How Jonathan is proving critics wrong

 

Despite being the most criticised President in the world for wrong reasons, President Good Luck Ebele Jonathan has continued with his unapologetic implementation of the Transformation Agenda. This time around, it is in the area of adding human face to the lofty agenda as well as ebbing the capital expenditure to an unprecedented level. Before now, Nigerians and indeed some foreign critics have been condemning past administrations in the country for lacking human face in their developmental agendas.

Similarly, the recurrent expenditure in our budgetary provisions was running close to 80 per cent while a paltry sum of about 20 per cent was voted for capital expenditure. This expenditure is the one over 170 million Nigerians who need education, electricity, jobs, food, water, good health care, good road network, modernised airports, well equipped laboratories and libraries among others scramble for. But, when Jonathan came on board as President, he increased the capital expenditure from 20 per cent to more than 30 per cent, while at the same time, reducing the recurrent expenditure which hitherto stood at about 80 per cent to its barest minimum of below 70 per cent. The recurrent expenditure is the one which goes for the servicing of personnel cost and other costs often incurred by the government in the course running the affairs of the state.

So, when the enemies of our beloved country saw that, if they should allow the President to execute his great ideas and visions for Nigeria, he would be creating a new set middle class and new breed of self-reliant people in a united and prosperous nation; and that, after he might have completed his second term of office in 2019, his legacies would be the foundation of modern Nigeria comparable only to what Li Kwan Yu of Singapore did for his country; and what other leaders did to greatly transform their nations. Hence, the enemies of our democracy within and outside the country decided to employ all known strategies just for the sake of discrediting, denigrating and tarnishing the hard earned reputations of the president. They tried to use the media, but when some of us who are staunch supporters of Jonathan confronted them with superior media bullets, they backtracked. There are now employing other strategic weapons in their armoury including the use of “Native Aliens” to perpetuate their God-forsaken acts of violence on Nigerians. Instead of calling it war on Nigerians, they craftily dubbed it “War on the Federal Government.”

But the revealing question is who is the Federal Government and who is Nigeria? Is the Federal Government different from Nigeria? The truth is, if you attack anybody in government or any institution of the state, then, you are attacking all peace loving Nigerians. This is because, every day, when we recite our National Pledge, we say “I pledge to Nigeria my country, to be faithful, loyal and honest. To serve Nigeria with all my strength. To defend her unity and uphold her honour and glory so help me God.” Back to how Jonathan is proving his critics wrong. On June 8, 2010 when President Jonathan appointed Professor Attahiru Jega of Bayero University Kano as the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he proved critics wrong. When Jega conducted credible elections in 2011, he proved critics wrong. When Jonathan moved over 9.5 million Al-Majiris from the streets to the class rooms, he proved his critics wrong. When Nigeria successfully hosted the World Economic Forum for Africa (WEF) in Abuja without hearing any story that touches the heart, he proved his critics wrong. When he set up a relief fund for flood victims and Boko Haram victims in the country, he proved his critics wrong.

There are many instances to cite, but, because of time and space, let me stop here. In spite of all these records, the President is still flexing muscle to do more. Also, in the part of the country where I come from, when a man is doing well, you say “Well done or ride on”.  We don’t insult or call him names. But, instead of saying “Mr President, continue in 2015”, we chose to remain silent and watch the “Native aliens” in collaboration with their foreign counterparts to execute their clandestine conspiracy against Nigeria and our amiable President. The truth is that, if we fail to support this government and the re-election bid of the President in 2015, it simply means we don’t appreciate good things.

If Americans as developed as they are could reward President Barrack Obama with a second term in 2012 because he created 5 million jobs for them in his entire four years in office, why can’t we re-elect President Jonathan next year? A man who has created about 1.6 million new jobs in a year. A man under whose watch Nigeria toppled South Africa to become the largest economy in Africa with a GDP worth of $510 billion.

Hence, with such astronomical developments going in Nigeria under Jonathan administration, we should never expect our enemies and competitors in this highly globalised and competitive world to be happy with us as well as the man who is making them happen. Whether we like it or not, President Jonathan is transforming this great country for the good of all. Therefore, there is no other time to support him than now. We should give him our maximum cooperation to continue with the giant strides as well as support him in next year’s Presidential Election, because, there are still many un-hatched eggs that must be hatched by him!

Edwin Ekene Uhara,  a public affairs commentator, wrote in from Abuja.