Claims by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to reposition Nigeria have come under serious censure from Movement for Fundamental Change, Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, writes.
President Goodluck Jonathan’s literal victory lap, as he reeled out his achievements during the country’s 54th Independence anniversary on October 1, seems not to have gone down well with perceptive observers. Aside the damning international rating on the claim penultimate Monday by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, some local organisations also feel strongly.
The latest comes from the Movement for Fundamental Change (MFC) – a local non-governmental organisation – which has also described the chest-thumbing exercise by the President as joke taken too far.
In the Mo Ibrahim report, Nigeria was ranked 37th among 52 African countries surveyed on public governance practices, scoring low on the selected critical categories that propel human development.
The report identified poverty and unemployment as growing despite government’s claim of a robust economy.
In what appeared a thumb down on Nigeria, Ghana was rated 7th, Rwanda 11th, Benin Republic 18th, Egypt 26th, Mali 28th, Niger 29th, Liberia 31st, Cameroon 34th and Togo 36th – all ahead of far more endowed Nigeria.
Also, in its Ease of Doing Business Report 2014, the World Bank rated Nigeria 147th out of 189 countries, a further deterioration from its ranking of 137th in 2013.
Dissatisfied with the state of the economy, MFC has called for the resignation of Jonathan as president of Nigeria, insisting that he has inflicted so much moral, economic and political damage in the country.
In a statement signed by MFC Chairman, Adegboyega Adeniji, and the Lead Political Analyst, Martin Onovo, the group observed that there was nothing to celebrate for the 54th Independence anniversary, as governance under Jonathan would crash the nation if nothing is done to salvage Nigeria from his grip.
MFC claimed that it was raising alarm on the danger ahead to save the country from total collapse, as the president lacks the vision to position her to enviable level.
The statement read in part: “October 1, 2014 was the 54th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria. Ordinarily, it calls for celebrations. Unfortunately, there was no cause for jubilation. We are all witnesses to the crisis; moral, economic and political, tearing at the soul of the land. Consequently, the MFC has chosen to act rightly by sounding this ‘alarm’ to prevent the looming dangers and save our country.
“Oil revenues have remained very high. Yet as at today, the Nigerian government was rated eighth most corrupt country in the world by the ‘2013 Corruption Barometer’ of Transparency International.
“The missing $20 billion oil revenue, the pension perfidy, the oil subsidy scam, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) spectrum sale scam, crude oil theft, and the $9.3 million cash scandal exposed in South Africa remain green. Never before in our history has the looting of public resources been so brazen.”
MFC stated further that “In 1999, public power generation was 3,000 megawatts (MW). Today, after over $50 billion ‘expenditure’ on power, current generation is still 3,000MW. Nigeria still has the lowest ‘public power per capita’ worldwide.
“We still import petroleum products as a norm since 1999, though we have four refineries and export crude oil. With the highest population of out-of-school children in the world, universities closed for about six months, polytechnics and Colleges of Education closed for 11 months, education and our future have been greatly imperiled.
“Our national debt currently over $54 billion (Debt Management Office) is still rising, with more loans being sought and obtained by the federal government. Unemployment and poverty have been rising consistently since Dr. Jonathan took power in 2010 (National Bureau of Statistics Report). Life expectancy for men is currently 49 years (In-country WHO)”
For MFC, “the entire ruling cabal led by Dr. Jonathan should resign collectively from office within 30 days and hand over to a transitional government (to be) led by the Chief Justice of the Nigeria, to oversee free and fair general elections to all levels of government in Nigeria within six months to establish an authentic democracy.”
The group urged all Nigerians to accept and promote their patriotic position as a bitter pill necessary for a new beginning of a stable, united, just, ethical and prosperous Nigeria.
But while reviewing the various achievements he has made so far in his journey as the president, Jonathan boasted that his administration had diligently implemented its agenda for national transformation in priority areas, including power, as well as rehabilitation and expansion of national infrastructure, agricultural development, education and employment generation.
Despite the estimated 1.6 million new jobs he said were created in the country in 2013 as a result of his government’s policies and actions, Jonathan said further that more jobs are still needed to support the country’s growing population and that he would stop at nothing to ensure the realisation of his transformation vision for Nigerians.
Jonathan said: “On my watch, we have witnessed high national economic growth rates, steady improvements and expansion of national infrastructure, including roads, the restoration of rail transportation, the efficient implementation of a roadmap for improved power supply, a revolutionary approach to agricultural production, as well as advances in education, sports, youth development, healthcare delivery, housing, water supply and other social services.
“In the oil and gas sector, our promotion of a sustainable local content policy continues to guarantee equity and better opportunities for Nigerian entrepreneurs and skilled personnel.
“An unprecedented number of airports across the country are not only being reconstructed at the same time, but being re-equipped and reassessed with emphasis on maintaining global standards.”
The president further said that there is significant increase in mobile telephone and national broadband penetration, making Information and Communications Technology (ICT) one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“We have also developed strong financial markets and regulatory institutions. Our banks now have regional and global footprints,” he added.
Critics, however, argue that Jonathan’s claim that poverty had been reduced by 50 per cent can hardly stand the test of serious scrutiny. They stress that with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s assessment that 80 per cent of youths are unemployed, a World Bank report asserting that 58 million Nigerians are poor and the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Competitive Report 2014 ranking it 127th out of 144 countries, Nigeria is still among the world’s poor destinations.
The statistics, they insist, stood in sharp contrast to the claims of Jonathan’s achievement.