I am always amused when I read the statements issued by the All Progressive Congress, APC. They seem to think that politics is all about using gutter language to make the most noise forgetting that empty barrels make the most noise. Many people have said to me on Social Media that the APC dominates the headlines with their propaganda and insults, but as any media professional knows a noisemaker is not the same as a newsmaker. A noisemaker goes to the media to make noise But a newsmaker does not have to go to the media. Rather, the media go to the newsmaker because he is newsworthy. President Goodluck Jonathan is a newsmaker. Big difference!
Their inadequate understanding of the qualities of a strong leader makes them think that a gentleman is weak and a brute is strong. A rock may think itself strong and may consider water as weak, yet a rock can’t break water, but with time, water breaks all rocks.
Leaders tolerate ignorant folk. It is not weakness. Is a lion weak because it does not bother about flies? It knows flies have no power over him. President Goodluck Jonathan never insults anyone even though those who are desperate to unseat him do so on a daily basis. They talk in insults, but he responds with performance.
Let any of his critics go toe to toe with him in terms of achievements if they can. Many of them have been in government before him so they have a record. Rather than insult the President, all they have to say is that while I was in government I achieved this, this and that, what have you achieved Mr. President?
The recourse to insults is indicative of mental laziness.
As I have said before, the building blocks of the President’s Transformation Agenda are ideas. Many of these people lack an understanding of ideas. They are living in the past and believe that politics is all about giving people food at their homes on a regular basis. But when you share food with your friend you both have half a plate of food. However, when you share an idea with your friend, each of you has a full idea. This is because ideas are infinite.
To distract the attention of the public they start to talk about lists and documents in their possessions. When people who are notorious for not keeping secrets and are known for blabbing start to talk about a list without publishing it, its because it only exists in their imagination. The President himself has said that anybody with such lists or agreements should publish it. What are they waiting for? If they have one billion Naira to spend on a birthday party, surely they have a few hundred thousand to pay for a paid advertorial in a newspaper to publish their lists and agreements. If they do not have the money, let them say and I will start up a fund for them to pay for their advertorials.
They keep lying and insulting the President in an attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to stigmatize him, but as the late Chief MKO Abiola of blessed memory would say “even if you change the name of honey it would still be sweet”!
And this honey is indeed sweet! Only five days ago the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, released a documentary with the theme ‘From BRIC to MINT’ and listed four nations that are soon to be global economic powers based on their current economic performance and Nigeria is one of them. I invite objective minded Nigerians to follow the documentary here http://t.co/FMs3IbCvR8.
Just last week, the Federal Government was in The Central African Republic evacuating Nigerians from that war torn nation and bringing them back home in addition to providing them with relief materials and a modest stipend so that they could rebuild their lives. This is the action of a government that cares. This is the behavior of a government with a human face.
I urge Nigerians to contrast this behavior with those of the chief insulters who specialize in unconstitutionally deporting indigent Nigerians from their spheres of influence to other states. I have said it before that there are progressives and there are pro-aggressives.
These men are experts in propaganda and would move from fallacious story to fallacious story without regard to the damage they are doing to their nation’s reputation. The other day, their propaganda machines and media outlets carried the lie that the President went to Kenya with seven Presidential Jets. Meanwhile, one of Kenya’s daily papers put a lie to this story and revealed that it was the investors that went with the President that came with their own private jets. Objective
Nigerians can read the truth on this Kenyan paper (tinyurl.com/m2pz8gp).
While President Goodluck Jonathan’s preoccupation is on how to extend the frontiers of Corporate Nigeria so that our people can have jobs, the opposition is seeking to damage such efforts because they do not have the capacity to think about such ideas.
It has been said before that wisdom is the ability to discern differences. These propagandists have not noticed the subtle transformation going on all around them because when you have rottenness under your nose but your eyes are focused on your enemy, you tend to think he is the one smelling.
When was the last time they and their family spent the Yuletide period with abundance of fuel everywhere? Of course they would not remember. It is because of the policies of the Goodluck administration that Nigerians were able to celebrate Christmas and New Year with fuel everywhere.
