FEATURE ARTICLE

Douglas AkuniaMonday, February 23, 2015
[email protected]


ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE
TO YOUR FRIENDS
GOODLUCK JONATHAN GOOD FOR NIGERIA?

advertisement

t is election time again but this time the stakes are very high. According to a former American ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, this is the first real election in the country in this 4th republic because for the first time, it is a real contest and not one with a prearranged winner. 2011 could have been like this except the coalition did not work and the Retired General Buhari's CPC was only a few months old and so could not muster enough traction to win. Though it was said to be a free and fair election but really there were evidences that it was not but the rigging was not even necessary because like I said, Gen. Buhari(GMB) didn't get enough support in the South especially to have won.

Also the stakes are so high that this is the year that some predicted the dissolution of Nigeria as a result of this election. They know that with the abandonment of the North South rotational arrangement of power, that there could be trouble.

The polls that I have seen have it tied at 42% for the incumbent and the main opposition. It is that close. Most people at this point have made up their minds on who to support. There are however a few people that are undecided or confused or being confused about their candidates. This election should be about choice. It should be for that which is most important to you. If you are one of those who don't want to see Nigeria succeed, or would want a self-fulfilling prophesy on the dissolution of the country or your politics is tribal, religious or sectional based, this is time to stop reading. Sorry to have wasted your time thus far. This is however for those who have not made up their minds or not so sure but are objective and truly care about Nigeria and its people.

Luckily we have two main formidable candidates to choose from. Even though we'd like the choice to be ideologically based so that people will vote based on their beliefs and values based on the candidates' agenda and their ability to deliver what they promise.Unfortunately we are not there yet and that is why some people don't see any difference between the parties and politicians jump from one to other. But we do have a choice. The reality is that Nigeria like the world at large is at crossroads.

The problem that we see in this election is that politicians and even supporters have heated up the polity so much that it is about to boil over . In the politics, perception is reality and the quest to form and shape the perception in this case especially that of the other party or candidate has been ferocious to say the least. There is a lot disinformation, misinformation and outright lies flying around all over the place especially in the social media. The social media and even the traditional media are turning out all kinds of provocations that one wonders the true motives. There are so much garbage and mistruths being put out in the name of campaigns that it is actually ridiculous. This write up is therefore a call to all to dial back and focus on what is really at stake.

They also try so hard to make it about religion, tribe and section. You'll read some people write that if you are betraying Igbo people if you are Igbo and don't support Jonathan or Arewa association saying that Northerners are supporting Buhari and then Afenifere asking Yorubas to support a particular candidate. We are saying that individuals should support whomever they see fit that best represent them

Regardless of what you hear, the incumbent president, President Jonathan (GEJ) has done relatively well especially on infrastructure. He fixed the airportsthough some say they were merely repainted. Enugu international airport is finally, well international.He built schools including aljamari schools though some say the universities are glorified local secondary schools, sort of like Jakande secondary schools looked like glorified village nursery schools. Schools under his watch are constantly on strike because there really isn't enough attention given to education besides building more schools that just graduate jobless and unemployable kids. He completed some projects like some roads or he completedor started work on some of the projects that were conceived by his predecessors like dredging the main rivers along with the river ports. Whatever happened to the river ports started by his predecessor? He has built bridges but the second Niger Bridge is under construction under questionable terms. Rail lines are running again but let's not get into the comments on those trains. They are running. He also focused on agriculture which his opponent campaigned on the last time but president should get credit there. He has tried but some say it should have been more, above and beyond anything we have seen because oil was at unprecedented heights during much of his time.

He wants to continue what he is doing and if these are the most important things to you and you agree with him and his promises and capabilities, then he is your man. But some of infrastructure he claims in his adverts are either exaggerated or done by the state governments. Example,they claim that he took care of Ebola without credit to Lagos state government and some individuals that took it upon themselves. No credit or national honorwas given to Dr. Adadevoand other doctors and medical practitioners that sacrificed their lives for Nigerians on Ebola.

