BY TOLA ADENIYI
Election campaigns have reached fever pitch level and gladiators in all sides of the divide have patched themselves in trenches in what some quarters have branded a ‘Do-or-die’ battle. Elections in Nigeria have always been seen as an act of war. And this impending Election is not different.
What is different however is the amount of garbage oozing out of the throat of some principal elements in the Campaigns, and the unprecedented level of mud slinging and character assassination.
Having taken a cursory look at the situation I am persuaded that the person of the President of Nigeria should be spared some decency, dignity and respect. And this is not to be taken lightly. All of us commentators and writers may be have been guilty in one way or the other, so it is not an attempt to play to the gallery or appear to be ‘holier-than-thou’.
President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan by the grace of God and Obasanjo’s evil machinations has been the leader of Africa’s most populous country the past six years. Nobody can take away this historic fact from him or from history. Unfortunately he has made a woeful mess of that greatly undeserved and unmerited opportunity. Be that as it may, those of us who believe totally in the supremacy and pre-eminence of Olodumare, the unquestionable decider and designer of our lives dare not query or enquire into the mind of that Inscrutable Self-Emanate.
The call today is to separate the person of Jonathan from the administration of Jonathan especially when it comes to the unsparing condemnation of an Administration that has proven to be the worst in living memory. In all parameters the Jonathan-led government that is about to crumble completely has been a leader in corruption, recklessness, unaccountability, ruthless abuse of Constitution and gross misuse of power, roguish plunder and massive stealing and utter disregard for the masses of this country.
Dr Ebele Jonathan must however be respected as a human person. He is a husband, father and bread winner to some people to whom he will forever remain a hero and a loved one. He may have been a total failure as a leader, but that does not mean that we should ridicule him. The President of a country does not deserve to be called ‘an imbecile’, ‘an idiot, ‘a coconut head’ or be derided so ugly and ridiculously in very unkind cartoons.
We should bear in mind that there are thousands of university Professors who cannot manage the accounts of their department let alone a whole University community. That a man ‘knows book’ does not mean such a person would be competent as a leader or manager. There are Professors, barons of industry, business moguls who can not manage their nucleus families; their homes!
That Jonathan’s wife has inadequacies in communicating in the English language is not a reason to lampoon her husband. Rumours had been around for some 15 years or so that Chief Mrs Jonathan was the preferred choice of Alamesigiah as Deputy Governor but that the poor wife, a loyal wife, conscious of her obvious shortcomings recommended her husband for the plumb job and the rest, they say, is history. If that rumour is to be believed, why should any one be disturbed that Dame patience Jonathan refused to take a back seat or play second fiddle in the government she thought rightly was hers!?
Dr Goodluck Jonathan is certainly on his way out of Aso Rock, and heading to his proud village of Utuoke. But the man every one agrees is a gentleman at the least on the surface, and a very humble and respectful man deserves some soft landing.
If Nigerians no longer want him and are done with the deceit of shoelessness, the man should simply be allowed to go with his head erect on his shoulders. Jonathan is certainly a most unhappy man today. Most of those with whom he started the journey of maladministration of Nigeria have virtually deserted his sinking boat. Even his government’s spokesman and erstwhile Minister of Information Mr Labaran Maku has branded the PDP ship they all looted as the ‘most fraudulent’ party in Africa. What could be a worse damning testimony for a party seeking re-election?
Jonathan, like other mortals has suffered personal tragedies; his uncle was once kidnapped, a brother died, a sister just recently passed, and he is daily confronted and embarrassed by comic show from someone he dares not confront or control. He also suffers the effrontery of Mrs Bottomleys. Why should Nigerians not have some human sympathy for such a man? And whether we like it or not, the poor man has been carrying the oversize burden of Nigeria on his broad but weak and weakened shoulders.
I sincerely believe that there is a limit to the extent of ridicule we can subject our out-going President to. I am aware that Americans poked fun on President Jimmy Carter and even made caricatures of his pendulum liking the productive organ to peanut, and they also put President Clinton’s head on a chopping block, but they did not call their persons unprintable names as we have subjected Jonathan to in recent time.
As for me, I would like to visit Jonathan in his imminent retirement at Utuoke and enjoy a feast of smoked fish in the creeks and go with him on a tour of the school he walked barefooted to several years past. After all he is going to have it in his resume that he was once the President of Nigeria.
Lest we forget, Jonathan never aspired to be a Deputy Governor, [they dashed him], he never aspired to be Governor [they dashed him through the worst machination of dark dagger conspiracy], he never dreamt of ever being a Vice President, [for where??] [They dashed him] and by some curious doctrine of necessity he found himself mounting the high office of President of Nigeria! Waow!
It is therefore most unkind to continue to heap verbal abuses on his person for submitting himself to be so used by forces that were cleverer and more devious and evil minded than he, Dr Goodluck Jonathan could ever have imagined.
Our first PhD holder President is not a fool. He is not an idiot. He is not an imbecile. He was only unlucky to have led a government that showed all the worst traces of an otherwise civilised society.
Our dear President Goodluck Jonathan must be spared any further verbal slings and be allowed to graciously collect his sack letter on February 14, 2015 [my son-in-law’s birthday] and peacefully enjoy the 3 months notice before handing over his wishy-washy Hand over Note to highly focused serious minded Abraham Lincoln of our time, General Muhammadu Buhari.
And that too will happen on my VERY special Birthday May 29.