Trading Blames in high Places – 11

President Goodluck Jonathan on his part wasted no time in defending himself. He told lawyers gathered at the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Abuja, almost simultaneously as General Muhammadu Buhari was taking him to task for paying lip service to tackling corruption and insecurity that he was the ‘’most criticized president in the world’’, […]

President Goodluck Jonathan on his part wasted no time in defending himself. He told lawyers gathered at the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Conference in Abuja, almost simultaneously as General Muhammadu Buhari was taking him to task for paying lip service to tackling corruption and insecurity that he was the ‘’most criticized president in the world’’, adding that before his tenure ends however he would be the “most praised president”, because he would work to make the country better. He said he was bemuse by some of the attacks he had been subjected to as a result of the decay in both  morality of the people and the physical infrastructure in the country, asking rhetorically at a point that “were there roads in this country before and within two years Jonathan came and brought flood to wipe them away”?

President Goodluck Jonathan’s description of himself as the most criticized in the world is certainly not true. Right now he is still far and away behind both former President Olusegun Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Babangida, who occupy the front seat of the most criticized leaders, rightly or wrongly, in Nigeria. And midway into his tenure Goodluck Jonathan is not even close to them by half in the amount of criticism he has received, which means by the end of his tenure in two years’ time he will still be far behind them. The only reason he could surpass them, it must be said, is if he does something out and out untoward to arouse a groundswell of anger and opprobrium in the people before his tenure runs out.  Certainly he could be ranked even lower than President Shehu Shagari, who was subjected to a barrage of blistering criticism by the Nigerian Tribune (of old) and the late Tai Solarin, for a large part of his tenure.

So if he is still not the most criticized in Nigeria, how can he claim he is the most criticized in the world? But Goodluck Jonathan should be permitted some exaggeration; it comes with the demands of the job. But when the president’s ‘’most criticized in the world’’ comment is taken along with the published defense of his administration by his Senior Special Adviser on media, Dr. Reuben Abati, then one begins to get the sense that not only the president but the whole of Aso Rock have begun to have sleepless night over how the person of the president and his administration are being portrayed.  Abati’s piece entitled : The Jonathan they don’t know, came across as an attempt to correct the ‘’wrong’’ impressions he says people have about the president, who he said is hard working, patriotic and committed to Nigeria- the whole gamut of the virtues one can put his fingers on, including his piety (fasting at both Ramadan and Lent). And having been called a few times to the table for  lunch, Abati told us our president does not gorge himself on exotic fares but on  normal Nigerian dishes, including perhaps periwinkle or edika nkong soup accompanied with Alepu; or the more common place ewedu and amala, better still tuwo shinkafa da miyar kubewa.—all cherished Nigerian dishes relished in most homes.

Goodluck Jonathan, Abati even noted, is not your all day long quaffing president at all, perpetually inebriated as he has been made out to be by his malevolent critics. True, he treats himself to the occasional glass of wine and no more and in anyway, haven’t the medical doctors said an occasional glass of wine is a good elixir for the heart to work well?   Well,all this is all very well, at least it is good to know the president’s palate has not gone continental as he claims many people had thought and it is also most reassuring that those ruling over us still have their feet planted firmly on Nigerian soil. And what’s more, Abati depiction of his principal provides a rare and comical, if salutary portrait of him not known to those of us far removed from the exclusive grounds of Aso Rock. One can almost imagine the president wolfing down pounded yam with drawl soup complete with bush meat! How lucky is Abati to be called to partake in the simple, almost bucolic gourmet of Aso Rock.

Seriously however, the fact remains whether the array of information put out by Abati makes Nigerians see his principal in the last two years as having done enough to absolve him from criticism. No, Nigerians don’t. The reasons for this are easy to discern:- Nigerians have been driven to distraction by the insecurity that now defines their existence. Government can continue to claim it is doing its level best to confront the perpetrators but as long as the danger persists, it will still be made to carry the blame. General Muhammadu Buhari mentioned the president’s failure in the area of security and corruption, even if allowance is made on insecurity because of the difficulty in surmounting it, the lethargy with which corruption is being tackled makes any defence from government untenable. The ingredients lacking in the anti-corruption crusade are commitment and vision. The sooner these are brought to bear on the campaign the better.

Therefore by periodically holding up one another’s stewardship for scrutiny, former leaders help to underscore the need to evaluate the quality of leadership under which Nigeria has been governed.