Nigerian leader does not even have to be effective; s/he only has to be seen to be effective. In Nigeria, being seen to be doing something or not doing something is more important than actually doing or not doing it. It is more important, for instance, for Nigerians to see that you are not comfortable around corruption and corrupt people--that youre not indifferent to corruption-- than for them to see that you are not personally corrupt. Along these lines, a few atmospheric (as opposed to substantive) gestures on Jonathans part would have stood him in a better position for reelection. If he had acted swiftly and decisively in the matter of Stella Oduahs corruption scandal; if he had not gone after the whistle blower, SLS, but had instead launched a transparent investigation of the unaccounted oil billions; if he had moved sooner against Boko Haram instead of seeing it as the work of his enemies or as his enemies fighting amongst themselves, thereby allowing the insurgency to metastasize into the national existential threat that it is today; if he had displayed a little sensitivity, even if contrived and pretentious, to the national outrage against corruption and held his tongue from saying I dont give a damn and stealing is not corruption; if he had paid more attention to major highway projects even if they are not completed; if he had been more decisive in punishing and shaming the oil subsidy and Pension Fund thieves; if Jonathan had done these simple but populist things, hed be in a much better shape politically. Instead, he took the electorate and his position for granted. He assumed, to boot, that a formidable opposition would not coalesce. He was so paranoid he thought every expression of disaffection and critique was a personal slight on him. This mindset has shaped his presidency, making him an epitome of the complacent and incompetent incumbencies that Nigerians have come to loathe. It could have all easily turned out differently for GEJ. None of the things I listed above is earth shattering. Nor do they have the capacity to substantially improve the economic, security, and social conditions and destinies of Nigerians. Yet, such elemental gestures of smart statecraft would have gone a long way in impressing Nigerians and in creating an image of a strong, engaged, empathetic, decisive, and incorrupt (or less corrupt) leader. Again, it doesnt take much to impress Nigerians, and GEJ could have easily impressed enough Nigerians to avoid having to fight for his political life.~ Professor Moses Ochonu
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 09:22:54 +0000
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