The English have an expression: “give a dog a bad name in order to kill it.” It refers to the malicious misrepresentation of someone in order to discredit him. This has been strategy of the opposition to Goodluck Jonathan to date.
This opposition comprises an unholy alliance between the APC, the Arewa Consultative Forum, the Northern Elders Forum as well as the Boko Haram. In complete disdain for the office of the president of Nigeria, the membership of these institutions has gone to great lengths in despising, disdaining and abusing the person of Goodluck Jonathan.
“Clueless” opposition
One favoured insult is to refer to him as “clueless.” Taking a leaf out of the infamous notebook of George Bush who told all kinds of lies against John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election in the United States, now referred to as “snow boating;” President Jonathan’s traducers are seeking to establish falsehood about him and his administration just by sheer force of repetition. It is therefore necessary to ask the question if, indeed, Goodluck Jonathan can be rightly described as “clueless.” What exactly is “clueless” about Goodluck Jonathan?
Shehu Shagari was president of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983. He had very limited formal education and never attended a university. Nevertheless, he was not called “clueless.” Olusegun Obasanjo was president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He did not go to university before becoming President: he only enrolled after he left office. Nevertheless, he was not labeled “clueless.”
But some would like us to believe Goodluck Jonathan, who has been substantive president since 2011 is “clueless.” However, Jonathan is the most highly-educated president in the history of Nigeria. He has a B.Sc. in Zoology; an M.Sc. in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology; and a Ph.D. in Zoology. It is preposterous to describe such a man as “clueless.” Indeed, there are few Nigerians with comparable educational credentials. Who are those “clueful” ones ranged in opposition against him? Surprise, surprise! They are former military dictators with no university training whatsoever and dubious politicians with forged university certificates.
Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State wants to be president. But what he displays most of the time is cluelessness. When he captures newspaper headlines, it is to shout things like: “Jonathan wants to kill me;” or “Jonathan is not qualified to contest in 2015.” Somebody needs to advise Kwankwaso that abusing and disparaging the president is no substitute for having substantive policies on how to govern Nigeria.
Legacy of “cluelessness”
Who can be more clueless than many of the Northern politicians who have been in power in Nigeria in the past to very little effect and are still clamouring for power today? These men have defrauded the North and the country over the years? They have ruled for some 38 years but failed woefully to promote meaningful economic development in the North or the South.
In their years of Northern rule both at the state and the federal level, not a single model Islamic school was established in the North that teaches Mathematics. Instead, the children of the “talakawa” are restricted to Koranic memorization and recitation. No single Islamic model school was established in the North that teaches Chemistry. The singular focus was on Arabic grammar. No single Islamic model school was established that teaches Biology. The children of the poor were limited to Islamic history.
Northern politicians failed to draw inspiration from such excellent Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, where Western education is not deemed to contradict Islamic education. Instead of educating the youth, some of our Northern politicians kept them as fodder for instigating insurgencies for their selfish power-political gain. It is no wonder therefore that, in the 21st century, when a “Third World” country like India has landed a spacecraft on Mars; an insurgency has arisen in the Nigerian North-East claiming that “Western education is a sin.”
Northerners opposed to Jonathan, like Muhammadu Buhari, Ango Abdullahi, Adamu Ciroma and Junaid Mohammed have never demonstrated any belief in the education of the masses. Their children don’t attend almajiri schools and beg on the streets. When in power, they pay no attention to the mass illiteracy in the North. This makes them no different from the Boko Haram that maintains western education is sinful. Now that we have a South-South president from Otuoke in Bayelsa State who is committed to Northern education, these same do-nothing politicians are claiming he is clueless. Who needs their “cluefulness?”
Jonathan’s northern agenda
Atiku Abubakar showed remarkable cluelessness when he observed that the North would not be voting for Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. If the North would not vote for Jonathan, who then would they vote for?
In 2011, Jonathan received over 8 million Northern votes. Since then, he has bent over backwards to reward the North. He has highly favoured the region in his appointments. The former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu said: “Quote me; in a long time we have not had a government where the northern extraction has enjoyed so many appointments like this one.” Indeed, under Jonathan, the Vice-president, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are all from the North.
Jonathan’s opponents would have us believe he is “clueless” but, within four years, Jonathan built 125 Almajiri Schools in 13 states in the North; something Northern rulers themselves failed to do. At the commissioning of the first Almajiri Model School in Gagi, Sokoto State, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad III, observed that Jonathan’s action was unprecedented in the history of Northern Nigeria.
