Monday
March 8, 2010 |
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Those handling Goodluck Jonathan
better tell him that this week marks the end of the honeymoon phase of
his “acting presidency.”
This week, Mr. Jonathan must demonstrate his awareness, first of his
personal burden, and then of the Nigerian crisis. If he can’t find the
spine to begin to serve the Nigerian people, then he should ask his
speechwriters to compose one heck of a resignation letter for him. He
should then submit it and get out of the way.
Jonathan, to be sure, is a creature of a difficult historical
circumstance. In 2007, he and his principal, Umaru Yar’Adua, were
imposed on Nigeria. Far from earning the electoral mandate of Nigerians,
they – Yar’Adua and he – were foisted on Nigeria by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo and other elements.
Their chief sponsor, Obasanjo, could not have intended that the duo
would deliver magnificent leadership. If anything, both Yar’Adua and
Jonathan had exemplified gubernatorial mediocrity. In choosing them,
then, a vindictive Obasanjo perhaps sought to punish Nigerians for
daring to deny him his illicit desire for a third term.
Yar’Adua and Jonathan inspired low expectations, and performed worse.
They could not transcend the crooked circumstances that tossed them into
power.
With Yar’Adua hobbled by sickness, his “presidency” became little more
than a residency in Aso Rock. Even at the best of health, the man merely
occupied space, but remained incapable of making his presence felt in
any positive manner.
Today, Turai Yar’Adua’s delusions notwithstanding, Umaru Yar’Adua is
physically (and, in all likelihood, mentally) incapacitated to carry on
the pretence of running Nigeria.
That circumstance has thrown up the prospect of Jonathan’s “acting
presidency.” Nigerians have a right to wonder if Jonathan has what it
takes to step into the role.
It is a measure of how desperate Nigerians are that some expect Jonathan
to perform impressively. There’s nothing in the man’s political resume
that suggests that he’s cut out for excellent leadership. Even so,
history is replete with examples of men and women who managed, in
defiance of the odds, to rise to momentous challenges. Nigerians are
hoping – praying – that Jonathan would be one such accidental success
story.
But let’s be fair: if Jonathan’s political skills are mediocre or
average, he’s entitled to them. But he should, in that event, be fair to
Nigerians by confessing that he doesn’t have what they expect – and that
he wishes to de-commission himself as “acting president.”
This week is decisive.
Nigerians have watched with growing impatience and irritation as
Jonathan appeared barely capable of chairing the weekly meetings of the
cabinet. Last December, as Nigerian commuters were crippled by fuel
shortage, Jonathan “ordered” that the ministers in the oil sector should
not travel out of town on vacation. Mr. Rilwanu Lukman, who holds the
main oil portfolio, skipped out of town, ignoring Jonathan’s directive.
Why has Lukman not been fired?
Jonathan gives the impression of incessantly looking over his shoulder,
afraid that the “forces” loyal to Turai and Umaru are out to get him. He
runs the risk of allowing the fear of Turai to paralyze him. If he can’t
overcome that fear, Jonathan might as well admit to his wimpy
disposition, surrender what power he has, and leave the arena. If he
stands pat, doing nothing, it will be a question of when, not if, the
enemies he fears will pick him apart.
There’s work to do, and Jonathan’s best bet is to get cracking. For one,
he ought to shape up the federal cabinet. There are too many ministers
who don’t appear to understand the most elementary thing about their
ministry – but who relish the sound of the pompous title of “honorable
minister.” Given the shortness of his “tenure” – a year – Jonathan ought
to fish for the most outstanding technocrats to help think up and
implement solutions for Nigeria’s perennial infrastructural crises.
Nigerian roads are in a shambles. Nigerian schools are poorly funded and
ill equipped. Nigeria’s healthcare is in a grim state. Erratic power
supply remains a pervasive feature of Nigeria’s reality. Violent crime,
especially armed robbery, festers. These problems did not crop up
overnight, and they won’t be solved by the wave of a magic wand. But any
focused leader, once who sets out to work instead of to steal, could
make enough of a difference for Nigerians to notice. And Nigerians, long
beset by disastrous leadership, deserve a break.
Jonathan must look into himself and discern if he has it in him. He’s
never been known for stellar leadership, but the historical
circumstances of his emergence as “acting president” are ripe for
courageous performance.
A product of a shameful election, Jonathan has a unique opportunity to
make a lasting impact by pushing credible electoral reform, not the
half-baked, ineffectual brand that a hypocritical and self-serving
Yar’Adua supported. He should indicate his readiness to champion passage
of the key elements of the recommendations made by the Justice Muhammadu
Uwais panel.
Before Jonathan can get to these substantive issues, he must, at
minimum, steer the federal executive council to do the right thing by
declaring Yar’Adua incapacitated. That should happen this week. Every
Okoye, Musa and Adebayo knows that Mr. Yar’Adua is too gravely sick to
be of help even to himself, much less to 150 million Nigerians.
This, I restate, is the week that Jonathan’s free pass will end.
Henceforth, he must work to earn any goodwill. My hunch is that a
Jonathan who can’t lead his colleagues to reach and express a
commonsensical conclusion on Yar’Adua’s status is not worthy of being
entrusted with running the complex organism called Nigeria – even in an
acting capacity.
