Goodluck Jonathan – A President and His Many Sorrows

In all honesty and fairness to ourselves and nature, no one deserves our sympathy, no one craves more for our empathy than the man seated on the seat of presidency consumed with thoughts and not knowing which to put into materialization. It is said that “uneasy lies the head that bears the crown” but in Mr. presidents own case, I am not at ease with just the word uneasy, I am of the estimation that a better adjective should be coined out to put a figure on the level of psychological trauma and physical nightmare that his occupation of the seat of presidency has fetched him in so short a time.

Without being told, if Mr. GEJ had an inkling of how his days at the helm of power would look like, am very much sure that he would have refused to be saddles with the responsibility of being the man in the forefront to sail this ship of a nation to its harbor of development. If he had known that midway into this voyage, pirates out of the blue would spoil the whole fun by robbing it of the crispy and ecstatic elation that comes with an expedition, he wouldn’t dare taking up the gauntlet when it was thrown at him few years ago by making him the running –mate to the late Umar Yar’ Adua. But then, just like every other being of nature dispossessed of the competence to know or to disentangle what the next day could look like let alone years after, not even science and the so called futurologists either, he rushed to the occasion in ecstasy thanking God for the financial cum political elevation not knowing that the journey in no time would go from joy to sorrow, he forgot the dictum that joy has a slender back that breaks so soon. Too bad anyway.

To some, he is nothing more than a weakling, some have seen him as a victim riding on a tiger of circumstance, to some others, he was not meant to be the president of this behemoth of a nation and to many more, his persona is disliked by the gods that reigned supreme from the underworld. Here is a man, whose every attempt to sailing this nation to the harbor of development has neither germinated let alone, yielding a fruit, here is a man who few years ago during his campaign days forced us to pull out our diaries to write down the many dividends of democracy we shall be getting in exchange for our high priced votes at the polls, a man who in those days was seen as the ‘messiah” that was to come and take us to that land flowing with milk and honey, a man whose campaign slogan was “I want fresh air in Nigeria “ unlike Obama’s “Change we can believe in”. A man whose nomenclature was all what he needed to earn him a landslide victory at the polls, yes! They called him Good luck and we thought the power and marvel attached to his name, would translate to his strides in governance, but years into the social contract we entered with him, he has proven not to be a man that is worth contracting with no thanks to the greatest factor that has beleaguered his administration though (the Islamic fundamentalists). The glory in his name has ended up into an irony of a life time. They call him Good luck, but how is it that everything about him amounts to bad luck? How comes every step he makes amounts to a futility? In a single phrase, here is a man who said yes, but his personal god said no. whenever I ponder over it, it makes me lose sleep and forces the tears out of my tear duct.

 

Oh! Is it the thing they say about sorrow not coming in single spies but in a thousand? But why does it have to be during his own days at the driver seat of this nation? Everything about his administration has been on the dwindling side, not even a single sector of the economy is exempted from this onslaught of malady in his government I am sorry to say. Our health facilities have come at their lowest ebb, education have been left crippling, the fight against graft and corruption one need not be told has come down to nothing more than mere fiction, our roads have become as gullible as death traps, many bridges that links the nation begging for total over hauling, as for insecurity, do I still have to talk about it? During the course of this work I received a phone call alerting me about gunshots been heard in the metropolis of Kano, no day passes by without human lives been lost in oblivion and it all had its birth when Mr. president got his ass strapped on the seat of power. I wonder what would become of the nation if the members of the JTF, vacate the streets of northern Nigeria? Oh God! Our security lies in your hands and not on the reassurances of this administration. Not even the sport sector, we have before now  always used as a consolation prize or something to look back at and dry our tears is a sacred cow in these ills of government and sorrows/agony of Mr. President. Indeed the abysmal, disgraceful and embarrassing performances of the chukwumerije captained team Nigeria at the just concluded London Olympics is a clear sign post of how this administration has run out of every luck; one that makes me want to conclude that its Achilles hill is just inches away for luck and circumstance always play a role in power, it is so inevitable and makes the game of power interesting and when any government runs in short supply of it, its heyday is born. These and many more are the ugly situation that has wrapped and consumed the man with the hat and many years before now, had no shoes. The joy that comes with being the first citizen has been unjustly traded by barter for sorrow. How can a president ever be happy when torrents of sad news keep drumming within the confines of his eardrum every now and then? The oath of office he took upon assumption of office to the effect that he shall protect the lives and welfare of all the citizens has amounted to nothing but a false oath and the souls of the dead have continued to hunt their killers and the one that contracted and assured them of their protection. What could you not say of a president that has been robbed of the appetite to even eat despite the millions of naira budgeted for his meals against what is obtainable in other climes? Oh! Of what use is power, if you cannot enjoy the enclaves of glory, peace and joy that it brings with it? It is indeed pathetic to say the least.

