Abdication of President Jonathan

Again, could this simply be a confirmation of the position that some of us have held since before the charade that brought this government to power that the PDP’s flagbearer is just incapable and cannot be trusted with the fate of the over 140 million Nigerians? Ambassador John Campbell certainly was just a diplomat in […]

Again, could this simply be a confirmation of the position that some of us have held since before the charade that brought this government to power that the PDP’s flagbearer is just incapable and cannot be trusted with the fate of the over 140 million Nigerians?

Ambassador John Campbell certainly was just a diplomat in Nigeria who played the role of a diplomat with reasonable study of the Nigeria’s political as well as social and economic terrains and characters of the nation. A few years ago, he released his work and predicted that Nigeria was on a time bomb and President Jonathan may as well be the last President of a united Nigeria. Rather than pay attention to the issues, the government resorted to campaign of abuses and insults. They made no effort to decipher and possibly underscore the fundamental issues that led to the conclusions and possibly see reason and attempt to build mechanisms from there on.

Instead, name calling, castigations and similar attitudes greeted what to me was a simple exposition of a survey that needed to be treated and seen as a landmark data to help the government and people strive to resolve serious national calamity about to happen. Now, the prophecy seems to be coming to pass and the government is busy chasing shadows.

I share the sentiments expressed by the Archbishop of Sokoto, Mathew Hassan Kukah who said that Nigeria was fast running out of time. By implication, the nation is likely to collapse anytime soon. What for God sake is the difference between what Kukah said with that of Ambassador Campbell?

I am of the view that the reality that faces Nigeria is so glaring that concerted action need to be taken outside of sentimentalizing complicated matters. The government must face and address this problem of insecurity with the urgency and precision it deserves if we are to see a tomorrow that would not be more horrifying than the tragedy we see today.

The crux of this piece is an exposition to the glaring lack of concern which President Jonathan has shown by jetting out to Brazil in the heat of violence in Kaduna and Yobe states, leading to destruction of life and property.

Kaduna is the third most populous state in Nigeria. It was engulfed in crises of unimaginable proportion. Yobe State capital, Damaturu, was facing gunfire between Jonathan’s forces and armed men; yet the president jetted out of the country to attend to what in my view is secondary diplomatic issue.

When in 1981 then President Shehu Shagaroi jetted out of Lagos to attend an international organization obligation, the entire press from the Lagos and Ibadan axis rose in flames calling him names and all sorts of things. It is an irony that when President Jonathan left the country in the heat of the crises in Kaduna and Damaturu, few papers raised eye brow on such insensitivity.

The implication is that such brazen neglect is a serious diplomatic and political minus on the part of the president and his government. Of course I remember clearly the other time the president was in Seoul, South Korea when he was asked about insecurity in relation to foreign investment. The position of the president was that the insecurity is just in a section of the county.

I guess President Jonathan is armed with similar answer. This is embarrassing and a serious minus on the quality of government that is run in Nigeria. Again it is not surprising because most Nigerians feel the reality of this government. Apart from the acute shortage of the good things of life, Nigerians are facing the worst security challenges since 1914.

This fact was since corroborated by the president himself who said the challenges the nation is facing today are worst than those preceding the Nigerian civil war. Nigerians indeed are in greater trouble of all times.

In my view the president’s visit to Brazil as desirable as it might be is clearly an abdication of responsibility or put another way a confirmation of the widely held belief that government is unconcerned about the protracted crisis in Northern Nigeria. If this understanding is right then it goes further to corroborate another view that the government is covertly or overtly interested in the perpetuation of the crisis for its political objectives.

I am worried for Nigeria. Things are fast falling apart and I, like several other citizens, have since warned that the seeming I-don’t-care attitude of the government to this insurrection in parts of Northern Nigeria is dangerous to the entire nation.

I recall some discussions held with the Deputy Governor of Borno State who complained that when the problem started in Maiduguri, the rest of the North looked the other way believing that it was a state specific issue. Now, it is a Northern Nigerian phenomenon and those Nigerians in the south of the country are looking at it as a Northern specific problem and giving it less attention. What happens if it generates across the Niger and Benue?

This insurrection is a national issue and must be addressed sincerely by all Nigerians. The roots of the issue must be unravelled if it is to be attacked dispassionately and once and for all.

Clearly that the current security strategies have failed woefully. What is important is that more functional, people-oriented strategy must be put in place with enhanced social policy to curb the crises now and eliminate it in the future.

Those of us who are critical of this government are not because the president is either Ijaw or a Southerner or of any particular faith. The crises in Kaduna and Damaturu affected Christians and Muslims, Northerners and Southerners but the leader opted to jet out of the area. In English language, this is called ABDICATION.