The reason why I think President Goodluck Jonathan deserves the vote of Nigerians in the presidential /National Assembly poll slated for March 28 this year is not far fetched. I believe without any fear of contradiction that re-electing President Jonathan is the best course of action that Nigerians can take, if we do not want to go back to Egypt! To lay the foundation as to whether he should be the choice of the people, one is constrained to do a comparative analysis between President Jonathan and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari.
There is no doubt that many Nigerians will say in the affirmative that President Jonathan stands tall in every facet or parameters that can be used to assess the two leading presidential candidates. The current issue surrounding his ordinary school certificate leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Since 1985 when his regime was toppled, Buhari has never participated in any national event, except contesting for elections.
In his personal capacity, he has neither developed himself intellectually or entrepreneurially. He is not known to have chaired any panel, board except the Education Trust Fund.
He has not funded a business enterprise. No block of classroom, roads, public building or monument has been named after him. In his capacity as former head of state, no regional or sub-regional body has given him a task to do. When one juxtaposes this with what his contemporaries or senior former military rulers have done for themselves, one cannot but ask whether Buhari is a fit and proper leader that Nigeria needs?
It is a truism that you can’t give what you don’t have. To develop the economy to the admiration of the people, one must have some residual knowledge and not wholly depend on the hand out prepared by an aide.
Even if one is not corrupt, it does not follow that one should be indolent. Given the modest sum that Buhari earns as a retired general, it cannot be out of place for him to own a small business enterprise.
It is not corruption to borrow money from the banks and establish a Buhari farm like his compatriots because in so doing, he would have added value to the nation’s economy either through what is produced in his farm or the employment he gives to our teeming unemployed youth.
Therefore given this template, I am of the considered view that Nigeria deserves better than Buhari. As for, President Jonathan, a former university lecturer has demonstrated that the education he acquired was not a fluke. Within just four years, he has set a record by revolutionizing the nation’s education sector, which can be considered his primary constituency. Today, every state of the federation boasts of a federal university. As a matter of fact, the people of Kastina, the home state of Buhari ought to show appreciation by casting their votes for President Jonathan because he built the only federal university in Katsina state as well as six Almajiri schools in that state. Before he became the president, Katsina and 11 other states in the country had no federal university.
The 2015 election should be about records of performance and not based on primordial sentiments. Jonathan has grown the nation’s economy to the point where it is now the largest economy in Africa. According to the UN, Nigeria’s average life expectancy rose from 47 to 52 years now. The IMF recently promoted Nigeria to a Middle Income from a Low Income Nation. The KPMG also listed our interstate high-speed rail project as one of the world’s top 100 infrastructure projects.
With all these testimonials, then he should be given an opportunity to complete the good work he has started. Beyond the political razzmatazz and sloganeering by the APC, an average northerner should consider and vote for Jonathan based on his unparalleled achievement in agriculture. It can be recalled that the fertilizer procurement and distribution was a veritable channel of corruption. Billions of dollars went into private pockets from the fertilizer scam, as middlemen inflated costs and supplied adulterated products to farmers.
Therefore, the 14 million farmers who were connected directly to fertilizer supply through an e-wallet system by which the agriculture ministry sends texts to farmers to go and pick up their fertilizer and improved seedlings should cast their votes for Jonathan. What about dry season farming that has created jobs for countless number of youth. With dams and irrigation tools provided by the federal government, there has been tremendous improvement in agricultural output. From just about four rice-processing mills in 2011, the number has increased to over 14 across the country.
An average voter in the north central zone of the country can only appreciate the good work the president has done in the zone by casting their votes for him. For instance, in the area of power supply, the president constructed the Zungeru hydro-power project, which is nearing completion and has commissioned the Geregu thermal power plant to increase existing power generating capacity to the national grid among others.
On rail transport, Jonathan constructed and completed the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri standard gauge rail line; construction of the Kaduna-Abuja standard gauge fast train line cutting across Niger state. He completed the dredging of the River Niger up to Baro port while the river ports at Baro and Lokoja are almost completed. On roads, Jonathan embarked on the dualization of the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road, dualization of the Suleja –Minna road. This is not to mention several bridges, dams that were constructed.
The opposition APC candidate says, he is coming to fight corruption, but without mincing words, the current government has been fighting corruption using legal means. The latest Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International attests to this fact. Under President Jonathan, Nigeria progressed 8 points upward in the scale.
The most outstanding policy of the Jonathan government which when it materializes can make Nigeria a giant in the comity of nations is the auto policy.Today, Hyundai, Kia and Nissan have opened up vehicle manufacturing/assembly plants in Nigeria. Apart from the multiplier effect it will have on the economy, as many job opportunities would be provided, Nigeria could also be exporting cars to fellow African countries. Gradually, the government, most especially the presidency, is now patronizing Innoson cars as official cars. The policy will also encourage Ajaokuta Iron and Steel Company as well as other allied companies to come on stream as soon as possible to complement the local manufacturing of vehicle.
Surely things can get better and this is why Jonathan should be given another four years to complete what he has started and also do more.
Those who are of the view that the president has not performed and therefore, does not deserve a second term are either mischievous or refusing to see even when they have eyes. Many people championing change today are just disgruntled members of the ruling party. They are political parasites whose antecedents make it impossible for them to be trusted. Nigerians can’t be fooled by those whose sole mission is to create a different order that will take us back to Egypt.
•Afolabi wrote in from Ado-Ekiti
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