Reuben Abati: The Jonathan “They” Don’t Know
By Reuben Abati
“They”
in this piece refers to all the cynics, the pestle-wielding critics,
the unrelenting, self-appointed activists, the idle and idling,
twittering, collective children of anger, the distracted crowd of
Facebook addicts, the BBM-pinging soap opera gossips of Nigeria, who
seem to be in competition among themselves to pull down President
Goodluck Jonathan. This army of sponsored and self-appointed anarchists
is so diverse; many of them don’t even know why or how they should
attack the President.
The clear danger to public affairs commentary is that we
have a lot of unintelligent people repeating stupid clichés and too many
intelligent persons wasting their talents lending relevance to
thoughtless conclusions. Hold on. I don’t want to be misunderstood. I
am not saying nobody should criticize the Nigerian President. I spent
some time learning that legal maxim: “volenti non fit injuria”. Public
position comes with its own share of risks and exposure. But the
twittering, pinging, Facebook crowd of the new age must be guided by
facts.
Hold your stone. Don’t haul it yet. Shhh. Wait, Mr.
Alaseju! I have spent the last fourteen months working with President
Jonathan. I have followed him everywhere. I can write a whole book on
his Presidency so far, but you won’t get to read that until much later.
I have heard that some people are protesting that they will not buy the
book if it gets written. Well, your choice. What I can report, for now
is that he is a grossly misunderstood President. Too many people are
unfair to him. They criticize him out of ignorance. They abuse him out
of mischief. And the opposition doesn’t make things easy at all. Can we
look at a number of issues?
You say he is a clueless President. You are wrong. He is
not clueless. Nobody is more committed to the Nigerian Project than
President Jonathan. In spite of unforeseen challenges which his
administration has had to contend with, President Jonathan is doing his
utmost best to positively transform Nigeria. Ordinary Nigerians know and
appreciate this. Those parading themselves as leaders of the
opposition who claim that the President has lost the support of
Nigerians represent only themselves and their selfish interests.
President Jonathan is a clever, methodical and
intelligent man, who is very adept at wrong footing all the persons who
make an effort to second-guess or under-estimate him. He understands the
complexity of Nigeria. He is acutely conscious of the historicity of
his emergence as Nigeria’s No. 1. He knows that he is here as the
leader of all Nigerians. He knows that he is a representative of all
common persons, particularly the children of all blue collar workers who
never wore shoes or got a chance to eat three-square meals, and whose
mothers and aunties could never be part of policy-making processes.
When he spoke about not wearing shoes as a child, he
meant that as a metaphor for the disparities in the Nigerian system, and
the urgent need to redress inequalities. But I have heard some persons
responding literally that Nigerians should never vote for a man who
never wore shoes. How simplistic. Attention needs to be drawn to the
fact that a rooted, people-sourced President who seeks to transform
Nigeria, and who campaigns on a platform of transformation, will
necessarily be opposed by those who consider themselves the children of
Empire builders, those who think that their ancestors built Nigeria.
Wrong.
The Ijaws, the fourth largest ethnic nationality in
Nigeria, have as much right to have their son as President as every
other Nigerian group. But Jonathan doesn’t even dwell on this. I have
never heard him utter an ethnic statement. He sees himself as the
President of all Nigerians. He is at home with every group. He is
focused on the challenges of nation-building. He wants to transform
Nigeria. He wants to unite the country. He is determined to promote the
country. And he is doing so already. He knows Nigerians want regular
power supply. He is working at it. That is why we have crossed 4, 400
MW.
He knows Nigerians want infrastructure. That is why he is
telling Bi-Courtney to fix Lagos-Ibadan Expressway or get out. That is
why he is telling a particular Minister to fix the East-West road and
get it fixed quickly. That is why he has directed the relevant agencies
to get corrupt persons to answer for their misdeeds. That is why he is
strengthening Nigeria’s foreign relations. That is why he is
transforming the agriculture sector, from a contract-awarding,
fertilizer distribution enterprise into big business. And more… The
reason President Jonathan does not go into a song and dance routine is
because he knows that true rebranding of a nation is a projection of
positive things that are already happening.
