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Continued from Part 16

Remember, no matter where you go, there you are (Confucius)

If you own this story you get to write the ending (Bren� Brown)

Believe in yourself. Determined to pursue your goals (Lailah Gifty Akita)

And how does one lead? We lead by doing; we lead by being (Bryant McGill)

Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you (David Nicholls)

ast week was a busy one for the two major presidential contenders: While Buhari was in London addressing international audience, President Jonathan went to the war front to visit the troops, to commend them for the successes they have achieved so far; and to implore them to continue in their determination to bring the insurgency to an end, so that elections would hold in those areas; while promising them that they will be fully equipped for the task ahead; and then reiterated his government's commitment to make their welfare a priority. That's the mark of a Commander-In-Chief! The activities of President Jonathan and Buhari last week resonated with the words of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), where he noted that "Manliness consists not in bluff, bravado or loneliness. It consists in daring to do the right thing and facing consequences whether it is in matters social, political or other. It consists in deeds not words." Definitely, I agree with J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) that "The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet". Make the judgment yourself!

President Jonathan looked smart and agile in his military uniform as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria; even President Jonathan was looking more fit than some of the Generals and military personnel who accompanied him to the war zone. While some of the military men were having protruding or bulging stomach, President Jonathan looked smarter wearing the C-I-C military Uniform. That action by President Jonathan was the right political move, and he will harvest a lot of political dividends from it. Those pictures of President Jonathan in those areas are very beautiful and were made for eternity. For that visit, President Jonathan has set a precedent as the first Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria who visited troops on the war front, so, who says that Goodluck Jonathan is not a brave thinker and also a deft political actor? Gowon, as the commander-in-chief, during his time, never visited the troops on the war fronts, despite the fact that the civil war raged for three years; Buhari, as the commander-in-chief, during his time, didn't visit the troops on the war front when Chadian troops invaded Nigerian territory in the north then; Obasanjo, as the commander-in-chief, during his time, didn't visit the troops when the military invaded Odi in 1999 and Zaki Biam in 2001, the two communities in Bayelsa and Benue States respectively. It's surprising that President Jonathan, who had no military experience, except his relatively short stint in the Customs, before he decided to further his education, has outshined all the other Commanders-In-Chief before him. Someone might ask why it has taken the military so long to turn the table against the terrorists. Let's us not forget that President Jonathan asked the national assembly to approve a sum of one billion dollars to buy weapons for the military, but, the national assembly delayed the approval for five months, and that delay made the war to linger. No doubt, President Jonathan erred by under-estimating the Boko Haram's threat, but, the national assembly has its own share of the blame for delaying the approval of the fund; some of the military officers and men should also be blamed for succumbing to Boko Haram's pressure without a fight, while others sold some military weapons to the terrorists, and others abandoned their weapons on hearing of the insurgents' approach. These were the sabotage we are talking about. The military successes we are seeing on the war fronts are as a result of the modern and sophisticated weapons the military has just taken delivery of, and the weapons are still coming. I hope the military will put in place consistent and long-term plans to tackle future ethnic or religious disturbances or threats to Nigeria's territorial integrity, and not always relying on something ad hockery.

You must have read the story that the Nigerian military took delivery of two Boeing 747 jets fully loaded with ammunition that arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday, Feb. 25, evening. The report says that the first and second jets, which arrived around 4pm and 6pm respectively, had various forms of sophisticated weapons meant for military operations in the North-East. Due to the volume of the cargoes, the report says that the offloading of the jets started on Wednesday, Feb 25, and, stretched till Thursday, Feb 26. The Punch wrote that "It was learnt that the Federal Government's intensive campaign against insurgents in the North-East would be boosted with the arrival of the ammunition. A security official at the airport, who pleaded not to be named as he was not authorized to speak on the matter, told our correspondent that "the ammunition in these massive cargo jets show how determined the government is to considerably halt the activities of Boko Haram within the six weeks which it requested from INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission). We don't often see the arrival of heavy ammo like this in this airport. This one shows there is trouble for insurgents in the North-East."

