Nigerians should pray that all days should be Election Day because that is the only time they see result
President Goodluck Jonathan is ‘born-again’ indeed. In need, everyone becomes born-again. Suddenly, he has begun to give a damn to those little things he hitherto did not give a damn about. But, unlike one of our former presidents who was ‘born-again’ only from his head to his stomach, President Jonathan appears ‘born-again’ (or transformed) from head to toe. We should not expect anything less from the initiator of ‘Transformation’ as a government slogan and the patron of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN). Again, we should not expect anything less from a president who has traversed many churches in the land. That is the essence of those spiritual voyages to Lagos while his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, took care of the eastern flank which, unfortunately, ended in a fiasco, with Father Ejike Mbaka’s outburst against the First Family’s reelection campaign. By the way, what has happened to that magic wand of the president – the Neighbour to Neighbour outfit which was a major plank of his campaign for the 2011 election when his good luck shone unchallenged? That good luck appears to be in trouble these days.
Anyway, while we await answer to that, it is good to mention some of the areas the president has suddenly ‘repented’ and become ‘born-again’. For the better part of last week, there was fuel scarcity all over the country. This was attributed to so many things, but it was apparent the fuel marketers did not want to be caught in a situation where their subsidy claims would not be paid in the event that President Jonathan is retired on March 28. They know it is only under the incumbent that spurious claims could be made and paid and that once a serious government takes over, that is the end of that satanic honeymoon. So, they decided to hoard fuel or stop placing orders for it.
The thing worked. President Jonathan’s ears must be full with the numerous allegations of incompetence levelled against his government and so would never allow the scarcity to linger for long because he would not want fuel scarcity added to his long list of failures. Promptly, the government rose to the occasion and the marketers are happy once again. Fuel queues are gradually disappearing.
Then, look at the case of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) outstanding corps members that the president honoured last Monday; 164 in all. They belonged to the 2012, 2013 and 2014 service years. The presidential honours for youth corps members is an annual event but the president who had not deemed it fit (sorry who had been too busy to hold the event in the last two years) suddenly discovered that it could now be accommodated despite his tight schedule for the elections.
Then the Chibok girls. President Jonathan on Thursday sent the Minister of State (Power), Mr. Mohammed Wakil, to meet with the parents of the girls abducted from school by Boko Haram insurgents last April. “Mr. President is pursuing multi-faceted strategies which address the pains, anger and frustrations of victims.
“Our President directed me to tell you that his government is committed to doing everything possible for the safe return of your daughters”, Wakil told the distraught parents. He did not forget to add that their children would return safely and thanked them, even if unsolicited, for not aligning with those who are politicising the issue, as if we have forgotten that it was the government that began the politicisation by saying no girls were abducted, at a critical time that it was still possible to rescue them from their spineless abductors with relative ease.
On the same Thursday (last week), President Jonathan sent the woman with whom he is well pleased such that he has abandoned everything about our economy to her care, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to the same Chibok to lay the foundation of rebuilding the Government Secondary School where the girls were abducted. Would you still call the president a coward when he had sent two eminent cabinet members to Chibok in a week to appease the people? And, if you are still thinking the president is doing all these for the sake of elusive votes, I pray that God would forgive you because I know he is doing them now because he is no longer of the world. He abandoned Chibok when he was still in the world. Now, old things are passed away and all things have become new. That, indeed, must have informed his decision to send an emissary to the parents, as well as commence rebuilding of the school damaged during the Boko Haram invasion last April, three weeks to elections.
With all these, I must have convinced, rather than confused those still harbouring the impression that our president is incompetent that the reverse is indeed the case. See what the man has done in just one week. This is aside the numerous claims of victory our soldiers are claiming in the war against Boko Haram, but the glory of which many Nigerians are giving to the Chadian, Cameroonian and allied forces that are helping us out with the war against the insurgents. That was how they accused a military governor of not being able to speak impeccable Queens English years ago whereas the man was working. What has Queens English got to do with performance? Soon, the whispers got to the governor who fired back: won la a gbeebo, a gbeebo, arson si nlo (they say we cannot speak good English, but arson (action) is going on!) If the man did not ‘have action’, he would not have seen the shoddy job done by the contractor that his government awarded a bridge project. ‘Who built dis gada’, it is shaking?’ (Who constructed this bridge that is shaking?) he asked when ‘bouncing’ on the bridge to test if its integrity had not been compromised.
Now, simply because some critics do not like the president’s face, instead of praising him for the feat so far achieved, they are busy lamenting that it was the same Chad that General Buhari pursued several kilometres into their territory (their tails between their legs, in 1983, when that country tried to insult Nigeria) that is now warning the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, to surrender or be smoked out and killed! Apparently many Nigerians who are displeased with this role reversal are now asking: how did things get this progressively bad? Indeed, I remember when in one of those lacklustre advertisements put up by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agent castigating Buhari, the advertiser had alleged that our military in such a bad state is Buhari’s doing! Trust Buhari’s acolytes, they would never allow such fallacy go unchallenged. So, they replied that Buhari left the stage since 1985; and many other governments had come and gone after him. Even the PDP that has ruled for 16 long and tortuous years, what has it done to improve the lot of the military beyond making it an annex of the ruling party, with ‘bloody civilians’ allegedly ordering generals about for electoral malfeasance? This is despite the fact that those who are supposed to probe the allegation are yet to admit that the said event occurred.
For those who see Chad’s role in the Boko Haram saga today as an irony, I ask: what is ironical about that? What is wrong in Nigeria seeing Boko Haram and Chad killing it? Are we not all familiar with the saying that there is nothing wrong with a man seeing a snake and a woman killing it; that what is important is for the snake not to escape? Or, as our people versed in Pidgin English would say, whether we tie wrapper around the waist or we tie the waist around the wrapper, what matters is that one is not naked! Are we not to be celebrating the fact that it is a fellow African country that is doing for us what the United States of America, Britain and other world giants could not do?
Honestly, my advice to those who thought not much could be done within six weeks’ postponement of the elections is to have a rethink, seeing the grounds our new, improved and ‘born again’ (to boot) President Jonathan has covered in so short a time. One, two, three and still counting! My own fear , however, is of a different kind. My worry for the president is that if he rushes all that he has to do now, what then would he do if he is reelected? Honestly, this is my fear. Otherwise, we should be happy that our prayers for him are being answered.
