‘I will never, never let you down’

Let’s start with the economy. The Nigerian economy, following rebasing is now said to be the largest on the continent. But the down side is that it has refused to create jobs, with the employment rate put at 24%. This economy also has 70% of the population living below the poverty line and is still […]

Let’s start with the economy. The Nigerian economy, following rebasing is now said to be the largest on the continent. But the down side is that it has refused to create jobs, with the employment rate put at 24%. This economy also has 70% of the population living below the poverty line and is still heavily dependent on crude oil exports. Remember President Jonathan promised to establish the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to assist in “institutionalizing savings of our commodity-related revenues” in order to “avoid the boom and bust cycles, and mitigate our exposure to oil price volatility.” Here we are, not in a boom but another bust, all because the creation of NSIA was an end in itself.
The President also said, on May 29, 2011, that “I will continue to fight for improved medical care for all our citizens.” You ask, what has changed? You can only imagine the hopelessness of our citizens who go to public hospitals; unless you require a doctor’s attention or visit someone in one of these hospitals, you’ll not appreciate the lack of care in them. But the President’s speech writers inserted this blank pledge.
“I will continue to fight for all citizens to have access to first class education.” Where is the first class education? The last strike by university lecturers lasted six months, how can you achieve first class education in such a situation? Let’s face it; you couldn’t have had first class education with unimaginative persons like Nyesom Wike as minister of education. First class education must necessarily be founded on sound primary education consolidated upon in secondary schools and universities and supervised by committed, patriotic and sincere people and not cronies scrambling for food because they have been invited to “come and chop.” The National Library of Nigeria (NLN) was established in 1964 and as at today doesn’t have a befitting national headquarters, yet the Peoples Democratic Party formed in 1999 has built itself a magnificent home in Central Business District, Abuja. The building is sandwiched between First Bank (Coomasie House) and the NICON Insurance Building on (wait for it) Muhammadu Buhari Way. It’s doubly ironic; the NLN founded decades ago has no permanent home (in a country yearning for first class education) but the ruling party has already got its headquarters. Dr Jonathan, first class education is not achieved by intent; it is brought about purposefully by hard work and deliberate planning.
“I will continue to fight for electricity to be available to all our citizens.” It’s a shame; the president has failed to provide electricity even for himself in Aso Villa where power is supplied, not by NEPA or PHCN, but by giant generators. A couple of years ago, President Jonathan told the global news channel CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour that he was surprised that Nigerians were complaining of scarcity of electricity, an area where he claimed his government had done well. There is nothing more to add to the fact that electricity shortage has worsened and that God alone can punish the criminalities committed in that sector!
The president equally made a loud commitment on transport. He said then: “I will continue to fight for an efficient and affordable public transport system for all our people.” Well, a drive on so called Lagos-Ibadan expressway this past Sunday demonstrated that we are far from efficient transport. The road is being reconstructed alright but the diversions are dangerous and the contractors have fled the site. If this government had completed the Kano-Maiduguri Road, the East-West Road and others, road transport would have improved. Forget about the so called railway rehabilitation; it’s a fraud. A railway system built a century ago cannot be rehabilitated. We have gone past the era of 100-year old rail as a reliable and effective means of transport. We must move on with time and like other countries e.g. India, Pakistan, etc, launch a modern railway system to move people and goods around.
“I will continue to fight for jobs to be created through productive partnership has become a loose talk. This economy hasn’t created jobs; our people are willing to work but there are no opportunities. That is why the claim that this government has created 1.5 million jobs yearly is a hoax. We are unable to locate those given these jobs. If you recall that the presidential pledge to employ people affected by the Nigerian Immigration Service employment scam tragedy was fulfilled only a few weeks ago, then you would know Jonathan’s 1.5m jobs a year is a provocative phantom.
It’s impossible to say today that Jonathan has improved the quality of our economy or brought its benefits to a significant size of Nigerians. What we have is a big for nothing economy that caters to the greed of a few billionaire citizens but never to the basic requirements of the masses.
Nigeria’s 14th President has disappointed the country’s citizens in many ways. Despite claiming a PhD, Jonathan’s performance in Aso Villa and indeed everywhere he has served, has been mediocre. In retrospect, the 2011 inaugural address has been an empty rhetoric and even for the shoeless son of a fisherman or canoe-maker; his is a failed Presidency.
Let me leave you with one of Jonathan’s loudest pledges of 2011 so you can contemplate:
“Fellow citizens, in every decision, I shall always place the common good before all else. The bane of corruption shall be met by the overwhelming force of our collective determination, to rid our nation of this scourge. The fight against corruption is a war in which we must all enlist, so that the limited resources of this nation will be used for the growth of our common wealth.”