"On some positions a coward has asked the question,
is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the
question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And
there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor
politic nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is
right. "—Martin Luther King Jr., November 1967
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has a doctorate degree but
obviously lacks any administrative acumen or leadership qualities. One could
readily concede that Nigeria’s problem predates Jonathan and he should not be
blamed for the myriads of problems assailing Nigeria. His many blames however
lies in his lack of tact and seriousness. His approach to Nigeria’s hydra
headed problem has not been sure footed and when he did took decisions he often
complicates simple problems with politicking.
The leadership Nigeria needs now is one that is willing to
do what it takes to pull the country together in these trying times. We are
fighting many wars, even though the presidency will want us to think Boko Haram
is the only problem we faced. The Niger Delta militants despite billions spend
placating them are still striking the poor people of Niger Delta with deadly
force. Just last week another explosion went off. As usual, the presidency
never uttered one word about that incident nor commiserates with the families
of the victims. The war against corruption is also dead on arrival because our dear
president as usual is often too busy laughing and “jollificating” over dinners
with corrupt politicians while they milk the nation dry. A president that will
give the nation’s centenary honors to the most corrupt and vile military head
of state like Sanni Abacha is definitely not ready to fight corruption. What is
more, for many months, the minister of aviation, caught with her hand in the “cookie
jar of corruption”, was allowed to continue in office ostensibly so she can
obliterate all evidence against her before she was rotated out of that office.
The pivotal test of leadership’s good managerial acumen lies
in response to difficult circumstances. Our president’s response to every
problem often complicates and compounds the problem. Take for instance the
assignment of a murder suspect as the supervising minister for police affairs. Alhaji
Abduljelili Adesiyan was not just fingered in the deadly assassination of
a former federal minister, Chief Bola Ige, he was arrested for it. In strange
circumstances, the evidence was allowed to gather dust in the police force
headquarter and President Jonathan has now handed over the key to that evidence
room to the same murder suspect; possibly so the latter could get rid of the
evidence and potentially fired the officers or otherwise demotes those officers
who investigated him. What in the world was the president thinking when he made
this appointment?
Nigerian of all hue gave Jonathan every opportunity to prove
his leadership mettle but time and time again he throws everything up in our
face with his ineptness and perfidious mendacity. The fact that he is sitting
in Aso rock is due largely to the sacrifice of many Nigerians who risked their
lives to force Yaradua’s wife and her “chicken cabinet” to abdicate power to
Jonathan. And now the beneficiary of that largesse rules with disdain over the
very people that brought him to power. Someone said the coteries of the
sycophants that surround the president often leads him to take bad decision,
but how long should we continue to wait for him to get out of the bubble and
see the anger on the street?
Nigeria is in dire straits and bad leadership is compounding
our problems!
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