Why Jonathan Must Return To Otuoke In 2015

I have been around for close to thirty years and except probably during the Civil war, and according to history that I have read and stories I heard, I do not think Nigeria has ever had it this bad, coming from an incurable optimist that I am, this is in fact depressing, Bomb blasts that used to sound so foreign to us as something that only happens in Iraq, Afghanistan has now become almost a daily occurrence so much so, our dailies do not even consider worthy to be their screaming headlines anymore, Corrupt Persons have become bolder in their debauchery that it seems there is a silent competition to see who or what organisation can loot and plunder the most, security agencies saddled with the responsibility of protecting Nigerians appear to have become an armed political wing of the Ruling Party, Nigeria has become akin to a ship sailing directionless with a drunken Captain, rudderless and in a fiery storm. How there are ordinary Nigerians that support this administration beats me hollow, apart from Career Politicians, those that can be seen as government contractors, those that have benefitted and continue to get their daily bread from this administration, Big businessmen that policies of the government favour their businesses, on the other hand we have those who support this administration just because Mr President is their own, from the Niger Delta area that has long suffered government neglect, never mind the fact that, that the lives of the people hasn’t improved in any significant way, poverty is still rife, except some ex militants that have now become Multi Billionaires due to government patronage, environmental degradation hasn’t ceased either and so to them , it is a good thing that their son is President and he must complete his term, this is just one of the mind-set of our people who to me are a big part of the problems bedevilling this country, all sorts of the ridiculous excuses are bandied about on why the President is not performing but that those against him are making him look bad, then they point to his achievement in revitalizing the railways, rebasing the economy and that we are Africa’s largest economy and refer to the figures the likes of Mrs Okonjo - Iweala dishes out almost on a weekly basis about how millions of jobs has been created and millions more to be created due to some phantom government policies …These lies are so bold and in your face so much one begins to wonder if these government officials actually live in this same Nigeria or an alternate one, because the reality on ground is a stark contrast to the picture they have become really good artist at. To be fair to Mr Jonathan, the problems of this country precedes his Presidency, but the question is what has he done to stem the tides of maladministration, and has he done his best, maybe but it is obvious his best is not just good enough, He does not possess the capabilities to govern a complex country like Nigeria, he has shown over and over again that he has not the clout, political sagacity and maturity to deal with diverse interests, and issues a president of a country like Nigeria needs to do well with the lives of 170 million people, he with his style of leadership has further widened the divide of Nigerians along ethno religious lines more than any other leader in the history of this nation, missing funds, missing ships laden with oil, missing planes are some of the absurdities that has now become commonplace. The insurgency in the north is getting worse, part of the country are already being annexed by terrorists, insecurity in other parts of the country is not in any way abating, the Presidency has put the blame on every other imaginable entity but itself, at one time, it was the opposition party at one point, at another time, it was some northern oligarchs unhappy that president is from the south, then to the more absurd of somehow blaming foreign powers, like the non-cooperation of the Chadian government or the US refusing to sell arms to Nigeria, excuses no matter how ridiculous never seem to cease from the likes of Okupe and Mr Abati. if as the president, all you can do is to offer excuses on why we are in such a sorry state, the honourable thing to do would be to resign, but then again this is Nigeria, nobody does that, after all Mr Abba Morro is still minister of interior, months after conducting a sham, scamming thousands of unemployed graduates in a recruitment exercise where dozens lost their lives!
What his supporters would not highlight is how down right insulting it is that a Presidency that has told us now that we would have to tighten our belts due to falling oil prices continue to maintain a pricey number of ten Jets in its Presidential Fleet, for comparison, The USA has just two, Russia has three and the UK government has non, The Queen and Prime minister routinely charters British Airways on their travels, The Petroleum Minister, Mrs Allison - Maduekwe chartered two private jets for her travels and spent 10 billion naira doing so, she is still in her post, A civil servant embezzled billions of Pensioners funds, nothing has been heard on that case and I am not holding my breath, Like Mr Amaechi of Rivers said recently. President Jonathan supervises a corrupt government, under this administration, the fight against corruption has gone to sleep, in his (President Jonathan) own words, corruption does not deserve all the energy we exert on it, after all stealing is not corruption…surely, only the enemies of the Nigerian people would want this incompetent and morally bankrupt administration to continue for another four years, His disdain for the rule of law and constituted authorities is akin to what one would expect from a junta, is it his war against the media, seizing newspaper on some silly premise of looking for explosives used by terrorist, or the turning on its head simple mathematics, where 16 is greater than 19, 7 is greater than 19 and all sort of illegalities that has the imprint of the presidency written all over it, he condones because of his silence and tactic approval of all sort of shenanigans under his administration, and now that he has recruited an obviously biased Inspector General in person of a certain Mr Abba, we can only hope that we do not fall over the edge that we are dangling dangerously at , Mr Abba is already showing on whose side he is, not minding that he serves (or is supposed to) the Nigerian People and not the President. He has labelled opposition lawmakers and governors as thugs, he has made himself the prosecutor and Judge in the case of the status of the speaker, house of representatives and to make sure he earns his pay check judiciously, he has denigrated the hallowed chambers, a symbol of the sovereignty of the Nigerian people by invading in some archaic commando style the national assembly and preventing law makers from legislating on an issue brought to them by the by the president, Surely some major actors in Nigeria political scene should be subjected to some sort of Psychiatric evaluation…All these and many more could not have occurred without the knowledge of Mr Jonathan, except of course he is not in charge and admitting that would not shock anyone. Even though there are stories about impeachment proceedings against him which has been long overdue in my opinion, impeaching him at this time may lead to further crisis considering our albatross of ethnic and religious sentiments, I would prefer we just let him finish up his term and reject in its entirety, the PDP and whatever it had stood for in the past 16 years of our democracy come February 2015, so that Nigeria may know peace, development and Prosperity, surely we can manage till then, we have been at it for a longer time.
In Conclusion, I would like to quote this text from a Punch contributor on their online forum that summarises how President Jonathan has lost a lot of goodwill he enjoyed prior to the 2011 elections.
“In 2011, I voted for GEJ, because he is a good man, and his grass to grace story was an inspiration to me. But with him, I've realised that good and humble men, don't always make good leaders.
Sir, under six years of your leadership, I've witnessed a steady rise in insecurity, and impunity. Your public defence of corruption, on national TV remains a 'presidential disgrace'. Religion and ethnic diversity which used to be a source of national pride and unity has suddenly become divisive tool, which your party and administration have continued to rely on for political expediency. Petrol pump price rose to 141 naira, and it took our struggle (and some deaths) to become N97. The naira continues to decline against the dollar, Okada/Keke driving is the nearest thing to employment for our numerous graduates. Yes, you “built” new universities but with the old universities requiring several months of ASUU strike to get the desired attention, besides what's the essence of churning out several more jobless graduates? Ex-militants like Dokubo, have suddenly become presidential defenders, threatening fire & brimstone, at every perceived provocation. All our public institutions are in complete state of comatose - EFCC, ICPC, NAFDAC! This country has never had it so bad, up until now!”
Mr Jonathan may in fact be a good man, or at worst a really simple man trying his best to put things right in the best way he can, but almost six years of his presidency has shown that he is just not capable to govern this country, I dare say that he is not fit to spend a day more after May 29 2015 in the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, because as President, He is a Failure. and to borrow Uncle Tunde Fagbenle closing remarks, this is saying it as it is.