Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSSR is a Catholic priest and he wrote from Baton Rouge, LA, USA . ARE THESE NOTE REAL FACTS? The suffering of the working class he described is true. The plight of ordinary Nigerians he pointed out in his sermon is true and verifiable. His description of the performance of President Jonathan is accurate. The joblessness of the Nigerian youth he talked about is right on point. Apart from other satirical comments he made, every other thing Fr. Mbaka said about the performance of President Goodluck Jonathan since he was elected in office is true. It is true that the president has failed to effectively tackle the noticeable problems of corruption. In fact, during his media chat in 2014, he shocked the entire world when he said that the looting of the nation’s wealth is not corruption but stealing. It is true that the government of Jonathan has not made any serious dent on unemployment. It is true that sectarian insurgency has continued unabated. It is true that some churches in the Northeast, including Catholic Churches have been shut down due insecurity. According to Fr. Mbaka, “In the year 2014, we have a lot of bloodshed in this country. People were dying like rats without anybody asking about them. This country suffered a lot of blood experience.” Those comments are true and verifiable. Several months after our girls were kidnapped from their hostels, President Jonathan is yet to visit their community. Any American president who demonstrates such lack of empathy will be finished politically. It is also true that the Nigeria’s decaying infrastructures are not being repaired and updated. It is true that the construction of the second Niger Bridge has not even started. The old one is weak and is being overused. One wonders if the government is waiting until it collapses and kills scores of people before something can be done about it. But as the presidential campaign gathers momentum, Jonathan would go to the Southeast and rehash the same old and tired promises he made four years ago. Instead of attacking the messenger, people should examine the core of the message. Truth be told, this president has failed the nation. His policies are not working. The looting of the Nigerian wealth has hit and shot off the roof. It is so bad that some are already speculating that the corruption happening under him makes that of IBB and Obasanjo a tip of the iceberg. The president may be a good man (some people, including Fr. Mbaka, have suggested that), but the issue here is that after six years in office, he has not been able to change the trajectory of the country. The nation is still heading to a disastrous wrong direction. Election is next month (February 14, 2015). Fr. Mbaka has warned that “the continuity of Jonathan means disaster’ to Nigeria.” Four years ago when he was campaigning, I predicted that if he got elected, Nigerians would regret it. Today, I have been vindicated. If the Nigerian voters are like the American voters, then, Jonathan would have no viable path to being re-elected. But in Nigeria, our people play by a different set of rules. A candidate is hardly voted for based on competence or achievement; and most Nigerian people would still line up to vote for a failed leader, irrespective of their own economic woes and that of others. Voting is done largely on ethnic and religious lines. Jonathan may be reelected. Fr. Mbaka did not say he would not. He never prophesied that Jonathan would lose. So, for haters and rumor-mongers who would be first to accuse Fr. Mbaka of false and fake prophecy, the priest of God did not say that Jonathan was certainly going to lose. He only said that if Jonathan was re-elected, many are going to lose their jobs, and those complaining of hunger now would see the real hunger. Those are predictions based on observable conditions. Fr. Mbaka did not tell us that God had told him or shown him in a vision that Jonathan would lose. Rather, he has called on Nigerians to stand up and embrace change. That change according to him means, voting Jonathan out, so that, his office, another can take. Nigerians, elections have consequences! If you like the current state of Nigeria, then vote for the incumbent president. If the infrastructural decay across the country makes you happy, vote for Jonathan. If the pitiable state of the Nigerian roads gladdens your heart, then re-elect the president. If the near worthlessness of the Naira is good for your business, cast your vote for Jonathan. If you are happy that after several months, the over 200 school girls kidnapped from their hostel are yet to be rescued, then stand in line and re-elect Jonathan. If you believe with Mr. Jonathan Goodluck that the looting of the nation’s wealth is not corruption but stealing, then vote to return him to office. If it pleases you that several smaller African countries with less natural and human resources experience uninterrupted power supply, meanwhile, Nigeria, the so called “Giant of Africa” is yet to enjoy one day of steady supply of electricity nationwide, vote for Jonathan Goodluck. If the high cost of living in Nigeria, high cost of doing business, high cost of building your own house etc. does not bother you one bit, then vote for the incumbent president. If the constant threat to human life and property posed by the activities of Boko Haram and kidnappers does not perturb you, vote for Jonathan. If you are generally pleased with the ruling party, PDP (Peoples Democratic Party), then vote for their presidential candidate. If you are frustrated and jobless, and you are pleased with your condition, vote for the incumbent president. During his recent campaign in Lagos, Mr. Goodluck said, “We have plans for employment generation…I have set up two bodies headed by the Vice President made up of people in government and the private sector. We call them Presidential Job Creation Board and Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Council, working very hard to ensure that every year, two million jobs are created.” Folks, this president has been in office for six years, and after those years, it is just now that he is putting together a plan to create jobs for Nigerians. Where has he been for six years? Nigerians, when Mr. Jonathan was asked why he has not declared his assets, his response was, “I don’t give a damn.” May be, he does not give a damn about you and your welfare. Come February 14, 2015, the choice will be yours. Like I said before, elections have consequences. If President Goodluck Jonathan is re-elected, then you deserve whatever leadership he provides.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 21:03:59 +0000
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