Last Wednesday, May 29, marked what has entered the nation’s political lexicon, as Democracy Day. It was the day that Nigeria observed 14 years of uninterrupted democracy, especially a country whose history was dominated by military rule. For President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the event was his second anniversary since history made him the first Nigerian from the oil rich Niger Delta region to be voted into office as the country’s president. His election came courtesy of overwhelming support from millions of Nigerians in what has been adjudged as the freest and fairest polls held in the history of national elections in the country. As has become the tradition, a moment like this provides opportunity for stock taking, especially by those in government, and of course, appraisals and criticisms from the public, the media and the rest. Like the previous administrations, the present government has received applause, and of course criticisms, over its successes and shortcomings as well. The area this administration will score very high marks is on the management of the economy.
The country’s economy is not just getting stable even in the face of security challenges occasioned by acts of terrorism, kidnapping, robbery, corruption and other heinous crimes against the state, but it is today one of the fastest growing in the world. At more than six per cent growth rate, the Nigerian economy is rated among the fastest growing economies in the world, with the prospect of overtaking that of South Africa, which is the continent’s largest, in the next five years. Of course, nobody in the real sense of the word will contest the fact that the country’s economy is the fulcrum of that of West Africa. The meteoric rise in the nation’s reserve, which is presently $50 billion, makes it perhaps the largest ever recorded since independence. Credit should no doubt go to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who brought her acumen and shrewd management skills, which she acquired from the World Bank, to bear on the country’s economy. Dr Okonjo-Iweala recently declared Nigeria as Africa’s current number one investment destination, which was made possible by the country’s relative stable exchange rate of the naira with the world’s currencies, massive human and material resources, robust foreign reserve, among many other factors. President Jonathan can beat his chest in education, especially his novel idea for the almajaris in the North. The president’s thought to educate these helpless children with an army of more than 10 million roaming the streets of the North is one of the boldest decisions ever taken by a leader in the country to bring light and succour to the unfortunate kids, who have been exploited over the years by their elders and leaders. The selfish leaders have over the years found in them tools for thuggery and even terrorism, while their children are made to go to the best schools in the country as well as overseas. In years to come, these children will not forget Jonathan for providing them light and wisdom, at a time their elders had conspired to consign them to servitude and neglect.
The present administration also made great impact, within so short a time, in agriculture, where the country is not just self sufficient in most food production, with the possible exception of rice, but the net exporter of products like cassava, yam, tomatoes, etc. The roads and transport sectors are other areas this administration has scored very high. Thousands of kilometres of roads in the northern and southern parts of the country have been rehabilitated, and many more are being constructed for vehicular and human movements. Architect Mike Onolemen is no doubt doing a great job in his position as Minister of Works. The railway is another area where many Nigerians will remember with a sense of nostalgia, the efforts of the government to bring it back to the stream. The Express Train Service from Lagos to Kano is now functioning after several decades in comatose, while that of Port Harcourt-Enugu to Jos-Bauchi, Maidiguri, etc, will come back to life soon.
Sport is not left out in the president’s Transformation Agenda, which is bearing fruits. The country’s greatest moment for a long time came with the Super Eagles’ captivating success at the 29th edition of the African Cup of Nations, held in South Africa earlier in the year. It may be needless to say that Nigeria waited for 19 years before tasting the success, after winning its second title in the continent’s most important football championship for the last time in Tunis, Tunisia, in 1994. Nigeria’s first taste of the Cup of Nations was in 1980, when it hosted the showpiece in Lagos.
This space is too small, no doubt to accommodate the achievements of the president. But there are other areas he will need to beam the light of his transformation agenda. Even in criticising the government, the critics would take into consideration that two years are not really enough to do a fair assessment of any government or administration. But he will need to tackle unemployment, crime, and corruption, which have defied all attempts at fighting them. But in fairness to the president, the judiciary has become a cog in the wheel of progress in the government’s efforts at tackling corruption. So many people, especially the high profile figures who have been enmeshed in cases of corruption, have wittingly or unwittingly been left off the hook or provided a “soft landing”, leaving many Nigerians aghast and hugely disappointed in the judicial system. So those advocating for special courts have a strong to restore the people’s confidence in judiciary, a very important arm of government which has been lagging behind so far. Finally, the state of emergency declared in some troubled North-Eastern states by Mr. President on May 14 are beginning to bear results. In a matter of weeks, terrorism will be reduced to the barest minimum in the country, as the confidence in the country’s security system is gradually being restored. It is so far so good for President Jonathan and his team.