I wouldn't so much give him credit on the general economy either. His policies have not destroyed the economy as such but they have not so much helped either except in the agricultural sector. Some reports have it that investors are trooping to Nigeria now while others claim that opposite is the case. They say there is too much red tape or that it is a dangerous and unfriendlyplace to do business. They site lack of infrastructure,lack of good roads, power, security and corruption and these continue to keep the nation from getting to its potential.Big job producing companies were pulling out of the country, some have moved to Ghana. But his policies have also encouraged local productions again like the auto industry. But there have been other problems.

The government now claims that it is their achievement that Nigeria is now the biggest economy in Africa. Well first, it was not a government's policy that made the economy to grow overnight to be the biggest in Africa but it was only a rebase of how the economy itselfis calculated. That means that it didn't just happen. It happened over a time period.

Some quote a CNN report that projects Nigeria's GDP growth to be about 5% this year. Well, it has been around 7% growth since the early 2000s so 5% is a slowdown which I am not even sure it will make considering the austerity measures in place along with other problems such currency value. Less than 5% growth for a growing economy like Nigeria is not much to celebrate. The foreign reserve is now depleted again. Government is now borrowing again after the loans had been paid off under the Obasanjo government. Per capita income grew from $1091 in 2009 to $1700 in 2013 according to government figure and this is before the debasing of the GDP though most people still don't feel it because of corruption. The wealth is in few hands. The poor are still poor but the rich get richer, by hook or by crook, mostly the later. There is discontent among the people, according to Afrobarometer, over 70% of Nigerians still say the economy is not benefitting them.Unemployment is rampant. The president the other day said he has created 5300 jobs, 5300.The naira is pretty much devalued and it is now around an unprecedented 200 to $1. That will bring a big inflationary pressure on the economy to add to the people's suffering.

Under GEJ's watch, the country is falling apart. Boko Haram is taking over swathes of the country at will and the president didn't seem to care till now, election time. Though the boko haram menace had started before he came in and we kept asking the president to do something like his predecessor. We suggested he at least declare a state of emergency which would hold the governors accountable but he didn't seem bothered, he was talking about tackling it like an educated person as opposed to how Obasanjo or even YarAdua did it. Police, soldiers, churches and even UN building were being blown up with no response from government.By the time he finally declared a half stepped state of emergency, it was too late because the terrorist had been emboldened by their successes. It was then easy for them to recruit because the people thought they were the winning side since the government wouldn't or couldn't fight.

One of the days Abuja was bombed, the president went campaigning, and was shown dancing on the stage with no care in the world. Christians got massacred in Churches, even on Christmas day, no response from the government. Boys got massacred in schools, nothing from the government. When the girls got kidnapped, it took the government almost three weeks to even acknowledge it. Thousands got massacred in the Baga area and our president said or did nothing but sent a condolence message to France for the killing of the 17 people.

A hero military pilot died while trying to take out some Boko Haram members with him when his plane was shot down and our government even refused to acknowledge him. Other countries would have given him a posthumous medal. Compare that to what Jordan did when their captured pilot was burnt alive. King Abdullah rallied his country to fight ISIS and started retaliating right away. He even symbolically put on his old Air Force uniform just to show seriousness. That is leadership which is so far lacking in Nigeria.

Our military was afraid to venture into the dreaded Sambisa forest, well till now. It is so bad that Chad is now leading the campaign against Boko Haram on Nigerian soil. Chad, Cameroon and Niger are doing better than 'mighty' Nigeria. Soldiers from Niger even talk about the cowardice of their Nigerian counterparts. It is actually shameful. Everybody that comes to help complain about the lack of cooperation and lack of leadership from the Nigerian government. The government and the GEJ campaign is now taking credit for successes in the war instead of giving it to the foreign troops that are now fighting on Nigerian soil. Some have accused the government's action as criminal for not doing anything in the fight till election time, considering the casualty and the displaced.

I heard some Ukrainian soldiers in an interview saying that what they need is not more weapons from America but motivation and lack of corruption form their leaders for them to go and fight and it reminded of Nigeria. It really seems that GEJ does not care and one can only wonder why, was it that he didn't think those affected areas were not his constituents or domain or he doesn't really believe in the country or was it politics? Was it that he was afraid to step on toes if he did something or was it just corruption as alleged by some?Under his watch, separatist groups are getting emboldened, importing arms including war ships, even getting seats at the AU and other world organizations and the government says not a thing.

