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Written by:
Paul thomas
Ireland

Jonathan, Goodluck beyond 2011.

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent; but it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Albert Einstein.

God interjected the course of human affairs when on two occasions He allowed Good- luck Jonathan a taste of sweetness without labour, prominence without premonition and victory without battles. In Christian parlance Jonathan’s meteoric rise to apogee would have been appropriately called a miracle. For miracles are defined as God’s divine intervention in the normal course of human pursuit. His ascent as governor from deputy and his current acting position as the president of the country with the largest black population in the world, from an unrecognised vice president, could not have been anything but providence choosing to be magnanimous and gracious to a man of tacit mien.

Jonathan must therefore realise that his occupation of the highest office in the land was neither the concoction of human orchestration nor the expertise of political pundits but the machination and involvement from a higher dimensional realm. Jonathan therefore not only owes the Nigerian populace good governance built on the fundaments of democratic concepts; but he also must not fail God for entrusting him with such gargantuan privilege.

Having established the reality of Jonathan’s ascension to prominence via the foregoing; I think it is only reasonable for us to make attempt to also establish certain facts that the majority of Nigerians anticipate to evolve before Jonathan’s term expires and the notion of a re-election begins to echo. Jonathan, will have no moral or political justification whatsoever to venture beyond 2011, if the current state of national anomaly persist beyond 2011. Jonathan’s political relevance will only become meaningful if he truly understands what his part is in the shaping and moulding process of Nigeria before the next elections.

Some Nigerians have seen the emergence of the president from obscurity as a means of God giving Nigeria one more chance at making tangible contributions towards nation building. It therefore behoves Mr President to arise and take charge of the near comatose state of the country by providing formidable and visionary leadership through a process of galvanisation and convergence of the divergent components within the polity. The present administration has more than a year to put together reasonable and progressive policies and plans that will kick-start the somnolent state of the entire Nigerian state. It is a well known fact that the country currently wallows in unbearable misery and agony. Her human and social capital development is non-existent. If our development in human and social capital continues to dwindle at the current rate; within the next five years the Nigerian state will be completely dependent on the outsourcing of personnel from neighbouring Ghana. No nation de
velops beyond the capacity of her people.

Skills acquisition and educational development must be the prerogative of this administration if Nigeria is to see a shift in her developmental process. Mr Jonathan must endeavour to focus his attention on providing qualitative and affordable educational facilities for the numerous Nigerians who are eager and desperate to learn. The current state of our schools is an indictment on past and current leaders. Most of the public and private schools are not fit for poultry or pig sty; yet millions of Nigerians are forced to learn in such bestial conditions. No wonder the failure rate in exams are abysmal. The students can only function within the resources provided for them; the mass failure of the students is therefore a direct reflection of failed leadership. Education must remain paramount if Nigeria is to make any meaningful advancement in all ramifications.

Nigerians also expect to see drastic improvement in the power sector; one of the gravest signs of under development and devastation is the non-availability of electricity to power industries, factories, offices and homes. This is the surest process to anarchy and destruction. We live in a modern world where 98% of human activity is centred on the use of electricity. There is virtually no economy in the whole world that can survive without the steady and continuous supply of electricity. All of human activities are directly or indirectly linked to electrical supply. Mr Jonathan must ensure that the power sector is closely monitored and functional. The current dysfunctional state of the economy is a direct result of the current appalling state of the power sector.

The incessant embezzlement of funds intended for the power sector by both current and past leaders is the reason electricity supply in Nigeria is dead. No meaningful progress can be made until the hegemony responsible for the collapse of the power sector is taken out of the way. The abysmal excuses by thieving contractors in collusion with criminals in government should no longer be tenable. Obasanjo’s purported claim of spending more than eight billion dollars on the power sector during the emperor’s rule and no negligible difference was made to the power sector is the more reason the entire Obasanjo government should be at Hague facing criminal charges for crimes against humanity.

The consequence of failed power projects has seen many companies relocating to other less wealthy clime but with serious minded leadership. The effects of this movement by companies are too numerous to over look the relevance of electricity supply to the continued existence of a state. The sardonic state of the power sector will gradually grind Nigeria to a halt if this insanity of leadership continues. If Mr. President is to be relevant beyond 2011, he must as a matter of urgency revamp the power sector. If after one year electricity supply still remains in the realm of uncertainty; then justification beyond 2011 will not be a reasonable request.

All the promises made to the international audience during the president’s visit to America must be backed up with action. The international audience will continue to hound Nigeria with the promises made about power supply, electoral reforms, corruption, etc.

The last point regarding this piece but by no means the last of the many woes befallen Nigeria; is that of corruption. No nation can ever attain relevance if corruption is as endemic as it is in Nigeria. The Nigerian leader is a thief through and through. The knack for corruption among Nigerian leaders has attained the realm of madness. Every single facet of the Nigerian sector is corrupt. The entire nation reeks of corruption. I do not know if Mr. Jonathan can effectively fight corruption without being a hypocrite, because he is part and parcel of the Nigerian leadership. I am certain his wealth cannot be accounted for without hiccups. It therefore might be a bit too ambitious for Nigerians to take Jonathan very seriously in curbing corruption. It is on record that his wife was caught twice by Ribadu’s EFCC, siphoning money out of the country. Or how else can the presidency explain Ibori’s Houdini disappearing act after all the hullaballoo of emptying the barracks of soldier
s inorder to apprehend him.

Jonathan’s cabinet is full of people of questionable character, men and women whose consciences have been sold to the god of mammon. In Nigeria your call to high office is not a call to serve in honour but to steal with dignity, legally and constitutionally. The victimisation and selective antagonising of perceived enemies by EFCC and ICPC is ludicrous to say the least.The Fight against corruption must be holistic and objective. Mr Jonathan must endeavour to create a system where the culture of impunity and recklessness of power is checked. The Nigerian treasury is bleeding profusely because the people that gained access to leadership entered by chicanery and for cupidity.

Leadership requires courage, for Nigeria therefore to move from the state of noctambulism to a progressive and productive state Mr. Jonathan will require double courage. Leadership pusillanimity has no place in Nigeria’s treacherous political terrain; because of the ubiquity of political scavengers that parade our entity. His relevance beyond 2011 will require him to make delivery of some of the promises he boldly declared to the world. In the absence of Mr. Jonathan coming through with his promises Nigerians will have no choice but to leave Mr. Jonathan alone to paddle his canoe in the shark infested waters of political camarillas; to this even God will not be angry.

Shalom.


Paul Thomas
Ireland

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