Jonathan and the burden of history

WRITTEN BY

Ubong Essien

SIR: Since he came to power in 2009, following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, President Goodluck Jonathan has cut the image of a humble and humane leader, not the desperate breed that we have been accustomed to. That perception, made it possible for him to secure a pan-Nigerian mandate against all odds in the last presidential elections.

However, it turns out that President Jonathan may not be so sincere after all. In the run-up to and during the last elections, it became clear that the President was more interested in politics than governance as he covertly tilled the political playing field in favour of PDP candidates across country. And after the elections he has been doing much more to sustain the PDP’s dubious victories across the country, even as he emphasized his desire for a free and fair elections based on a one man, one vote.

It is, to our utter disappointment that the President has been dissipating so much energy trying to fix the PDP rather thanNigeria. Of course, many cannot forget in a hurry the ignoble role he played then as Vice President in the EkitiState electoral fiasco where his party hierarchy led by him engineered the rigging of elections in favour the PDP only to have that victory quashed by the court.

In retrospect, it seems the only honest man ever produced by the PDP is late President Umaru Yar’Adua who had reportedly refused to be part of that show of shame.

Ever since he came into office, I am not aware of any efforts by the President to promote good governance in the states, where some of the governors rule like emperors.

After all, he cannot feign ignorance about the records of some governors. A typical example is Akwa Ibom where Governor Godswill Akpabio rules like an absolute tyrant. In the last three years, the presidency has been inundated with numerous petitions about the activities of the governor but the President has simply turned a deaf hear thus allowing the governor to successfully enthrone arbitrary rule and culture of impunity. President Jonathan came with a promise of fresh air and rule of law. Instead, what we are seeing is a continuation of Obasanjo-era anti-democratic machinations. Against this backdrop, it is pertinent to say that it is not enough for the President to make a good impression of himself and his government, he must live up to it because neither him nor his government can project an image very long that is a false representation. When the image is only a surface effect meant for public consumption, the true values of both will inevitably reveal themselves.

The president has taken off on a wrong feet. He is acting more like the President of the PDP than the President of Nigeria. And I may conclude that the hopes and expectations of a new dawn with him in the saddle may have been misplaced after all.

VIA THE NATION