Even the international communities complain that this government is not serious about fighting terror because they cannot cooperate with it though they have not really been helpful. Britain has been missing and unconcerned and America even refused to sell us arms. They think we should fight with our arms tied behind our backs because rights groups come up with all sorts of allegations against our military but that's another story. Regardless, our government can't even arm our military. They send them to fight with nothing, sentencing them to die either in the hands of boko haram or literally for not fighting with nothing. Meanwhile no captured boko harem member has been sentenced. Those that get arrested are usually released and they go back into it again. In fact if fighting terror and keeping Nigeria whole is your thing, then GEJ is not your man because he is failing woefully here and a lot of people are recognizing it. There has been no leadership. Is the issue corruption?

Corruption is reportedly the reason our military is underfunded, ill-equipped and not properly trained with no motivation. Of course GEJ did not start corruption in Nigeria. It has been with us since the 60's. But under his government, corruption has risen to new heights. Just like fighting terror, little things that the leader does or says go a long way in giving appearance of leadership. In some climes, the president makes appearances, makes speeches to condemn something or even just photo ops to give a perception that he is against something, in this case corruption. GEJ has shown no leadership here as well. In fact he acts like it is our culture and nothing can be done about it. When he refused to make public his assets or when he says that stealing public fund is not corruption or that he will not put anyone in jail, it sent a message. These are powerful messages of a green light. Saying that Nigeria has the highest number of private jets parked at Abuja airport and so Nigeria is not poor did not help. This is like IBB government of anything is grab-able by anybody. Only yahoo - yahoo kids go to jail.

The state pardon of Chief DiepreyeAlamieyesiegha, did not help either. He appointed AdamuMuazu who was on the run from EFCC after his term as Bauchi state governor till the case died a Nigerian death,as PDP chairman. He also appointed the gutter mouth, Femi FaniKayode who is still under an EFCC indictment into his campaign. The only person ever sentenced is Bode George who only got a slap on the wrist and was then even pardoned and he is also on the campaign team.In reality, EFCC and ICPC are now a joke. A PDP operand said the other day that it was not Jonathan's fault because the courts throw out the piles of nonsense charges. He forgot that the prosecutor is the government and it is his office that purposely files the piles of nonsense junk cases. The political sponsors in PDPnominate the attorney general and that is where everything dies. The attorneys general have effectively killed the EFCC. They knew what they were doing when they would pile hundreds of nonsense junk charges against someone that they know will not hold up in court. The appointed corrupt judges have also made the courts a joke. If corruption is your issue, GEJ is not your man. His efforts have been lackadaisical in fighting both terror and corruption.

Most Nigerians agree that we need change but whom? Who is then the alternative? There are other candidates in this election to consider. Retired General Buhari(GMB) is the main opposition candidate. Is he the alternative? Luckily for Nigeria, there is history to help one make that decision. GMBas we all know is a former head of state in Nigeria that came in after a coup in 1983, that would be 33 years ago and he was overthrown almost 2 years later. To some, that is a long time ago and they are right. They say he is too old and out of touch with modernity to govern a complex country like Nigeria and they might be right. Some say he will take us back, that he will only build jails like Kirikiri and just lock people up. In fact there is documentary (propaganda) that was running on some Nigerian TV stations and online that shows only the dark side of the GMB government, with some exaggerated, perceived or even made up stuff with nothing good to say about that government. That along with other lies and propaganda that fill the internet and the media is probably convincing some people not to vote for him.

People, especially those that fear him and tribalists have thrown all kinds of things at him including the kitchen sink and the bath tub just to derail his candidacy.

They say he is unelectable because has run for election three previous times and that Nigerians don't want him but Lula of Brazil also ran three times and look at what he did for Brazil.

They say he represents the Northern oligarchs thatthey claim always just want to rule as their birthright but they don't know that the man has always been anti elites who have never supported him in order to maintain their oil block - owning status quo. He always maintained that the elites were the main problems of the country.

They say his party, APC is a northern party but they forgot that all opposition parties were invited to join to compete against almighty PDP but some on their own refused to join. Who is to blame for that?

They say he is a member and financier of book haram which is nonsense. Boko Haram even attempted his life twice.

