FACT FILE Like a friend of mine observed a few days ago, it is unfortunate that President Jonathans inefficient media team have allowed the opposition to define his record for him. The facts on the ground clearly show that he(GEJ) has done well, but the perception says otherwise. Here are some facts: 1. CORRUPTION: Jonathans government has successfully dealt with the fertilizer subsidy scam in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, which like the petroleum subsidy was a monumental fraud. Not even Obasanjo could succeed there despite his much talked about war against corruption. The result is increased yield from our farms and our food import bill has reduced by 50% in four years. Today no more police check points on our roads at every kilometre. People tend to only see corruption from looting public treasury but this was terrible corruption on our roads where motorists were hounded and shaken down by unscrupulous police officers after every one kilometre, leading also to loss of precious man hours on our roads. You may not have noticed, but it is easier to pass through our international airports today. Why? A number of the government agencies there have been asked to leave. He still has the petroleum subsidy scam to deal with. Truth be told, the only way out is to remove the subsidy, but as you and I know, that is not going to happen because of the very sensitive nature of the matter. And a host of other issues also have to be taken care of before this is implemented. 2 INFRASTRUCTURE: Obasanjo did only one airport and the nation hailed him. Go to many of our airports today and see the changes that have taken place under Jonathan. Today we have over 25,000 kilometres of motorable federal roads compared to 4,500 before 2011. And for the first time in 30 years our rail lines are back. 3: EDUCATION: Established nine universities and 150 Almajiri schools, something IBB, Buhari and Abdusalam could not do. 4. POLITICS: Under Jonathan, elections in this country have not been a do or die affair, apologies to Obasanjo. Opposition parties have won elections supervised by his administration and he was the first to congratulate the winners. Now we have PVCs and on election day we will have electronic card readers that will only accept genuine PVCs, all in a bid to have free, fair, and credible elections. 5. SECURITY: This is where his opponents are having a field day, and for good measure. But I dare say this is work in progress. People who talk glibly about this matter are, unfortunately, not well informed about the intractable nature of domestic terrorism. But that is a discussion for another day. I could still list more achievements but I dont want to make this too lengthy. My take is President Jonathan may not have scored 100% (who does?) but to declare his regime a failure is unfair, unjust, and ungodly. Of course his lack lustre mien has not helped matters. Nobody expects him to be an orator but I am yet to see a Phd holder who finds it so difficult to express himself. Nevertheless, on the basis of performance he deserves a pass mark. I would score him 60%. Yes, we could do with change but I honestly do not think Buhari represents the change that we are all yearning for. First of all, his track record as a former head of state is anything but inspiring. You assess people not just by what they say, or what they say they will do, but also what they do and have done. Buhari keeps saying he will stop corruption. How? I am yet to hear him articulate this. He says he will wipe out Boko Haram. How? I am yet to be told. Now his claim to integrity has taken a serious hit with the certificate scandal and the looming case of perjury. And I am surprised people are not asking Buhari questions about controversial statements he made not too long ago. Like telling Muslims in 2010 to only vote Muslims who will defend their faith. Like saying in 2001 he was for the full implementation of sharia in the entire country. Like saying fighting Boko Haram was a fight against the north. Even recently, Sule Lamido, Jigawa State governor, berated Buhari for playing the religious card when he is campaigning in the north, telling Muslims he will defend their faith. How come nobody is asking him questions on these very serious issues? As far as I know he has not publicly apologised for these statements. So we need to know whether he still holds to those views. It is only fair. It is well with Nigeria! Jackson Ekwugum
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 02:28:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015