They say he is “tribalistic”. Not true. How many Ijaws
are in President Jonathan’s inner circle? Very few, I can tell you.
There are of course, all kinds of persons who go about telling people
that they have the President’s ears and eyes. They would even tell you
that they think for the President! I used to have nightmares whenever I
heard that, but it no longer bothers me. I have since learnt that some
Nigerians consider it fashionable to wear false garments.
The Presidency qua Presidency is staffed by key officials
from all parts of the country. The Secretary to the Government of the
Federation is from Ebonyi State. The Chief of Staff and the Head of the
President’s Secretariat are both from Edo, the Protocol Liaison Officer
and Principal Private Secretary are from Adamawa, the Chief Detail is
from Borno, the Aide De Camp (ADC) is from Kogi, the Perm Sec, State
House is from Benue, the State Chief of Protocol is from Kwara, the
Special Adviser, Media and Publicity is from Ogun, the Chief Physician
to the President is from Rivers. Only the Chief Security Officer, the
Special Assistant, Domestic and the Special Adviser, Research and
Strategy are from Bayelsa.
When he is in the office, and he gets there early every
day, and works till very late, he is exposed to all categories of
Nigerians. He runs a modern and open Presidency. He is on Facebook,
Twitter, email, SMS, BB, and he reads. And he writes. This is not a
provincial President. The intelligentsia, his immediate community,
should support him to do his work.
President Jonathan was the first Nigerian leader to
appoint a woman as his Chief Economic Adviser as well as the Nigerian
leader who opened up the Nigerian Defence Academy to women. And he took
affirmative action in political appointments to a higher level by
reserving 35% of all appointive positions in government for our women
folk.
The facts in this regard are incontrovertible. Under
President Jonathan, women occupy very strategic positions (Petroleum
Resources, Education, Co-ordinating Minister/Minister of Finance, Water
Resources, Minister of State, FCT, Minister of State, Defence, Minister
of State, Foreign Affairs 1, Minister of State, Niger Delta) and the
headship of many of the MDAs. The President’s commitment to Nigeria is
total. All his children school in Nigeria. Even his dress code promotes
Nigeria.
They say Mr. President drinks. My friend and colleague,
Etim Etim, called the other day to say that whatever may be the
challenges on this job, he could affirm that I am at least enjoying.
“What with all the choice drinks on every trip,” he said. I told him,
“No, we don’t drink.” He protested. He thought I was lying. He had heard
that kain-kain is a staple fare on presidential flights. I told him No.
We are not allowed to touch alcohol. Alcohol is not served during
official duties. Yes, when there is an international function, wine is
served, but nobody gets drunk around here. That will amount to an act of
indiscipline. The President himself does not allow alcohol to be served
at his table. But when you go to social media they tell you something
else. Lies. Lies. Lies.
I have even heard that the President spends billions on
feeding. Well, I have enjoyed the privilege of eating at the President’s
table. What does he eat? Fish pepper soup. Cassava Bread. Slices of
yam. Rice. Boiled plantain. Fruits and vegetables. He fasts when he
chooses, and fasts all month during Ramadan and Lent.
And because he takes his exercises and keep fit regime seriously, he eats very little.
Okay, he drinks coffee. And yet there are people out
there who keep claiming that there is a feast in the Villa every day.
They say at every meal, the table is decorated with roasted turkey, and
every delicacy under the sun. Lies. Lies. This President is not a
glutton. We have a disciplined, hardworking president who enjoys his
privacy, and the company of intelligent people.
Here is a man who is an epitome of loyalty and
simplicity. The thing about the President’s critics is that they just
cannot accept that someone with his simplicity can be their President.
This is the Saul Complex. Saul could not accept the fact that somebody
as simple as David could be favoured by God. And just like Saul threw
the spear at David out of uncontrollable jealousy, these critics are out
to throw any kind of spear to see which hits the target, hence all
their lies about the President.
Let me end by saying that the President is a simple man
but simplicity is not naivety. If simplicity were to be naivety then the
world would not be where it is today because it is simple men like
Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Kwame Nkrumah,
who have shaped the world that we live in by simplifying what others
have complicated.
Dr. Reuben Abati is Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
