An Endorsement of mediocrity by Joe Igbokwe

A gainst all sound reasoning, permutations and calculations
from all those who wish Nigeria well that the leadership of PDP
will rise above mediocrity, and impunity in choosing its flag
bearer in 2015 presidential elections, the never do wells
gathered last week to endorse President Goodluck Jonathan as
the candidate of the party. To make matters worse, the
leadership of PDP said there will be no Presidential primaries
since President is their sole candidate who cannot be
challenged. I consider this an act of desperation, a celebration
of impunity and it supports Senator George Akume’s assertion
that “the chain of ethical liability is unbroken” in Nigeria. In 1999 Nigeria generated about 4000mw of electricity and
nearly after 16 years we are still under 4000mw. Now, are we
making progress that we need to sustain this continuity?
Security of lives and property was 90% efficient in 1999 and
today that great progress has been eroded, trivialized,
decimated and desolate. We have lost more lives to carelessness
in the last 16years than under military from 1985 to 1999. As I
write this our nearly 300 Girls are still in captivity. Boko
Haram has killed more than 3000 innocent Nigerians. Now are
we making progress in the areas of security to warrant this
continuity mess? Matters were not helped when the president
has been changing Service Chiefs at the drop of a hat as if
one is changing slippers. When you have such instability in the
nations Security architecture then everything is lost.
Recently, the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS announced a
job vacancy for 3000 people and nearly six million Nigerians
applied. NIS tried to do an open aptitude test in public spaces
and the bizarre arrangement backfired. Nearly 30 Nigerians
died as result of stampede that greeted the awkward and
primitive arrangement. Not only that the recruitment turned
tragic, we at once exposed our low and miserable lazy attitude
and conduct to world and our image nosedived and morals
approached zero level. Again in the face this mounting
unemployment situation can Nigerians believe this continuity
brigandage?
From the Presidency to the National Assembly dominated by
the PDP, from the Petroleum Industry to the Aviation
Industry, from the Ministry of Works to the Civil Service as a
whole, from the Defense Ministry to the External Affairs etc,
its corruption and impunity all the way. A quantum of Nigeria’s
budgetary allocations every year end into the private pockets.
Recently they took a private jet belonging to Pastor
Oritsejafor and loaded it with 93million dollars for onward
delivery to South Africa for an unknown transaction. If not for
the prying eyes of the South African Security personnel’s
nobody would have known anything about it. Even as I write
this there has not been any serious explanation on how we got
to this sorry pass that we have to traffic and abuse the
United States dollars. Now in the face of this outright
provocation can you subscribe to this continuity madness in the
21st century?
How can we be talking about continuity in the face of abysmal
miserable performance in the midst of plenty? Why must PDP
continue to talk about continuity when all our infrastructures
across the country have broken down with no hope to fix them
in sight? How can we still be talking about retaining a non
performer and an incompetent leader in a nation of nearly 160
million people? Do we know that a day is very important in the
life of a country, like Nigeria talk less of when you have to
waste four or eight years in the hands of a totally helpless
and hopeless leader? How can the leaders of a very important
country in Africa continue to travel abroad for mere medical
check up when we have the capacity to build at least six world
class hospitals in six zones of the country? How can we continue
to lose students to quack universities in Ghana when we can
build world class universities in Nigeria and invite other
Africans to come here to study? How can we continue to take
the insult that none of our universities can be rated high in
Africa talk less of the world? I can go on and on.
Hello Nigerians, we just have to get up and go. I do not know
about you but I cannot trust President Jonathan with another
four years of mediocrity and impunity. I cannot trust
President Jonathan with another four years of incompetence
and timidity. I cannot continue to stomach this foolish idea
that President Jonathan is what Nigeria needs now to get to
the Promised Land. I cannot continue to be led to believe that
in a nation of 160 million people President Jonathan is the best
we can throw up. The President has tried his best and he has to
be voted out for the Nigerians to breathe fresh air.
Besides his inability to provide leadership to Nigeria in hours of
need, his inordinate ambition to continue beyond 2015 remains
the greatest threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria as a
political entity. Our diversity and political arrangement for
peace and unity of this country does not support this. Through
actions and deeds President Jonathan has divided Nigeria
along religious and ethnic lines, he has pitched his Ijaw people
against other Nigerians through patronage and lack of political
will to call his people to order. He has not shown love to other
Nigerians to prove that he is the president of all. President
Jonathan has not been able to prosecute one high profile
corrupt person since 2009. We have not been lucky in the
department of leadership since PDP came to power in 1999. The
world mocks us that we assume that somebody is in charge of
Nigeria when nobody is really in charge.
Given the sordid pictures painted above I submit that the
endorsement of President Jonathan to continue to rule Nigeria
beyond 2015 is an endorsement of mediocrity. Nigeria can do
better than this. Case rested!

Joe Igbokwe
Lagos