TWO years into his presidency Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is celebrating
the achievements of the administration. The President and his acolytes
at a May 29 event that exalted sycophancy awarded himself high marks,
egged on by Ministers, who one after the other applauded whose wisdom
was behind the achievements, of course the President’s.
For hours, live television beamed the plaudits to millions of Nigerians, some of who had great reasons to wonder if their President, his men and women were talking about a country other than Nigeria. If things were as bright as the statistics painted, why the more glittering doom and gloom? Why were Nigerians unable to relate to the gains?
Who did the Transformation Agenda affectAre there other ways of capturing the prosperity without the befuddling statistics? Why is the public unable to feel the gains in the economy?
The management of the economy is not a picnic. Those who choose to dramatize the task can only arouse more curiosity. What was the point? How would it have hurt the President and his interests if he admitted he was not where we wanted to be? Nigerians always expect more, especially where they are promised superlative performances.
Inflation rate is close to single digit and external reserves are almost $50 billion. The Nigerian Stock Exchange is bouncing back to pre-crisis levels and the exchange rate has stabilised for over two years. What do these mean for the ordinary Nigerian?
We must admit that the Nigerian economy and polity are vast and so are the issues they address. The tendency to group everyone and everything together makes it particularly tasking to appreciate the changes that are taking place.
If you travel by air, the remodelling of the airports shows some work is being done until a strike torpedo. In contrast, most of the roads present a picture of eternal neglect and with even the most modern ones lacking basic lighting to aid night trips.
The Federal Government sets itself up for more criticisms with the high marks it awarded its performances. If the strides that have been taken deserve such praises, government presents itself as mediocre and loses the understanding of those who appreciate what has to be done.
Electricity remains a mystery. Efforts at explaining generation, transmission and distribution and assigning change indicators to them have failed to deliver electricity to users. The devastation this does to the economy is evident. Security challenges, the worst in peace time, dispelled the President’s efforts.
The presentation of the mid term report lacked the modesty that would have earned the President sympathy. If he thinks he has done so well, we would be left pondering what standards he uses.
For hours, live television beamed the plaudits to millions of Nigerians, some of who had great reasons to wonder if their President, his men and women were talking about a country other than Nigeria. If things were as bright as the statistics painted, why the more glittering doom and gloom? Why were Nigerians unable to relate to the gains?
Who did the Transformation Agenda affectAre there other ways of capturing the prosperity without the befuddling statistics? Why is the public unable to feel the gains in the economy?
The management of the economy is not a picnic. Those who choose to dramatize the task can only arouse more curiosity. What was the point? How would it have hurt the President and his interests if he admitted he was not where we wanted to be? Nigerians always expect more, especially where they are promised superlative performances.
Inflation rate is close to single digit and external reserves are almost $50 billion. The Nigerian Stock Exchange is bouncing back to pre-crisis levels and the exchange rate has stabilised for over two years. What do these mean for the ordinary Nigerian?
We must admit that the Nigerian economy and polity are vast and so are the issues they address. The tendency to group everyone and everything together makes it particularly tasking to appreciate the changes that are taking place.
If you travel by air, the remodelling of the airports shows some work is being done until a strike torpedo. In contrast, most of the roads present a picture of eternal neglect and with even the most modern ones lacking basic lighting to aid night trips.
The Federal Government sets itself up for more criticisms with the high marks it awarded its performances. If the strides that have been taken deserve such praises, government presents itself as mediocre and loses the understanding of those who appreciate what has to be done.
Electricity remains a mystery. Efforts at explaining generation, transmission and distribution and assigning change indicators to them have failed to deliver electricity to users. The devastation this does to the economy is evident. Security challenges, the worst in peace time, dispelled the President’s efforts.
The presentation of the mid term report lacked the modesty that would have earned the President sympathy. If he thinks he has done so well, we would be left pondering what standards he uses.
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