“Clueless” Jonathan went on to establish ten new federal universities; seven of them in the North. It is important to list them, so Nigerians can be in no doubt how ridiculous the allegations against our president have been. Jonathan established the Federal Universities in Lafia, Nasarawa State; Lokoja, Kogi State; Kashere, Gombe State; Wakari, Taraba State; Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State; and Dutse, Jigawa State. No other president in the history of Nigeria has this kind of legacy, North or South.
The Jonathan administration has more than doubled the budgetary allocation to education in the country. It sponsored 7000 lecturers for post-graduate studies at home and abroad and licensed 100 Innovation Enterprise Institutions, while also granting 101 Presidential Scholarships for innovation and development. 51 Polytechnic laboratories have been rehabilitated and
34 new NCE awarding institutions created.
34 new NCE awarding institutions created.
The result has been remarkable. There has been a 10 million student increase in basic education enrolment (UBEC) in the country. There has also been a 75% increase in O’Level credit pass in Maths and English under the Jonathan administration.
Health transformation
Part of the grouse of Nigerians against past governments is that when subsidies are removed (especially that of petroleum), the extra money disappears into thin air without any appreciable public benefit. For this reason, Nigerians insist on the retention of subsidies so that the man-in-the-street can at least get something out of it. However, under the Jonathan administration, it has been possible to identify the salutary effect of the subsidy removal on the well-being of the people.
With the drastic reduction of the petroleum subsidy in 2012, the government created the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P). This is designed to invest the savings accruing from the subsidy reduction in critical infrastructure and human-resource empowerment projects across the length and breadth of the country. To this end, the scheme has included maternal and child-health programmes.
Within two years, the Maternal and Child Health scheme of the SURE-P has reduced the maternal mortality ratio in Nigeria by 26%; reduced neo-natal mortality by 22%; increased the percentage of births by skilled attendants by 33% and increased the percent of reproductive aged women using family planning by 100%.
Road transformation
SURE-P has also been invaluable in engaging in a number of road rehabilitation projects right across the country. For example, the Onitsha-Owerri and the Vom-Manchok roads have been completed. Work is underway on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos; the Benin-Ore-Sagamu dual carriage-way; the Onitsha-Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriage-way; the Kaduna-Maiduguri dual carriage-way; Lokoja – Benin road; Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; Mokwa-Bida road; Akure-Ilesha road; Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega road; Enugu- Abakaliki- Cross River road; Ogoja – Ikom road; Vandekiya-Obudu road; and the East-West road.
The Kano-Maiduguri and the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja roads are currently undergoing dualisation. The Onitsha Head-Bridge Flyover (Ojukwu Gateway) and the Oweto Bridge across River Benue have been completed. The Second Niger Bridge is under construction and the government is also undertaking the dredging the River. There is also on-going seaport construction and the expansion of existing ports, including Warri, Baro, Calabar, Onne, Owerri and Onitsha.
Rail transformation
The railway system in Nigeria had been comatose for over 30 years. However, the “clueless” Jonathan administration has managed to revive this within two years. The Lagos-Kano line has been rehabilitated and is now functional again. The Port Harcourt-Maiduguri line is being rehabilitated and will soon be operational. Kano-Maiduguri, Kaduna-Abuja and Lagos-Port Harcourt rail-lines are also under construction.
President Jonathan inaugurated two Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) train-sets and six air-conditioned passengers’ coaches at the NRC terminus in Lagos. His administration also launched the Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS); deploying 11 trains carrying close to 15,000 passengers daily within the Lagos metropolis. This has drastically reduced the cost of intra-city train transportation within Lagos.
A return-trip from Agege to Ebute Metta under the MTTS now costs less than N150, as against the more than N1,000 it costs by taxi. Transportation from Lagos to Kano now costs less than N1,800 as against between N4,000 and N5,000 by car or bus.
This is what Babatunde Fashola had to say about the “clueless” Jonathan administration’s contribution to mass transit in Lagos State: “It is a very welcome development to our nation, Nigeria and to the Centre of Excellence, Lagos State. No doubt, we require this infrastructure. We appreciate it and we will continue to give every moral support that the corporation requires as we now have complementary services in the transport system of Lagos State.”
These are by no means the tokens of a “clueless” presidency.
(To be Continued).
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Aribisala or Aribisagba! Will you pls keep quiet. " Being Educated does not define being Clueless". Jonathan is not clueless and he kept quiet on $9.3 million seized in South Africa, not clueless another $5.7 million dollars again seized.
ReplyDeleteThe Minister of Petroleum who needs to have been removed since for series of corruption is still in office, yet not clueless. Did you know the level of bunkering going on in Bayelsa state ? The state of the president yet you claim he is clueful.
