USA Africa Dialogue Series - ID--Re: I’ve Not Done Badly In 6 Months – Jonathan

 

 

ID:

 

I do not at the moment have a favored horse in the 2011

Nigerian presidential race. I started out in the Jonathan

camp only to be disappointed by the President's handling

of the October 1 bombing incident and its aftermath.

 

I have also been following the positive developments in the

Buhari camp with rapt attention.

 

This is where I am today:

 

I have close friends working for both camps. If the

unscientific straw polls (that are based on my recent random conversations

with Nigerians of voting age  in Abuja,
Lagos and Aiyepe, Ogun state and en route to and

from Nigeria are anything to go by, I believe that

we are going to have a tight presidential race in 2011.

 

If the elections were held today, and assuming that GEJ narrowly

wins the PDP primaries, I believe that he has a good chance

of scoring  a narrow victory--probably within 2 to 5 points against

Buhari. If he does, GEJ would have no other group of Nigerians

to thank but the voting age Nigerian youths.

 

To paraphrase a twenty something newly married young lady

of Ekiti state origin that I met at the airport lounge in Abuja to whom I posed

the question --"who do you think will win the presidential elections in

2011?:

 

"Jonathan will win only because he resonates more with the

youths than any one of the other major candidates notwithstanding

the fact that the PDP is very unpopular with most Nigerians.

The youths see Buhari as part of the

old guard and find it difficult to identify with the positive accomplishments

of his brief tenure as military president in the 1980s. Many of today's youths

who will heading for the polling booths to elect the new president in 2011

were not even born when Buhari was President."

 

Similar sentiments were also expressed by a few other Nigerians--mostly

youths that I spoke with. The results of my straw poll might also have been skewed

by geographical sampling errors. I only visited a few cities and one small town.

The opinions of the youths in other geo-political zones e.g. the NW, NC and NE

might in fact be skewed more in favor of Buhari or GEJ!

 

 

I can surmise from the above that while GEJ's lead, even amongst the youth is

by no means insurmountable, the Buhari camp still has a lot of work to do amongst

the under 25 to 35 demographic cohort of the electorate. Whatever coalition

Buhari's party is building needs to be concluded ASAP in order that the resulting  Mega

Party might have a fighting chance against the deep pocket of the PDP's e;electoral machinery.

 

Finally, I believe you are being unduly harsh in your criticism of GEJ's list of accomplishments.

If we can blame GEJ for most of the things that have gone wrong under his watch, including major

and minor ones I believe he should be allowed to claim credits for all the concrete achievements

(too few in my own opinion--but concrete achievements nonetheless) that have happened under his

watch.

 

For example SE Nigerians have been agitating for  an international airport in their geopolitical zone

for almost two decades. This demand has now been met under GEJ, even though he probably played

only a small role in its conception. Even though this is not impossible in other jurisdictions it is difficult

to conceive plan, build and start operating an international airport in a 6 month time frame anywhere

in Nigeria, considering the snail pace of the Nigerian bureaucracy..

GEJ can justifiably claim the credit because the airport was competed under his watch. he could also have either

delayed or canceled the project for any number of reasons including lack of funds and a change in the FGN's

priorities when he assumed power as President of Nigeria. He did not!

 

Contrary to your assertion the construction and operation of an airport has many secondary and tertiary benefits

which resonate through all socioeconomic strata in Nigeria. More flights going in and out of the Francis Ibiam airport

means that there are fewer luxury buses on the highways from Lagos Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kaduna and other major

Nigerian cities to Enugu and other SE cities. This leaves more room on the deadly and congested highways for other traffic.

 

Let us be fair in our criticisms and positive appraisals of individual candidates and their parties as we

move towards the 2011 elections!

 

Bye,

 

Ola

-----Original Message-----
From: idowu <idowubobo@yahoo.com>
To: NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com; NaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com; OmoOdua@yahoogroups.com; EKITIPEOPLESVOICE@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, Dec 26, 2010 1:16 pm
Subject: Re: ||NaijaObserver|| Re: [NIgerianWorldForum] Re: I've Not Done Badly In 6 Months – Jonathan

 

Dr. Jack:

You are the irredentist menace. If we are to use commissioning of project that are meant for the few elites as the basis of measuring the standard of living of the masses and claiming achievement of a president, then you've totally lost your sense of balance and judgment.

 

When a president start referring to budget allocation as an achievement, then you know that the man is using lantern light to look for achievements.

 

There are basic issue that affects the masses on the street, security of life and property, he scored zero. Infrastructure that enhance the ability of the masses to move their farm products and wares for the purpose of commerce, GEJ scored zero.

 

Power which affect the masses in Nigeria, he scored Zero.

 

When it comes to providing moral leadership-He scored Zero.

 

When it comes to manage our foreign exchange earnings, he scored zero. Our foreign reserves had dipped seriously under his watch, while our foreign debts are skyrocketing without anything to show for it, except commissioning of a refurbished aerodrome. 

 

His 6-months achievement showed the president as an individual that major in minor.

 

It is so unfortunate that he has Sycophant like around him, who could not look him straight in the face and tell him what he is not ready to hear in order to help him shape his administration.

 

He has ants eater like you, so when you eat snail, you call it elephant.

 

 

Pronto!!!