The way things are going now, the military might mop up its operations in the north-east before the six weeks, it asked for, elapse. I was surprised by the pace at which life is returning to Mubi, just liberated by the Nigerian military. Just few days after the military reclaimed the town from the terrorists, everything is returning to normal in Mubi, as if nothing happened there in the first place. Remember that the town, the second largest in Adamawa State, was desolate and in ruins after the Boko Haram terrorists sack it on October 29, 2014, after taking over of the army headquarters of the 234 battalion in the town. Looking at the pictures from Mubi, attached below, one notices a beehive of activity going on there, as the shops have re-opened; the vehicles have returned to the streets; businesses have started booming, and people have picked themselves up and are moving on with their lives. This people have the President and the military to thank for all these! President Jonathan is living up to his responsibility as the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, and that will earn him more votes during the election. Methinks, although I might be right or wrong; that the Nigerian government and the military know now where the Chibok Girls are; they may have secured them and are debriefing them while giving them the badly needed medical attention and psychological therapy. At the appropriate time, the announcement of their rescue would be made. President Jonathan would surprise many from now on; surviving all the sabotage, criticisms, contempt, and name calling (humiliation) and still be standing, means that Goodluck Jonathan will "go places" if he gets a second term. All those crapehangers, who think that President Jonathan is of no good, would be proved wrong in the end!

Don't get me wrong; President Jonathan is not the best, but, the alternative is frightening. If there was a better choice, President Jonathan should have been packing his things to leave Aso Rock by now. The opposition wants Nigerians to see President Jonathan as being inept because of the security challenges the country is facing, but, things have started changing fast on the war fronts. About corruption; the opposition failed to acknowledge Jonathan's effort in that regards, despite the fact that Amnesty International just said that Buhari and Obasanjo's respective tenures were more corrupt than that of President Jonathan.

Many Nigerians think that Buhari would win because Nigeria needs a change of leadership. But, I want to say that because there's clamor for change, might be the reason why Buhari might lose; and for the notion that President Jonathan is not fighting corruption well enough might be the reason why he might win. Some people might not understand where I am coming from here, but, it's not just enough to view issues shallowly, there's need to be discerning, as political analysis is not as easy as ABCD. I will make myself clearer along the line someplace. Fact is that people are tired of hearing lies from politicians who they think are incapable of telling the truth. Let's not forget that Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) wrote that "There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no honour". Law Mefor wrote that: "Jonathan's approach, in tackling corruption, is much better; In his unique way of fighting corruption by checkmating it and handing over the case files to the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Jonathan has targeted the sources the mean cabals manipulate in the system to steal Government funds in large lumps and plugged them off. One huge outlet of massive corruption, which Jonathan plugged, is ending fuel subsidy scam. The same applies to fertilizer distribution bootlegging and scams by removing the rogue middlemen and introducing electronic wallets for all the over 10 million farmers nationwide, each of who was given a mobile phone free. The next is the unbundling and selling off of NEPA, which has ended yet another source of massive looting of the economy and fleecing of the masses by some cabals. Then his removal of over 63 thousand ghost workers from federal civil service yet another move that saved over 208 billion naira annually. Jonathan also handed over the Nigerian Ports Authority verification to a third party and eliminated port frauds. 15 thousand ghost pensioners have also just been discovered and that saved billions of naira too. This also put some cabals out of business. In all this, one can easily also see the rather less dramatic but more effective way and manner President Jonathan has fought and reduced corruption in Nigeria. Fact is: Jonathan has secured more convictions of corrupt persons than the Obasanjo and Buhari regimes put together. No wonder Transparency International rates both Buhari and Obasanjo's regimes as more corrupt than that of Jonathan, the country moving from 2nd most corrupt country in the world in 2004 under Obasanjo, to over 30 places in 2014 under Jonathan. These are hard facts being whittled down or denied by the propagandists".

President Jonathan is doing a great job, but, his aides are not publicizing his deeds well, and they are "packaging" him (the president) very well. Another problem this administration is facing is the specter of violence unleashed by Boko Haram. This twin factors have succeeded in creating an aura of despair for President Jonathan's government. If the terrorists are routed before the election, nobody can give any reason why President Jonathan shouldn't be re-elected. Even if anybody thinks otherwise; in the absence of another better choice, Nigerians might be forced to hang on with Jonathan. Assuming that Nigerians have been in the "frying pan" all along, and have been looking for a person to soothe their burn, but, when the APC refused to provide a presentable choice, Nigerians have no other choice than to stay put where they are, instead of jumping from "frying pan" into the real "fire".

Watch:

https://www.elombah.com/detail.php?world=30441

https://elombah.com/detail.php?world=30443

Read:

https://www.bodedolu.com/us-report-reveals-nigerian-military-tipped-off-boko-haram-chibok-girls-rescue-plan/#sthash.MHv5AwQi.dpbs

To be continued!

TIT BITS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2BKXjj0fdw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tZWLRh3xmU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUoEeoYl6Jg&list=RDJnoIusdxT_o&index=27

THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!

Continued from Part 16