Thank God GEJ studied Zoology, let him resign & go and study what is in the bush meat and bats that causes EBOLA; no wonder the desease is synonimous to his middle EBELE.
Aribisagba you better run to your village. IDIOT!!!
Why can't you pick your pen and paper and respond/marshal your own points sensibly just like Mr. Aribisala has done and be bold enough to have a name and face so that you can be counted at least. Refrain from being personal and insulting while you are at it please.
DeleteAnonymous 11:07 my sentiments exactly but without calling Mr Aribisala names. Freedom of speech and expression is part of democracy.
DeleteDear anonymous 11:07am. We consider your statement statement as irrelevant as you probably are. You were supposed to Mr Aribasala point by point,challenge him and his claims and probably prove to us why you think he is stupid. And moreover avoid making yourself a foolish coward by putting your name against your comments,at least for us to know that the comment was made by a human being and not a goat.
DeleteMoreover,I also will like you to mention to us,which of our past Presidents was error free.
wounderful!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous October 7, 2014 at 11:07pm
ReplyDeleteYou deserve to see a psychiatrist very urgently. Here u have a Nigerian bring truth out against falsehood & u have d guts to call him names? May Allah forgive you. Our Northern Leaders are selfish & they only care about those around them. The average Northerner has benefited greatly from President Goodluck more than all our Northern President & Dictators put together & you think we won't be happy with him? You must be dreaming. We need another 4yrs to get more dividend of democracy that our own people denied us from Mr. President Goodluck Jonathan.
Mr Aribisala, some of your point are biased. If we talk about backwardness in education in the north it doesnt go to the extent your write up potrayed. For example, Rumfa college in Kano is a conventional western school established around 1938, Barewa college in Kaduna 1930s etc. We have professors of northern extraction all over universities in Nigeria. The record prof Jibril Aminu,former minister of health during Abacha regime made from University of Ibadan where he graduated in medicine was unprecedented till recently. If the northerners doesnt go to schools or have primary & secondary school before GEJ i dont think ABU Zaria, DFU Sokoto, BUK Kano, etc would have been existing talk less of building more universities.
ReplyDeleteNow GEJ is considered clueless for the following reasons.
1. His sycophants/ party including you Aribisala are saying this recent Boko haram are sponsored by the northerners vis-a-vis APC or Muslims but he could not arrest or prosecute a single person when he has everything required to do so unbehalf of the 8 million people that voted him from the north.
2. No clueful president will allow or uncheck the way Asari Dokubo has been operating no matter how close he is to him when he knows that his seat covers every region and not SS alone.
His ministers and even individuals are glaringly corrupt and cannot do anything.
OBJ was not clueless because in 2000 or so there was a dangerous riot in Kano and OBJ was not in the country when it started but he flew in direct to Kano from that place ( though one of his central finger was full of ring) but GEJ would stay 3 to 4 complete months without attending any public function in the north, how do you see that.
He could not visit Maiduguri until after APC governors and officials did when he has all the apparatus he later used.
He was a vice president to Yar adua when they inherited petrol pump price of N75, Yar adua reduced it to 70 and later 65 but your clueful president increase it to 97 only for him to tell us recently that 60 % of sure- p funds are siphoned outside. Is it ordinary citizen that will stop that?
He fight or exchange words with individuals which is not a characteristic of a clueful president.
He is perhab the most orthodox educated president but the longest tertiary education strikes was also during his tenure.
The presidency under GEJ was also the most controversial in information dissemination and decision taking. Dialogue with terrorist today no dialogue tomorrow, no amnesty today amnesty tomorrow, etc.
The list is endless.
So find another way to campaign for the man but not attacking the north because he need northern votes to come back. Moreover the xtains at where this terrorist are operating are not only calling GEJ clueless but something worse because he is living in the bush hungry presently not to talk of the muslims.
Truth is what will set us free. Jonathan is not clueless, it has been substantiated. U expect
DeleteGEJto visit the north regularly. OBJ is from a majority tribe, a soldier and a former military Head of state. GEJ's only crime is that he is from a minority tribe and a well educated man. He cannot afford his image being tanished by acting like OBJ. The boko haram is closely connected to the alimajiris. There is need to show respect to the office of our president. No Nigerian president has been insulted as GEJ has been. The politician are deceiving us and we swallow what they say without analysing inspite of our awareness. Let us be less judgemental of GEJ and focus on what we can do individually to make Nigeria prosper
Is a mad man
ReplyDeleteHahahahahahahahahaha, na laugh I dey laugh
ReplyDeleteIf all this are as a result of cluelessness I think Nigeria need more of this beyound 2015, as a matter of fact we need cluess leaders like him to keep on transforming this country with his cluelessness and he should pls get more clueless individuals to assist him in his cluelessness so as achive a clueless but trasformed Nigeria than having a clued and a Nigeria of liars. (SAMMY)
ReplyDeleteThe entire northern elders are clueless, selfish, evil, malicious and dangerous to the growth and development of this nation. They are responsible for the abject poverty and gross poverty in the north. It's a shame that they are not leaving any legacy behind.