They say that everybody in the South should be afraid because he is an extremist and ashariarist and wants to imposesharia laws on Nigeria which is also nonsense and fear mongering, he didn't even try it when he was an absolute ruler neither did he take Nigeria into OIC as some people allege. GEJ is the one that now goes to OIC meetings. The man has Christians in close employ who he did not try to convert and he has often said the religion is a personal conviction. People that know him very well have all acknowledged that he is not an extremist as alleged. Vice PresidentNamadiSambo said on the campaign trail the other day that GMB is not Muslim enough because he has Christians as VP (always had Christians as VP) but no one says anything about such a divisive and indicting comment. Those that say that he will bring sharia all over Nigeria which is not even possible also say he will not have the power in a democracy to change anything. Which one is it?

They say he asked Muslims to only vote for Muslims but that wasn't what he said. On the actual tape of the alleged quote, he said people should vote for whom they know would best represent them.

They say he asked his followers to go and kill people if he lost which is most unfair because all he did was urge them to defend their votes and make sure their votes counted. Nothing wrong with it and so many people have said the same thing.

That he said he would make Nigeria ungovernable did even happen.

They say he is sectionalist and a tribalist and as heads of state, he did nothing in the south and south east in particular. But they forgot that neither did he develop the north because he was paying down and building more solid things that would help the whole country on the long run like refineries.

They say at PTF, he concentrated in the North with nothing in the south, but in reality, according to records, his PTF spent 70% of theirfunds in the South and their very first project was awater project for Lagos. People like Late Dora Akunyili and late PiniJason earned their reputations here. Their PTFfixed the roads that Father Mbaka was referring to in his New Year message.

They say he stole billions at PTF. Afri-Projects Consortium was accused of overcharging, but we know that the person who was responsible here did commit suicide. He personally was cleared by HarounAdamu and Obasanjo who investigated PTF. They also allege that he stole N2.8 bilion when he was in charge of oil to which he said in an interview, "It couldn't have been missing. The governor of the Central Bank then, the late Clement Isong, said it was ridiculous, that N2.8billion couldn't be missing because he said even the king of Saudi Arabia, couldn't issue a cheque of N2.8billion. When you have paid your money for petroleum, they are normally put in the country's external account and no bank will release that amount of money at a go because it was deposited. And then, at that time, Nigeria was exporting about 1.82 million barrels a day. And the cost of barrel a day was about $18. You work out N2.8billion. How could N2.8billion be missing and we still have money to run the country?" The allegation was investigated by then Justice Irikefe and those that made the accusations couldn't even substantiate it. Fact.

They said he is a coupistsince the 60's and even fought with late Adekunle where he was just killing Igbo people. The man has said he was not involved in any coup. Not in the 60's and not even the one that brought him to power and these have been collaborated by some of those involved. Yes he fought in the civil war because he was already a Nigerian soldier just doing his job and not in decision making level. He was not with Adeknle but he was a lieutenant in first division with Shuwa and Danjuma.

The 53 suitcases is another issue that has been so much misrepresented. When asked about it, he said it was a lie, the suit cases, not up to 53 belonged to an ambassador returning from Saudi Arabia (or Libya) along with his wives and kids who were all entitled to two each plus hand luggage and because as a diplomat, their suitcases were not to be searched, The emir of Gwandu and father of his ADC Jokolo happened to be coming back at the same time but some mischievous journalists went to work just to discredit his government and that has stuck ever since. This is my understanding of what he said.

I am not in his campaign staff but most of what has been thrown at him is really neither true nor fair. They even say he is not qualified and I will say they should simply refer to the constitution. How many of those asking for certificate know where theirs is or even ever seen it. According to a Sun reporter, "I have never seen a WAEC certificate myself, not even my own. When the university needed to verify my result, I went to my secondary school and my Vice Principal (Academic), Mrs. XYZ, simply photocopied the page of the WAEC computer printout where my result appeared, signed it and put the school stamp on it. It was good to go. Till this day, nobody has doubted it." That is how most people went on to higher levels, be it in higher schools or in the military and here we are talking about 54 year ago. A politician with military background and disciple should be an asset like in most countries and not a liability. Hands- on experience with other qualities are often more needed than just paper certificate. Winston Churchill did not have secondary school but military and other experiences.