Many a time, I tend to liken and his fate to the biblical Jonah that ran away from Gods duty to preach to the people of NENIVEH to repent from their wicked ways but Jonah in disobedience sailed for Spain against the counsel of God and he sent down a heavy storm that would not cease until Jonah was thrown into the sea. Now here is the analogy: how certain can we be that GEJ is not the Jonah in our sail towards peace, development and freedom? The clash in their names makes me want to be more on the believing side……………. Jonah and Jonathan what a coincidence indeed. Perhaps Jonathan’s were called Jonah in the late 559 B.C’s or will   it be logical to conclude that Mr. President is running away from a divine assignment? Shall we thrown him out of power and get back our rhythm? Perhaps this could be what the members of the green chambers contemplated but having no capers to hide under, have chosen to capitalize on the non- implementation of the 2012 budget. Or shall we continue in this tide of confusion and commotion that have left each and every one of us dazed, amazed and astounded? Or better still set our gaze on the calendar and beg for 2015 to come so that we can together by the power in our votes unanimously vote him out of power?

Too many questions indeed which only time and tide could only answer.

Yungsilky is a student at the faculty of Law university of Maiduguri; follow him on twitter @yung_silky

8 COMMENTS

  1. This is democracy and the dividends include freedom of speech and expression that’s why we the people of Nigeria who supported Jonathan in the polls are the same people who condemn him today not bcos we don’t like him but bcos he is a total failure! All the promises he made he has been unable to fulfil. His administration has been the most corrupt in the history of nigeria and it is said that more money wa stolen in his administration than all the military years put together. Trillions of naira unaccounted for. NoW look at the olympics, after government officials spent trillions not even a single medal! How comes?? Innocent lives have died in thousands yet no action frm jona, imagine if it were OBJ in power by now boko haram would have been crushed! They even embezzled trillions of dollars of subsidy money yet nobody can do anything about it. The man should resign if not he may die before his tenure ends!

  2. Truly the write up is true. But why can’t you still think it this way-all northerners even you is the course of all the problems that befalls the northern nigeria.what did you expect when all the people of born your own home town only few is not bokoharam.
    To me,it is us that have the biggest faults.the ealiar we correct ourselves the better because even if another person climbs there,our problems may not be solved.
    Ndume,lawal farouk,and many northern leaders,what is there work that all blames goes to GEJ?

  3. Nyc article u got there. Well I too complain about GEJ but I keep on asking myself why do I complain. I’m not suppose to because I never voted him. It was clear that GEJ lacks the qualities of leadership. A man with no charisma. Biggest money lavisher who can’t xplain what good he ever did for his country. Sm1 who knew who the real BH are but can’t face them due to his cowardice act. The man who knows what and who are the killings in this country. Yet we call him mr president.

  4. @Entity. You are getting it all wrong. The northerners are not really the cause of their problem. I want us to be realistic here and forget about sentiments. I’m from d south but I travel much around the north. I even skul in the north. Answer this questions and give urself d answers. 1. Hw cmes boko haram did not evolve until d GEJ adminstration. 2. Why do boko haram members attack muslims even in mosques. 3. Why is it that out of hundreds killed. 90percent are muslims. 4. Many people have been caught redhanded in churches trying to plant bombs many of which are members of the churches. 5. What will u call those people. Christains or BKH. 6. Y are they not muslims and why are they not northerners and is it a coincidence that they are from Nigerdelta. 7. Y did GEJ say that even amongst his gov. There are BKH. These are things we should b asking ourselves not fighting ourselves.

  5. @entity you must be a daft its quite clear you are not schooled judging from your illiterate level English. Who is talking about Northerners here?? Please go and drink poison if you can’t find anything useful doing with your life! Its people like you that cause problems now you are bringing Northerners into this matter, small time you would bring religion. So wat about Ibori? Alamesiah? Otteh? Etteh(former speaker)? Didn’t they embezzle money too?? Let’s talk as one Nigeria for once and stop all these back biting! Boko haram is a political thing and I will not be suprised if one day it will be revealed that the president himself, Jonathan is part of boko haram afterall he said before that he knows them and they are part of his government, so why can’t he arrest them? Let me tell Nigerians that boko haram is PDP and the fact that a PDP senator has been arrested and released witout charges says it all

  6. I had dis feelings dat Naija wl soon b a better place,bt wit prayers.we shld stp condemning naija nd also wit our leaders,most especially his excellency MR PRESIDENT DR GOODLUCK EBELE JOHNATHAN. I knw dat my parents re surffering bt smtimes its nt da (Mr)president’s faults.for instance ,now dat my result dat is been witheld,do i need 2 blame da Mr president? No.i av 2 blame dey leaders,i mean dose hu re incharged of dey waec boad.nd dey nevr knw dat dey av poor people. Any way,prayer is da key of success,lets b strng in prayers,let us continue praying 4 our nation,nigeria nd also our great leaders. AM PROUD TO B A NIGERIAN,TANK U JESUS 4 MAKIN ME A GOOD CITIZEN OF NIGERIA.my line,08170132622.