It has become the signature tune of President Goodluck Jonathan to moan about problems, which ordinarily, are his responsibility to solve. The latest display of this disgraceful disposition came last Friday at a ceremony to flag-off of the National Christian Campaign on Social Transformation in Abuja, under the theme, “Be the Change You Want to See.” The President joined the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, and the President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor to decry the erosion of moral values in the society and called for moral transformation to restore the country on the path of development. He described the campaign as the spiritual arm of his transformation agenda.
Jonathan noted that the entire society had failed, adding that the result could be seen in incidences of kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and ritual killing among others. Urging Nigerians to return to God, the president said: “It would appear we have the society we deserve. Indeed, we have lost moral values and principles; we have lost the values of hard work, respect for elders, truthfulness and contentment. So much has gone wrong in our family life, schools, churches and the society in general. Our priorities are misplaced.” Represented by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Amma Pepple, the president said that a great responsibility is placed on the church to lead the campaign to restore our values and morals in order to bring about the much-needed transformation in the society.
This kind of glib talk that has come to define the Jonathan presidency would have been laughable were it not so pathetically tragic. Here is a President who has done next to nothing to address the myriad of challenges facing the country. Widespread poverty, endemic corruption, decrepit infrastructure, skyrocketing unemployment, and insecurity of lives and property prevail in a magnitude that could only require the declaration of a state of emergency. Despite repeated promises, there seem to be no end yet, in sight to the problem of epileptic power supply. Yet, Jonathan prefers to play the ostrich, wringing his hands in the air and claiming that most of the problems pre-date his presidency. Does anyone need to remind Jonathan that he was the one who asked to be given the job of President of Nigeria?
When he took office in 2011, Jonathan was viewed as a man of uncommon loyalty, impeccable integrity with an immense commitment to Nigeria, which earned him a lot of public goodwill. Nigerians gave him a mandate with his landslide electoral victory, creating a groundswell of euphoria and hope that finally a president with very humble beginnings would understand the problems of the poor and marginalized in this country. However, almost two years into his mandate, the situation has rather worsened. The president’s uncommon loyalty to his friends, many of whom are in his cabinet, seem to outweigh his commitment to Nigerians. The country is behind on all indicators of human development. To Jonathan and his cronies, lining of their pockets have become primary objectives. Consequently, dividends of democracy such as good governance have been reduced to slogans; the right to life is out of the reach of the citizens with the Boko Haram insurgency; kidnapping has become a national scourge. No President worth his salt can allow the kind of permissiveness associated with the lawlessness in the country.
There is no doubt that people are bitter with Jonathan, who is now a lame-duck president. He has lost the trust and respect of the millions of Nigerians, who turned out in their numbers to elect him. Neither does he wield much influence among his cabinet or within his own party, the PDP. The tragedy of Jonathan is that the Nigerian system enthrones wimps as rulers. But once they assume office, they undergo instant apotheosis. They can hire the most skilled, if mercenary and unprincipled, spin doctors and propagandist to represent their foibles as the acts of philosophers. Unfortunately when you put a man in high office far above the capacity of his intellect and the integrity of his character, you create a vicious, power-mongering, and psychologically unstable ruler. All he knows how to do is abuse his position and power to aggrandize himself and his cronies. Pathological lust for power has rendered presidential leadership prostrate. The president must stop and think just where the country is headed. The slogan of vision 20-2020 remains a huge joke, a wild and idle prediction of the economy by 2020 on the global scale. 2020 is seven short years away and it would require purposeful leadership to make that dream come close.
Jonathan has been shoving the burden of his government’s incompetence on the people while mouthing his trademark hypocritical cliché “I know how you feel” at forlorn Nigerians; at the same time, a parasitic elite of public servants and politicians enjoy an imperial, carnival-like, and often orgiastic lifestyle at public expense. Public resources continue to be misappropriated through institutionalized swindling by a rapacious band of clowns playing at running a government. With no transparency or accountability in governance, Nigeria has become a nation whose administrative and political configuration eschews rationality, justice and equity. Little surprise governance has practically ceased to be about promoting development and the public good; the cost of running the country has become unsustainable; while the scramble for political office has become a business venture on an industrial scale.
Nigeria’s path to greatness is defined by the choices it makes. Ironically, the man with the primary responsibility to lead this country to greatness has spent his time complaining and making excuses. Governance has been reduced to empty platitudes and slogans. Hear the President: “It would appear we have the society we deserve. Indeed, we have lost moral values and principles; we have lost the values of hard work, respect for elders, truthfulness and contentment. So much has gone wrong in our family life, schools, churches and the society in general. Our priorities are misplaced.” Really? Who is Jonathan really blaming for our misplaced priorities and loss of moral principles? Nigerians might have the kind of society they deserve but does the country deserve the monstrous liability of a do-nothing president? Jonathan’s ridiculous ostrich fatalism is laughable and should attract no further comment.
Nigeria is nowhere near its potential; rather the country has been plundered with impunity and reduced to a jungle. The time has come for Jonathan to rise up to the responsibility of his office because the buck stops at his desk. Merely lamenting the situation and calling for remedies is not enough. The president should take decisive steps, show utmost sincerity by demonstrating strong political will to address the life and death challenges facing the country. His lamentations, though appealing, are not helped by his actions or inaction. Nigerians are tired of presidential excuses; they want solutions. Honestly, those campaigning for a second term for Jonathan in 2015 are doing the President a great disservice. They should instead help him deliver on his campaign promises!
