{"id":22872,"date":"2014-02-17T15:25:40","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T14:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=22872"},"modified":"2014-02-17T15:25:40","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T14:25:40","slug":"jonathan-a-liberal-democrat-or-weakling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/jonathan-a-liberal-democrat-or-weakling\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan: A liberal democrat or weakling?"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Tamuno West-Greene<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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\u00a0One of the first major challenges that confronted President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, when he assumed power, was how to deal with the mass protests of January 1, 2012, following Government\u2019s sudden hike of petrol pump prices from N65 to N141 a litre.\u00a0\u00a0The explanation for the increase was that scrapping the fuel subsidy would save $8 billion a year, the bulk of which was falling into the hands of corrupt middlemen.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Not persuaded by Government\u2019s reasons for the price hike, Nigerians stormed the streets of our major cities in protest.\u00a0\u00a0The demonstrations posed a severe threat to national security, compounded by the Boko Haram insurgency, which was already ravaging some parts of the North.\u00a0\u00a0It was an occasion to test Jonathan\u2019s ability for conflict resolution.\u00a0\u00a0In unmistaken terms, he told Nigerians that he would always listen to them, but without abandoning policies and actions that he thought were good for the nation.\u00a0\u00a0So, he decided on a compromise by reducing the cost of a litre of petrol from the proposed N141 to N97.\u00a0\u00a0And the protests stopped.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0For some political analysts, the President\u2019s decision was nothing but capitulation, a weak leader\u2019s failure to carry through a policy of deregulation that would have resolved a major economic challenge in the country.\u00a0\u00a0Many others interpreted the compromise as a sign of strength and the mark of a listening President.\u00a0\u00a0Of course, that singular event only was not sufficient to declare Jonathan as either a democrat or a weakling.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Since the fuel protests, Jonathan\u2019s leadership style has remained a puzzle to political analysts.\u00a0\u00a0When in 2013, violence by the Boko Haram insurgents reached its peak in the Northern parts of the country, Jonathan was forced to declare a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States.\u00a0\u00a0By law, the President had the powers to remove the Governors and State Assemblies of the affected States and take over their administration.\u00a0\u00a0He did not exercise these constitutional powers.\u00a0\u00a0Instead, he left the State Governors in control and allowed the Houses of Assembly to function.\u00a0\u00a0Some Nigerians interpreted the President\u2019s decision not to go the whole hog as evidently lacking in courage while, for others, it was yet another instance of his democratic liberalism.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0For almost a year now, the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has been displaying all kinds of impunity.\u00a0\u00a0He has, on countless occasions, challenged Jonathan whom he accused of failing in his constitutional duty of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians.\u00a0\u00a0The most brazen of them all was when the Governor accused the President of posting Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu, to Rivers State for the ignoble intention of oppressing and repressing the people of the State.\u00a0\u00a0Ironically, at the last time of making this point, the Governor was under the heavy protection of armed policemen deployed by Commissioner Mbu.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0In what has become a routine, Amaechi has now got used to speaking, contemptuously and in disparaging manner, about the President and his immediate family, especially the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.\u00a0\u00a0But the Rivers State Governor is just one of many others who do not show any regard for the person of Jonathan.\u00a0\u00a0Imagine the impudence of Assistant General Secretary of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Alhaji Denja Yaqub who, in 2011, described President Jonathan as \u201ctoo dull to understand the complexity of Nigerian problems.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0If not out of utter disrespect, what possible reason could a politician of Chief Bisi Akande\u2019s calibre have for describing the Government of President Jonathan as \u201ca kindergarten administration\u201d or for someone like Sam Nda-Isaiah saying that \u201cJonathan is not capable of being a Local Government Chairman\u201d? Read any material written by people such as Lai Mohammed, Nasir el-Rufai or Femi Fani-Kayode and you would almost get the impression that President Jonathan was some nonentity.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Somehow, Jonathan\u2019s critics appear to misinterpret his character and social mien.\u00a0\u00a0By upbringing, he is a humble person who is considerate and respectful.\u00a0\u00a0Rather than see strength in these moral attributes, many perceive them as weaknesses.\u00a0\u00a0These, as it has turned out, are the sources of Jonathan\u2019s strength.\u00a0\u00a0His opponents underrate him, thereby easily playing into his hands. Ask James Onanefe Ibori, former Governor of Delta State!<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Is it not curious that soon after receiving Obasanjo\u2019s letter of 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0December, 2013, in which the former President violently criticised his (Jonathan\u2019s) administration, the President immediately warned all his aides against any criticism of Obasanjo; he even travelled to Otta to greet the man?\u00a0\u00a0Recall also that the former National Security Adviser (NSA), the late General Owoye Azazi, once told reporters that President Jonathan had stopped him from inviting General Muhammadu Buhari for interrogation on some security issues (NigeriaWorld<\/i>, August 12, 2012).\u00a0\u00a0That much is Jonathan\u2019s respect for his elders and predecessors in office.<\/div>\n
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Overall, Jonathan\u2019s success in office may turn out to be a consequence of his being misread by his political opponents.\u00a0\u00a0Those who have described him as \u201cdull\u201d, \u201cjuvenile\u201d or \u201cnaive\u201d have found themselves outwitted all round – in political wisdom and in practical living – by a man they think does not possess any of these qualities.<\/div>\n
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\u00a0It was William Shakespeare who wrote in his\u00a0Macbeth<\/i>: \u201cThere is no art to find the mind\u2019s construction in the face.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0What this eternal truth means is that we cannot tell, merely by looking at a man\u2019s face, what he has in mind, his character, strengths or weaknesses.\u00a0\u00a0This should be a note of caution to Nigerians who underrate President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan.<\/div>\n
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