ReplyDeletePolitical propaganda, thts wht ds is all abt. Favours d north just to get their votes yet he has no clue or direction as to how to tackle d insurgents tht had over d yrs wasted lives, generations and property or even get d release of d chibok girls. Dirty game of d witless
ReplyDeleteI won't commend or condemn d writer bt it seems dat he's a campaigner of GEJ&PDP. He shud stop showing being neutral. Bcos he alwys uses trick 2 condemn Tinubu,Buhari and co bt commend wat is nt commendable. Mr Ari, pls declare where u belong
ReplyDeleteyou are right!!!!!!!!
Deletewhere the writer belongs does not really matter. What matters is, has he lied? Are the points he raised here false? Rather than attack his person, tell us your own version of cluelesness in GEJ. Tell the world who has performed beyond or as much as GEJ in the history of Nigeria and within the same time frame.
Delete...we the north if we must tell the truth we are very "OK" with GEJ even though our elites are trying to confuse us just for their own personal gratification! Allah help us!!
ReplyDeleteGEJ even the Blind that donot see have heard /fell the good things you are doing in your transformation agenda. Don't mind paid critics like Lai Mohammed, Buhari and Atiku who no vision for the Northerners talk less of Nigerians
ReplyDeleteMr President because you stand for the truth, the truth bwill put your enemies to shame because you have done what Atiku, Buhari, Lai Muhammed and kwakwaso could not deliver to the Northerners you have done it . they are ingrate , God will continue to uplift GEJ to do more for Nigerians beyond 2015. Amen.
ReplyDeleteIts almost 2015, praise singers already on their prepaid jobs, this is not new, during Abacha terror most politicians and their knowledgeable colleagues accepted and proclaimed that Abacha is the right man for the job.
ReplyDeleteGEJ has issues to solve, there are things to be cleared or addressed before the masses after all developed countries does that but here its norm to keep mute . We can't always refers to the past ,GEJ is the present head of state and if he's not leading us to the promised land I think we need to protest not praise singing!anyway may the best candidate wins. Glory be to the lord, whoever wins has no direct effect on my finances cz I operate an heavenly one.
Mark.
Aribisala reeling out the credentials of GEJ {Bsc, Msc & Phd} cannot exonerate him from this clueless position he has been sustaining in the ranks of our leaders both past and present.Aribisala and his cohorts should know that passing exam is not passing sense. If you don`t have commonsense, you don`t have it and no amount of Phds can earn you that. GEJ may have Phd fine, but all what we have seen so far go along way to buttress that toga he is known for today. Maybe, we should clap for him for putting every foot wrong in the event of very honest, sensitive,international and national issues.My brother, one should be intelligent in doing things for once, except if you are saying the contrary.
ReplyDeleteI hereby call on our Northern brothers to objectively confirm this truth or refute it with your own irrefuttable facts. Otherwise, you cannot help but to support President Jonathan transformation agenda/second term ambition because he's proven to mean so well for the Northerners. Yes!!
ReplyDeleteHow much were you paid for this write up? You will be given an award next year. Which of them do you want?
ReplyDeleteClueleSs president is good for this nation
ReplyDeleteso jonathan this is wat u are doing for the northerners shey? and u leave us with nothing down south. there is God o
ReplyDeleteThe man occupying the office of the president of Nigeria is more than clue less. He is incompetent and less than human enough to hold such an office. Mr. Arabisala, i know people can be paid to make a hachet job and it will appear flawless but in the case of the imbecile president of Nigeria, such will not work because to defend him clean you will have to change all historical facts and to do that will require you to undo them, then redo them. The effort to achieve just one leg of the work is sufficient to undo all your learning and by the time you are done with that, you will be as useless as the imbecile occupying the office of the president of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria. Try to be reasonable in your aguement and may be there will still be something worth saying for this total failure called GEJ.
ReplyDeleteIf this is what cluelessness means we need more of GEJ. Inshort it is as if Nigeria can only go forward with clueless presidents like GEJ. GEJ carr go.
ReplyDeleteLet somebody in the whole of Nigeria or this forum tell me which President be it civilian or military has done at least half of what GEJ has done for North and indeed Nigeria since independence, please list with evidence and examples?
