BETWEEN MAGIC AND COMPETENCE By Rev. Chris Okotie Okotie@revchrisokotie, follow on twitter @revchrisokotie, 08078421451 (sms only) It is interesting how, sometimes, a phrase could shape a whole thought process, and give vent to a full-blown write-up. Columnist, Azu Ishiekwene’s reference in his article in the Leadership Edition of November 1, 2013, to President Goodluck Jonathan’s honest comment:“I cannot perform magic,” which he reportedly made in the paper’s previous day edition has far greater implications than it seems on the surface. True, like Azu mentioned, if Nigerians wanted a magician as President, they would have looked for a Professor Peller. Instead, voters preferred Goodluck which in both name and pedigree, were the trade mark of candidate Jonathan. Now, fact is, both magic and luck are products of superstition and, in the former case, sophistry. In the modern scientific society these out-moded concepts have no place in political competition, moreso for the exalted office of President. It was naive of Jonathan’s supporters to assume that because he rode to power on a prosperous gale, which saw him emerge from nowhere to become deputy Governor of Bayelsa, then Governor, Vice President, Ag. President and finally, elected President by his own choice in 2011; this lucky streak would rub-off on our nation which at that time was in an unsettled state because of the bitterly fought Presidential election that fragmented the polity as never before. Thus, the popular slogan of his 2011 campaign was “Good luck for me, good luck for you, and good luck for everybody”.As a bewildered nation found out, barely 120 days into his presidency, the Niger- Delta militant group, MEND bombed the Independence Day Anniversary parade. What a bad omen for a newly elected leader who was presiding over his first anniversary parade as an elected president. This baptism of fire shocked Jonathan himself and exposed him to the reality that he’d need more than luck to steer the affairs of this complex nation. Clearly, competence, not luck or magic is what a leader must have to run a big enterprise like Nigeria which already has the misfortune of having a long history of inept, ill-prepared and corrupt leadership. Jonathan, the first PhD holder to be president, and brimming with youthful vigour, though power-shy, but nevertheless a politician of fortune, was widely expected to shift the power paradigm when he waved the banner of a Transformation Agenda as his blueprint to transform Nigeria. But more than three full years in power, including a one-year learning curve, the biggest transformation we have witnessed is a steady economic growth index against a background of growing unemployment, shrinking opportunities, widening poverty circle, and a dysfunctional state. This disturbing state of affairs is not a consequence of war or natural disaster, but managerial ineptitude by the country’s CEO. His “wobbling and fumbling”leadership is disappointing, to say the least. With unprecedented oil revenue during his three years in charge, Nigeria has no business being ranked alongside corrupt, failing states like Somali, Afghanistan, Haiti and the Congo. Boko Haram and related violence is no excuse for non-performance because the terror war is restricted to one corner of Nigeria in the semi-arid north eastern states of Bornu, Yobe and Adamawa though with occasional forays into Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna and Abuja. War-ravaged countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Angola and Rwanda have since recovered and are now recording impressive impact-driven economic growths which are visible in the lives of their citizens and in the quality of their national infrastructures. Gen. Yakubu Gowon, at just 31, with no governance experience, inherited a nation in serious crisis of disintegration. In fact, the armed forces, the country’s only truly Pan-Nigerian institution was already fragmented, when the young officer took over power and led the country into a 30 – month civil war. He still managed to pull the nation together and healed those wounds in record time; without external borrowing. Some have credited his finance minister, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and a competent and patriotic cabinet for this astute fiscal management, but the ultimate credit must go to Gowon. With meagre resources Gowon performed because he surrounded himself with experienced politicians and technocrats who loved the country, even if their credentials were far less intimidating than those under the belt of Jonathan’s team. Some of the president’s ministers were at the pinnacle of multilateral international agencies like the World Bank before they were recalled home to serve their fatherland, yet this celebrated team is unable to find the right answers to our myriad of problems despite the huge resources at their disposal, because of a weak, clueless leadership and monumental corruption. For Mr. Jonathan to cry out that he is not a magician shows he is overwhelmed by the governance challenges he is facing. When leadership falls on the laps of a man who cannot rise to the challenges, hawks who mill around him will take over. That is what is going on in Jonathan’s Villa. That is also why he has resorted to government by Committees. The president has even ceded the running of the economy to Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for whom he created a new office, “Coordinating Minister of the Economy” in addition to her portfolio of Finance Minister. “Co-ordinating Minister” is unknown to our type of Presidential system of government! Even so, what difference has it made? If this ingenious governance by proxy is meant to make up for Jonathan’s weakness, it has not succeeded. President Olusegun Obasanjo left an effective administration which President Jonathan inherited along with the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, whose brief reign counts for little because of his infirmity all through his 12 months in office before his demise. But President Jonathan has failed to build on OBJ’s landmark fight against corruption. Obasanjo hounded corrupt Governors out of power and put errant public officers behind bars. How many corrupt public officers has President Jonathan jailed? Are they not walking the corridors of power today, and continue their looting as if money is running out of fashion? Nobody needs a magic glass to see that. Rev. Chris Okotie, a Pastor-politician wrote from Lagos
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 14:46:51 +0000
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