Tuesday Column by Ahmed I. Shekarau
The just concluded World Economic Forum
for Africa (WEFA) in Abuja offered President Goodluck Jonathan a great
opportunity to put up a profound showing of himself as someone
determined to provide the exemplary leadership required to dramatically
alter the course of his drifting ship. The president, besides raising
the hopes of the mostly foreign participants at the WEFA for an early
rescue of the missing Chibok schoolgirls, also appeared to have
partially cleared the thick pall of hopelessness that has been cast over
his leadership. The niceties in his ‘schoolgirls abduction marks the
beginning of the end of Boko Haram’ speech, as well as the finesse in
his concluding remarks at the WEFA closing ceremony, appear to have
opened a window for a sort of PR rebound for him. But that was not
before he and the government were besmirched.
The most resounding jibes came from the
international community. The Economist, the New York Times and Hilary
Clinton led the pack. But even locally, some home-truths have been laid
bare on the Jonathan administration’s clumsy handling of state matters
since he took over from his deceased boss, Umaru Musa Yar’adua. Three
key words summarized the latest global public outrage against the
government and its head: incompetent, corrupt, inept.
Undoubtedly, the initial indiscretion,
and the ultimate dawdling and politicization of the Chibok abduction
saga by no less an institution than the highest office in the land did
not only confirm the long held notion about the administration’s
incompetence, but even made a huge mess of the country and its people
globally. And the only plausible cause of this sordid drift of Nigeria
is the nondescript process of choosing its leaders. This is an
‘exceptional country’ where a small clique of clowns has for decades
determined who leads, mainly through fiat. And this hasn’t changed even
with the current ‘democratic’ experiment. For all they care in the
leadership selection process is which person will be beholden to them.
Thus, a key credential for one to emerge as leader at any stratum of
leadership is some streak of luck, tied to one’s ‘loyalty’, period! It
does not matter if the chosen candidate lacks the competence, capacity
and character required to lead. More so, it doesn’t matter if he/she is
one that would rock the boat.
At the peak of the 2011 presidential
campaign, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar sounded this note of
warning. He said in an explosive speech during the Peoples Democratic
Party’s presidential primary election on January 14, 2011, at the Eagle
Square in Abuja: “You cannot entrust the fate of millions of Nigerians
in the hands of someone who fumbles at every opportunity. Obviously, you
can become a president by accident or good fortune. But you do not
govern a country by accident or luck. Governing a country requires a
plan and its courageous execution. It requires the capacity and
willingness to assemble the best and brightest people to help you get
things done. The last eight months have clearly demonstrated that he
(Jonathan) does not have what it takes to lead this country. It is time
for us to move beyond this luck thing. It is time for serious people to
take over the affairs of this country. The world is changing and we must
change with it”.
Of course, Atiku was swiftly ignored as
an irritant. The small clique of fixers, which has always determined the
fate of millions of this country’s citizens, dismissed his warning as
the ranting of a desperate man who had seen clear signs of defeat at the
primary election. And now here we are, reaping enough of what luck had
in store for us. Is it surprising, therefore, that the international
community has now come to terms with the reality of those words
carefully selected by Atiku in 2011? It is indeed no surprise to
millions of citizens that with every atrocious Boko Haram attack,
Jonathan blames everyone else but his government. For me, Atiku has
contributed significantly over the years to the effort to get this
country out of its present predicament, even if he was one of those who
created the problem in the first place. The question, therefore, is
where are those prominent figures that actually took the whole country
down this miserable road? It’s all too clear; they are now burying their
heads in shame.
And this brings me to the pertinent
issues that the present generation of young Nigerians must address. We
must resist current attempts to rev up ethnic, religious, tribal and
regional sentiments by some power mongers in our midst. We must insist
that Goodluck Jonathan deliver on our expectations, and those of other
citizens – i.e. good governance. Anything short of that should be
rejected. In other climes, this president would have resigned long ago,
if not for his colossal failure to contain Boko Haram, for the clumsy
handling of the Chibok abductions by his government. But he won’t
because this is Nigeria. We must, however, stop this culture of impunity
in our country. We must put much more pressure on this government to
bring back our girls. We must resist current efforts to trivialize
serious national issues, and divide the country, especially the youth,
along clannish lines. It is time to stop the appalling parochial descend
of some hangers-on around those in power, who occasionally heckle
constructive critics of President Jonathan’s glaring ineptitude. We must
also resist the myopic “na-our-turn” symphonists.
The president needs to be reminded that
while the US and its western allies help the nation to find the abducted
schoolgirls and stop the ceaseless Boko Haram attacks on hapless
citizens, Nigerians expect his government to do much more to end the
insurgency. The government must show greater commitment to job creation
by stopping the huge scam called Subsidy Reinvestment and Employment
Programme (SURE-P) and rechanneling the billions into a worthwhile
venture. More so, the National Identity Card is one of the basics in
trying to ensure a crime-free society. But as simple as executing such a
project appears, we are still agonizing over it. Indeed, if the feelers
from across the country are anything to go by, the N30 billion approved
by the Jonathan administration in 2012 for the execution of this
all-important project will go the way of the billions stolen in the
past. President Jonathan must wake up to these realities if he truly
desires a second (or is it third) term in office.
REF http://www.peoplesdailyng.com/no-its-not-about-luck/
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