WHY I SUPPORT GEJ 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 Presidents attending schools in Nigeria. He signed the FOI bill which allows all of us to have access to information unlike before. He doesnt carry himself with any air around him and is so patient. He does not lose his temper unlike Obasanjo and we now call this his weakness. Unassuming, everyone that comes across him goes away with the belief that hes a very sincere man. He has conducted elections generally certified as free and fair- even at the risk of his own party losing the elections. This was unheard of just a few years ago during the Obasanjo years. He has deepened our democracy by his actions to the point that the opposition can even dream of winning the centre for the first time. One of the first steps he took was to shrug off his godfather, Olusegun Obasanjo. It takes a man of courage to take that bold step and unshackle himself from the straps of any demi-god. He refused to drop Namadi Sambo for Lamido based on Babas instruction. That is the reason for all the attacks coming from the Watcher. For the first time, Baba is frustrated and very well so. It is well known that if Baba wont have his way, he would rather engage in roforofo fight. So we call him all manner of names- from clueless to incompetent. Am I completely satisfied with the performance of Goodluck Jonathan? Absolutely not! There are areas he could have done better. Such as visiting the Chibok school. Though I dont have the benefit of security reports but I think it was a great error not visiting the school. I also think he could do better by calling Edwin Clark and his kinsmen to order over their sometimes rabid comments. Though I doubt if someone like Asari Dokubo is not far gone in his ways given that he spoke in similar manner when Obasanjo was the President, I believe it would have been on record if attempts were made to openly caution him or dissociate from him. He could have also done without the embarrassments from interventions by his wife, Patience Jonathan. The Nigeria Governors Forum issue was also a chink in his armour. I am not one to shout about anti-corruption because I believe in the bottom-up approach. Fighting corruption is everyones job- right from the church to the home unit. I believe fighting corruption should start from instilling the right value systems and getting a new orientation. I believe the followership make the leadership. I believe in building strong institutions and not building strong men. I dont believe any one person has a magic wand to solving our problems. The challenges of this nation are deep and multifarious and is similar to trying to sweeten a very bitter concoction- not just a cube of sugar will do! Is Jonathan the best that we can have? Ive often heard many people say they can perform better than Jonathan. Yes, thats true. Spectators and commentators are usually better players than those on the actual field. They play better with their mouths. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat. Since there are two major players that we are saddled with, I will rather stick with Jonathan who in my opinion has made steady progress based on aforementioned. This is where I stand and I hope you respect my choice just like I respect yours. In conclusion, the Scriptures say the horse is prepared for the day of battle but the victory is the Lords. We can only do our best by canvassing for our candidates and exercising our rights to vote. The ultimate decision rests with Jehovah who appoints kings and removes them. In the words of Daniel Chapter 4 verse 17: This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. May Gods will be done in Nigeria!
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 07:40:57 +0000
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