Where Is The Jonathan We Elected?

Since President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in on 29 May 2011, insecurity has worsened, unemployment has skyrocketed, inflation has risen and the judiciary is in tatters. And Nigerians are asking, ‘where is the president we elected?’

At the ballots, Nigerians endorsed Jonathan overwhelmingly across the nation, giving him over 60 percent of votes cast, ten million more than votes recorded by his closest rival, Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.

Indeed, out of about 37 million Nigerians who voted on Saturday, 16 April, 2011, 22 million voted for the president, giving him the strong mandate he needed to begin the process of fixing the comatose economy, reducing the high unemployment rate and improving the epileptic power supply.

Nigerians also anticipated that Jonathan would stop the skyrocketing inflation, save the tumbling aviation industry and give hope to millions of Nigerians who had become alienated by wasteful years of corruption and inefficiency in government.

For decades, political pundits had argued that to move forward, Africa’s most populous nation and second biggest economy needed an intellectual to man its affairs. Jonathan, a Ph.D holder and former university lecturer, was indeed seen as the saviour the country had been waiting for.

But, 100 days after he assumed office, the expectations of Nigerians for their president, have fallen to an abysmal low level. Indeed, Nigerians have written him off.

Before he was elected, he had ruled the country for one whole year after he took over from the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Jonathan orchestrated his own woes. Indeed, shortly after his inauguration, Nigerians were flabbergasted that the president had directed the National Assembly to amend the constitution for single term tenure of six years for future presidents and governors.

And while they were still trying to come to terms with the sinister move, Boko Haram, the Islamic sect, intensified its bomb attacks across the nation, with the president appearing to be clueless on how to tackle it.

The Police Headquarters was bombed on 17 June. The fortified United Nations office in Abuja was bombed on 26 August. Many other explosions have been witnessed across the country with scores of people killed in the process.

This is in addition to thousands of people killed by rioters in northern Nigeria after the presidential election. Jos, the Plateau State capital is boiling and scores are being killed daily.

Hafiz Ringim, the Inspector General of Police, who does not know how to make Nigerians safe, has remained on the job. The head of the State Security Service is still on the job and other security chiefs have not been replaced.

As the economy tumbles and insecurity worsens, the president seems to have diminished so much that Nigerians are wondering whether their president operates from Afghanistan.

As at today, according to government figures, 47 million Nigerians are unemployed and those who have unsteady jobs find it hard to make ends meet.

Nigerian youths are even worse off now than before Jonathan took over. And as if that was not big enough to swallow, Jonathan violated the spirit of the Nigerian constitution by dabbling post-haste into the dispute between the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President of the Appeal Court, even when the matter was still in court, in a manner critics said was partisan.

Our president must get his priorities right and get rid of those who have failed the nation as fast as he can. He must tell Nigerians his plans to revive the economy, create jobs, reduce inflation and make Nigeria great again.