ReplyDelete^^^^
ReplyDeleteI so luv your robust rebuttal. D write up cum writer lacks dispassionate objectivity & only smirks strongly of hate against d opposition. D man has no doubt tried a bit in certain sectors but has woefully failed as a president.
I can only condone one write-up Mr whatever u call yourself and u had better not continue with this useless write-up. I really do not understand some Nigerians. Where are these achievements 4 God's sake? With all our oil money look @ our schools like poultry, horrible hospitals, armed forces, how many new roads and bridges have been built? Only repair 2 b destroyed again in 2 months! Is it power supply? What exactly is it this man has achieved? Security? Eradication or minimised corruption? What did he promise us during his campaign and how many has he attempted? I will condone his failures but I will not accept stupid people telling me the president has done well. Unemployment and poverty has increased and there is no hope. What I don't understand is how people can b blind and stupid @ d same time. We need help in this country, not from God but from ourselves as individuals. Nigerians tell yourselves the truth!!!!
ReplyDeleteMr man we need help from God not ourself
DeleteAribisala is broke and needed contract or some change that's why he is doing this. Pls Bro JO raise him now abi.
ReplyDeleteAdoke u do not have any point counter what Aribisala said if you can? That's all do not beat about the bush.
ReplyDeleteAbdulkadir Adoke, if I guess right i will say that you are related to Muhammed Adoke, the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation.. If my guess is true, i'm not surprised about your position knowing fully well that the elder brother to the Minister Muhammed Adoke introduced religious sentiments to campaing for Muhammed Buhari in Muslim dominated Okene, Kogi central senatorial district during 2011 presidential election. So the minister could not deliver the needed vote to the GEJ government which he is part of. This issue has created quarrel among the members of Adoke family. If you are a member of this family, I guess you are with the group that is supporting Buhari all in the name of religion. Now let us address the points raised by Femi Aribisala. These are facts, however he may not 100% correct but these are facts. It was Jonathan that created Federal university in Kogi state.What femi is saying is that considering the period GEJ is been in the office and what he has done particularly in the north and comparing with the 38years of northern dominated leadership of Nigeria, GEJ has done more than all the northern leaders.Our northern leaders are the architect of our problem. They did little to transform Nigeria. They did little to transform the northern region and develope the northerners. GEJ is not the clueless leader they are presenting him to be.
ReplyDeleteI remembered how the economy of Ebiraland (Okene) now Kogi central thrived in the early 80s because of Itakpe iron ore development and Adjaokuta steel project, the company that would have been the major driver of the Nigerian economy apart from petroleum but when Buhari took over the goverment he killed the iron and steel Company. Babangida and Abacha buried it and Obasanjo did the funeral remembrance by privatising it to Solgas, a fictitious company that has no track record in steel processing and production.The emergence of Buhari to the government in 1983 was the begining of the set back of Ebira/Okene ( the present Kogi central) and the setback of nigeria.I know GEJ has not revived the steel company, I know he has not addressed the insurgency which is a northern creation by their foolishness, I know GEJ has not curbed corruption, I know there is need for improvement but considering what he has done you cannot say he is clueless. The northern leadership and her cronies that held nigeria bound for 38years without developing the country, their region and their people cannot use the word clueless to describe GEJ. By David from Okene
Mr Aribisala, your head is not for decoration. It is really working. We in d north are clapping for u. Those who enjoy ur reasoning are far more than those who complain. mungode dewa
ReplyDeletefor more direction, GEG hav retrieved d steel complex frm d company that bought it frm OBJ for a rediclous sum 500millon naira,when Buhari IBB and Abacha v
ReplyDeletehav respectively used it to syphon billions of dollas. more so,Nigeria started dis steel complex the sam time with Koria and they hav been useing t0 produse all this vehicles u see an they never spent up to 10% of d money spent on Ajiokuta steel complex.
ARIBISALA is d most honest and sincere Yoruba man I hav ever seen,in fact I will vote 4 him any time any day he comes out for any election in d future. But it baffles me how some pple turn the truth up side down all in d name of party,tribe or religion. Thank GOD darkness can never comprehend light. Its only a person that intentionally want to deceive himself that will say he is wrong. All that abuse dis man never provided any fact to prove him wrong,
ReplyDeleteWhat's exactly do u guys expect frm this Aribisala he is one of the Jonathan E rat. Weather Jonathon perform or not. He will receive his support frm all his E rats what they do every morning is to seat on internet and shower praises to Jonathan at the end of the month their salary comes in. Now tell me how u think he and All the E rat wil see any thing negative about this govt. Personally I don't take them serious anymore because the have sold their conscience for pie nut.
ReplyDelete