Idowu
"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." --Thomas Jefferson

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." -- Elie Wiesel

---

From: Dr. Omubo Jack <omubo@pacbell.net>
To: "NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com" <NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, December 26, 2010 11:55:24 AM
Subject: Re: ||NaijaObserver|| Re: [NIgerianWorldForum] Re: I've Not Done Badly In 6 Months – Jonathan

 

Idowu: please recount the achievements of the 3 past presidents we have had before Jonathan. It is really good to criticize a failing government, but when such criticism is made under the guise of maliciousness; it loses its reformist and corrective values to the society at large. You are becoming a menace. 

Dr. O. B. Jack

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 26, 2010, at 9:25 AM, peter opara <ogbuonyeiro@yahoo.com> wrote:

 

Indeed Idowu. What a super apt proverb. Soon, ants will return on their menu, if they let the opportunity slip them by - and that is by not hearkening to The Man of the Moment, Buhari, and his words you can TRUST....not gimmicks. Nigerians are so down, you throw them some kernels of corn, they start to dance, and some even die or kill each other for that. Does the Abuja rice sharing ring a bell? Abeg. --- On Sun, 12/26/10, idowu <idowubobo@yahoo.com> wrote: From: idowu <idowubobo@yahoo.com> Subject: [NIgerianWorldForum] Re: I've Not Done Badly In 6 Months – Jonathan To: "vincent modebelu" <vin_modebelu@yahoo.com>, NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com, "OBSERVE YOURSELF" <NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com>, naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com Cc: igboevents@yahoogroups.com, ABIAUSA@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 12:16 PM   Vin:   There is a Yoruba adage that if someone is used to eating ants, when he eats snail, he will say he ate elephants.   Commissioning an airport is an achivement? Then I am not sure that when you see an achievement you will recognize one.   Pronto!!! Idowu "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." --Thomas Jefferson "There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." -- Elie Wiesel From: vincent modebelu <vin_modebelu@yahoo.com> To: NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com; OBSERVE YOURSELF <NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com>; naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com Cc: igboevents@yahoogroups.com; ABIAUSA@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, December 26, 2010 9:48:50 AM Subject: I've Not Done Badly In 6 Months – Jonathan ........ "This Christmas, Nigerians can boast of five functional International Airports (the fifth being the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu) while we could only boast of four last Christmas. This new International Airport made it easier to airlift Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu instead of risking his life further by driving him to a farther airport." .......Last Christmas the Southeast and some pockets in other areas where affected by the scourge of kidnappers, this Christmas those kidnappers have been largely routed and normalcy has returned to the affected areas."....... Fellows These only in SIX MONTHS !! Imagine what he will do in four[4] years !!! Governors have not done anything in 12 years. Other Presidents had not done in 50 years. I am just keeping counts....This did not include the Roads that have been re-awarded and reactivated.....Niger Bridge and Onitsha Seaport..are up on the deck for execution. MEND just got N79 billion.in 2011 budget..........less than the budget of INEC.more that the cost of Niger Bridge. We are getting there. vin...../// I've Not Done Badly In 6 Months – Jonathan Sunday, 26 December 2010 02:37 Edegbe Odemwingie, Citing achievements in aviation, foreign affairs, human rights and manufacturing sectors, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in a message to Nigerians said in spite of challenges encountered by his administration in the past six months, Nigerians can boast of progress in some sectors that they could not boast of last Christmas. Hinging on the strides in the aviation sector, Jonathan in a facebook message, said Nigerians can boast of a Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria which we did not have last Christmas. He joined other Nigerians in praying for the recovery of ailing ex-Biafran warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who is down with stroke and had to be flown to London on Friday for further treatment. "This Christmas, Nigerians can boast of five functional International Airports (the fifth being the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu) while we could only boast of four last Christmas. This new International Airport made it easier to airlift Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu instead of risking his life further by driving him to a farther airport." Smarting from the setback Nigeria's foreign relations suffered after the ill-fated attempted 2009 Christmas day bombing of a US airline by Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Jonathan said Nigeria can still celebrate significant successes in its diplomatic relations. "Nigeria can celebrate recent successes in diplomacy in the handling of the arms seizure from Iran, containing the crisis in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and our pro-democratic efforts in Niger Republic" He said his administration was working assiduously to cushion the pains of Nigerians as the year draws to a close. "There is no fuel scarcity this Christmas unlike previous years. That this did not happen by accident but it is a deliberate effort by this administration to ease the pains of Nigerians at this time of the year," he said. Jonathan's message read in parts, "In the manufacturing sector, Nigerians can celebrate the reopening of three textile mills in Kaduna which had previously been closed down including the United Nigeria Textile Mills Ltd., which was reopened as a result of accessing funds from the 200 billion Naira textile industry bail out Funds leading to the re-engagement of 2000 workers who had been laid off when the company went out of business. "In the education sector, this Christmas, Nigerians can celebrate an allocation of almost 1 trillion Naira (933 billion Naira) in the proposed budget for 2011 to a sector which had less than a third of that amount (N249.08 billion Naira) allocated to it last Christmas. "In the area of human rights, Nigerians have seen improvements. While there was tension in some parts of the North last Christmas,  those tensions have eased off. Last Christmas several exiles such as Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El Rufai spent Christmas away from their friends and families," but this Christmas they have the liberty to be with their friends and families in Nigeria. Last Christmas the Southeast and some pockets in other areas where affected by the scourge of kidnappers, this Christmas those kidnappers have been largely routed and normalcy has returned to the affected areas." http://www.leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21965:-edegbe-odemwingie&catid=51:cover-stories&Itemid=101   vin......///         yesterdays thoughts are today's news will keep blowing while relaxed.....they are listening

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