I like President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan...or rather, I mean I 'like' him on Facebook. For the first time, I found a Nigerian leader who tried to talk to Nigerians, or Nigerian youths (and ICT-savvy oldies) and get us to empathize with him - even though he's never really answered some of the questions raised on his fan page. For the first time, I experience a Nigerian leader show appreciation for the prevalent social trend, and taking advantage of it to reach the electorate to whom he owes the privilege of occupying the country's First Residence. And yet again, for the first time, I see a Nigerian leader attempting to engage the electorate cerebrally, exhibiting an understanding of the peculiarity of the Nigerian situation through his posts, and hinting on possible steps his administration is taking to tackle the country's many hydra-headed malaises. And to cap the cake with icing, he has become the first presidential hopeful to declare his intention through the Internet, adopting a personal approach to explain his mission for the Nigerian people.
And I must commend the man for appreciating his brand...songs, posters, etc hinting on his political ambitions have trumped up the 'good luck' angle, letting Nigerians know that if good luck attends the man (and the evidence is there to see), then it'll spill over to everything that he is involved in - even if someone has to encounter some form of misfortune in order for it to happen. Either way, he has shown that he has a good sense of branding, or that he has the good sense of surrounding himself with people who do. And just when you think he's lily-livered, he displays a massive show of strength and political will. Remember his cabinet reshuffle soon after his confirmation as substantive President, and his most recent firing of all service chiefs. You have to hand it to the man - he knows where and who he is.
This then leaves me wondering: "have we found him, or do we wait for another?" Has the 'Joshua' that Pastor Tunde Bakare once preached to be the solutions to Nigeria's seemingly perpetual 'developing' status finally arrived? Do we have an honest reason to believe again that we can rightly reclaim all the titles that we once rightly (and now undeservedly) boast of, a la, 'giant of Africa', etc? Should we, taking cognizance of his precedents, raise our expectation and change our perception of Nigeria's leaders? Unfortunately, I'm afraid not, and here's why.
First, he is a product of the PDP, a party that has the unenviable record of producing the worst kinds of leaders across all levels of government. In over 10 years of running this country, we have very few things to cheer about in our national life that has been occasioned by the PDP. Instead, we have had two of the worst possible elections in this country, both of which had successfully ensured the continuity of an unpopular government; we have witnessed a brazen disregard and blatant abuse of the rule of law by government and its functionaries, even to the extent that military juntas look law-abiding; we have been made to bear the brunt of the failures of several committees, commission, reports, all of which have gulped billions of dollars but have not provided a solution to the power problem; infrastructural decay continues and the list could go on and on. It is hard to envisage that the solution to these problems will come from the same system that entrenched them in the first place. Even though GEJ has tried to show that he follows a different ideological direction, it will be absolute difficult, if not downright impossible for him to thrive when his bedfellows include a certain former head of state/president who sought to twist the constitution to perpetuate himself in government which was just one incident in a long list of instances where he attempted (successfully, if I might add) to rape the laws of the land.
Secondly, what we have witnessed from this Niger-Delta man is all talk, little action; excellent plans/roadmaps, zero execution. He sometimes cuts the figure of one overwhelmed by the immensity of the task which, according to him, was "foisted on him by providence", hence the fear that we may yet witness the snail speed that attended government business during the era of his immediate predecessor and late boss, Umaru Yar'Adua.
Needless to say, I support the fact that he is running, because he represents the best possible chance of ending Northern supremacy over our politics, despite the zoning threat of the North and the now-declared intentions of ex-Heads of state, Buhari and Babangida. But whether he can lead us forward as a nation, time alone will tell - even though many Nigerians have long lost their patience and have resigned to fate.
