BEHIND THE FIGURES by Ijeoma Nwogwugwu;
On Christmas Day, President Goodluck Jonathan, for the second time in six months, admitted that his administration is slow as far as the decision making process is concerned. His excuse for the administration's tardiness stemmed from the need to think through policies in order to avoid costly mistakes that may be difficult to reverse. In July, the same president blamed the Boko Haram insurgency for the slow pace of his administration.
Given his penchant for moving at a snail's pace, we shall give him the sobriquet, Jonny Go-Slow. .......
But if you asked me and a host of other Nigerians, Jonathan and his administration is not just slow, it is frustratingly weak and indecisive. The president's tardiness and inability to take action is not just glaring in his style of governance, it is evident in his limp handshake that depicts him as a man uncertain of himself and his environment.
Expectedly, the president's most recent excuse for his tardiness drew flak from the opposition and civil society groups. Those who didn't have a voice just shook their heads in disappointment at a president who looks for every excuse under the sun for his shortcomings. Some attributed Jonathan's underwhelming style to the fact that he stumbled on power and remains unprepared for governance. I disagree........
Ironically, the constitution confers enormous powers on whoever occupies the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Some even complain that the constitution, perhaps, confers too much power on the president. Yet Jonathan nervously dithers over the simplest of tasks. His preference is to depend on a coterie of close aides who often don't tell him the truth and mislead him into taking the wrong decisions.
That Jonathan is slow, weak and indecisive is obvious to anyone but the blind. Between May 29, 2011 and today, he has been unable to shake up his cabinet and effect changes where they are badly needed, even when the opportunity presents itself. The defence and power ministries, for instance, have been limping along without substantive ministers despite mounting security challenges and a critical power sector reform programme that could make or mar his administration. Add to this the fact that there are some members of his cabinet who he should have kicked out a long time ago and handed over to the law enforcement agencies for abusing their offices and corruptly enriching themselves.
It is not just his cabinet that requires an overhaul. Quite a number of agencies and departments of government lack substantive heads and are being run by officials in acting capacities. This has arisen because Jonathan probably lacks the energy to sieve through the piles of resumes that are handed to him and appoint substantive heads in a timely and decisive manner. Even his own ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, is frustrated with the president over his inability to appoint the party faithful and other outsiders into the boards of government parastatals. The result is that departments and agencies are being run without the right corporate governance structures and checks and balances that could keep errant executives in check.
Continue reading @
http://links.causes.com/s/clHYCb?r=Dgrz
Invite your friends to join us
No comments:
Post a Comment