Apparently worried by criticisms of non-performance against President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, some senior officials have embarked on moves to project the good sides of the government, reports Assistant Editor (North), CHUKS EHIRIM.
It is argued in some quarters that President Goodluck Jonathan is the most criticised leader in the history of the political leadership in Nigeria.
In apparent bid to debunk the impression of inactivity, Jonathan’s image-handlers have, on occasions, released statistics to prove that the administration has surpassed its predecessors in terms of socio-political and economic achievements. Among the aides that have put up efforts in this regard is Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who had consistently advertised the buoyancy of the Nigerian economy. The Minister insists on this position even now that the nation is saddled with austerity measures.
Other prominent government officials are not left out in the exercise.
The new approach to marketing the government’s performance appeared to have taken off with the office of Senior Special Assistant to the President (Public Affairs), Doyin Okupe, who, between October 30 and November 4, packaged a four-day public affairs forum, with the theme, ‘The Jonathan Administration: Four impactful years’.
The programme entailed the assemblage of almost all the ministers currently in Jonathan’s cabinet, to come forward to showcase achievements of their ministries in the last four years.
Each of the ministers battled to reel out a catalogue of achievements the government has recorded in the course of serving Nigerians. One of the claims was the one from the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, who told his audience at the NICON Luxury Hotel venue of the programme, that very soon importers of generating sets will be out of business in the country.
Analysts are yet to ascertain the impact of Okupe’s outing on the president’s public perception profile. But that has not stopped other functionaries of the administration from the exercise of marketing the government’s programmes in the last five years or more.
TheNiche even learnt that the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Social Development and Special Duties is on the verge of putting together an international exhibition on the transformation of Nigeria by President Jonathan.
Addressing journalists on the formal inauguration of the planning committee for the exhibition on November 17, the Special Adviser, Mrs. Sarah Pane, stressed that the “government, in the last four years, has made significant strides towards the transformation of our society, which is the major ethos of the administration”. She however regretted that the transformation gospel may not have been properly extended to the citizens.
Mrs. Pane explained the focus of the international exhibition which she said would include “highlighting major successes in the major sectors of the economy, correcting the impaired judgement arising from inadequate or wrong information, engendering unbiased global appreciation of the transformation initiative as well as re-awakening the consciousness of stakeholders to the collective challenge of building a virile and viable society”.
The three-day event, which will hold at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja, according to her, is organised by her office, in collaboration with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the private sector, which will display graphic and pictorial presentations of the milestones they have achieved within the last four years.
It is already being speculated that this aggressive marketing strategy being employed by the Jonathan administration has to do with the regime’s desire to enhance its chances in the 2015 general elections, the campaigns of which are already on.
To support this assertion, some pro-Jonathan support groups outside Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), which has allegedly sunk over N7. 5 billion in campaigning for Jonathan’s re-election, have joined the trend.
One of the groups in the forefront of Jonathan’s re-election in 2015 is the Nigerian Young Entrepreneurs (NYE), which is made up of young men and women who were hitherto unemployed until the emergence of one of the youth empowerment programmes of the present administration, YOU WIN,
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Director of Media and Strategy of the association, Bello Murtala, in justifying the decision of NYE to endorse Jonathan for 2015, argued that the numerous achievements of the regime, which he insisted had added value to the lives of many Nigerians, also motivated them to come together to support the man he said gave them hope.
“The Nigerian Young Entrepreneurs is a group of young innovative entrepreneurs who have decided to come together to build a platform for young business owners, who have been affected positively by the youth-friendly programmes of the present federal government. We are also of the opinion that a committed government deserves our support. So we will support President Goodluck Jonathan for continuity of good programmes, so that more young Nigerians can benefit from his government beyond 2015.”
It listed achievements of Jonathan to include: launching of the YOU WIN programme where about 3,900 winners have been selected and given between N1 million and N10 million as grants to start or expand a business.
Also, the group noted that the present government, apart from launching a programme to empower about 750,000 Nigerians in self-employment programmes, had provided about N220 billion for small and medium scale businesses.
While insisting that they were not politicians, members of NYE said their resolve in supporting Jonathan is because he has demonstrated commitment to develop all the sectors of Nigerian economy, adding that a fresh mandate will further reflect positively on the lives of Nigerians.