GMB himself said on CNN that it wouldn't be fair to judge him on his record during his military term. I disagree. That record is what is propelling him now. His draconian rule was military in nature and if I might add, what Nigerian needed at the time. Disregarding his record which has been an open book by which we know him would also mean disregarding his character and achievements. From his record, we know he was not about making Dubai out of Nigeria. Neither was Wilson Churchill in Britain during WWII or even Ojukwu to Biafrans during the civil war. They had specific purposes. If short term economy growth is your only thing, from his record, GMB is not your man because there was little or no growth in the economy when he was head of state. Reasons were that as a military dictator, there was not much foreign investment because of instability but most importantly, he was paying off our debts with the little we had coming in from oil then in order to put the economy in a sound footing.

His government was corrective in nature coming from the decadent corrupt Shagari government but also forward looking. It resisted the pressure from IMF to take loan and devalue the currency because there was no need for it. Instead it concentrated on paying off the loan burden on the country which were mostly loans taken by states but backed by the federal government. That was why he refused to back more loans including a $100 million loan by Lagos state for a metro rail project. It kept naira even stronger than dollar which controlled the inflationary pressures on the economy evenif it meant temporary hardship. It brought inflation down from 23.2% in 1983 when he came in to 5.5% in 1985 when he left. He refused to remove oil subsidy as pressured by IMF without first building more refineries as proposed. He wanted to make Nigeria locally dependent by diversifying the economy.

Nigerians have had enough of the corruption and need change. From his record, we know that he is a no nonsense guy that fought corruption and indiscipline, just what Nigeria needs most at this time. Some say he is no longer in the military and so he doesn't have that kind of power. True but it can be done in a democracy as well. All he has to do follow and enforce the laws on the books already, no magic. He is not beholding to politicians therefore he should be courageous enough to nominate his own attorney general who he knows will tackle it.

He should be courageous enough to nominate upright judges, police and service chiefs that he will hold accountable as well as members of his cabinet. We know he can because he did it before and he doesn't have big donors that would hold his government at ransom as has been the case with PDP. He borrowed to register his candidacy. He had said his nominees will on merit and not patronage. We just heard again about ghost workers in the extremely corrupt civil service, which should not be problem under his watch because as head of state, he even cut federal payroll to eliminate waste.

As for fighting against terror, I think he is what the doctor ordered at this time. As a division commander, he was the only one that has ever lead Nigeria in a war against a foreign country, Chad in the defense of the country's territory. When asked about how he handled the Maitatsine terrorist situation, he simply said "My number two man, Tunde was not in the country so as the Head of State I flew to Yola and I went to the area where the operation was being carried out by the military. And that was the end of Maitatsine".That is the leadership we need now against Boko Haram.

As a northerner, I think it will be an advantage because he will have the credibility like President Clinton supporting for welfare reform in America. He should know how to go after them without fear of offending anyone. He earned the reputation of 'hard man' or 'incorruptible'which will come in handy now. He will be expected to go after Boko Haram the way Lt. Buhari did and the way General Buhari handled Chad and Maitasine.

A lot of Nigerians want him now because a desperate situation needs a desperate measure and some believe that from his record, he is uniquely positioned to handle the problems. He is actually the most qualified person from his wealth of experience, from as reported, secretary of army to governor to NNPC to minister of petroleum to general officer commanding to head of state then to PTF.

I agree that age is not on his side and it shows in the way he talks lately, but we want him to come and do just a term to help set Nigeria straight and give us a direction again. It is not a reward but a call for service, like Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaul and even Obasanjo were called back to office to help their countries.

People get the government they deserve and voters are never wrong. As the voice of God, their vote, if not rigged, is supposed to be a representation of where they are at a moment, a snap shot based on needs and desires. Right now, it is corruption, terrorism (Boko Haram) and security and then the economy. Vote your conscience. If you are satisfied with the status quo and truly believe that the country is on the right track or that you are better off than six ago or even 16 years ago of PDP and don't believe it can be better, vote GEJ otherwise consider the alternative. It is only for 4 years. We have to accept the outcome as just that and there is no need for violence.

advertisement
IMAGES IN THE NEWS