I don’t intend to go down the insult lane with Lai Mohammed, but I urge him to respond to the issues and leave insults alone. For his benefits and those of his pay masters, I have again done a comparative analysis of the achievements of the Jonathan administration and the promises kept by the President. I don’t deal in insults. My parents were true progressives and did not bring me up that way! Let Lai Mohammed and his bosses challenge me if any of these indices or deliverables are untrue and they will shut my mouth forever.
Fact Versus Fiction
They have said that the Nigerian Economy Under President Jonathan has Retrogressed. Is this true?
Here are the Facts with web based evidence so that my readers may trust what I write but verify for themselves:
Under President Jonathan Nigeria’s Economy Has Grown To Become The Largest Economy in Africa. (tinyurl.com/pbbld8r)
In 2009 Nigeria’s Per Capita Income Was $1091.Today it is $1721 and increase of almost 70% (tinyurl.com/y5tfwwd)
In 2007 Average Life Expectancy in Nigeria Was 47 Years. Today it is 52 Years (tinyurl.com/yyl5xy2)
In 2010 Inflation in Nigeria Was 15.60%. Today it is 7.9% (tinyurl.com/6pyhylf)
In 2007 Maternal Mortality Rate Was 750 per 100,000 Births. Today It Is 580 (tinyurl.com/lfr4jjb)
They have said that President Jonathan Does Not Fulfill His Promises. Is this true?
Here are the Facts with web based evidence so that my readers may trust what I write but verify for themselves:
On August 26, 2010, President Jonathan Promised to Privatize Nigeria’s Power Sector After Heavily Investing in Improving It’s Infrastructure. On November 1, 2013, That Promise Was Fulfilled After Successful Bidders Took Delivery Nigeria’s Power Generation and Distribution Companies.
Before President Jonathan Ascended to Power The Southeast Had no International Airport. He Promised The Southeast One in 2011. On the 24th of August 2013, The First International Flight Operated by Ethiopian Airlines Landed at the New Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu. (tinyurl.com/ovodpla)
In 2011 President Jonathan Promised to Revive the Railways. By 2012 The Nigerian Railways Corporation Began Operating a Lagos to Kano Service at the Cost of Just 1500 Naira. In 2013 Rail lines Were Revived From Lagos Port Direct to Kaduna. (tinyurl.com/dytx484)
In 2010, President Jonathan promised to Build at Least One Federal University in 12 States of The Federation That Had No Federal Universities. These Include Bayelsa State, Katsina State, Jigawa State, Taraba, Kogi State, Nasarawa, Ekiti State, Ebony State, Gombe State, Kebbi State, Yobe State and Zamfara States. Today, ALL of These States Have One Federal University Each.
In 2011 President Jonathan Promised to Build Schools for Itinerant Scholars in The North Known as Almajiri. As at Today, 123 Almajiri Model Schools Equipped With Malam’s Quarters, Hostels, Qu’ranic Recitation Hall and Science Laboratories Have Been Completed While 277 Are Awaited.
In 2011 President Jonathan Promised to Rebuild or Repair Nigeria’s Roads. This Advert From ABC Transport Company (a Private Company) Is Proof He Is Fulfilling This Promise
In 2011 President Jonathan Promised to Revive Nigeria’s Health Sector. By 2013 His Administration Has Built 3389 Heath Centers Nationwide. This Administration Built National Cancer Screening Centers nationwide, including at the Federal Medical Centre, Gusau in Zamfara, The University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital and the National Obstetric Fistula Centre in Abakaliki. The Jonathan Led FG By 2013 Has Modernized the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan and Built National Trauma Centers at the University of Abuja and the National Hospital also in Abuja.
These Investments in the Health Sector Led to the First Stem Cell Transplant Surgery Ever in Nigeria at UBTH in 2012. By October 2013 UCH Performed the First Open Heart Surgery in Nigeria.
In 2010 President Jonathan Promised to Overhaul Nigeria’s Football and Sports Administration for Better Service Delivery. In 2013 Nigeria are the African Champions after Winning the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa. We are Also the World Under 17 Champions After winning The 2013 U-17 Tournament in The UAE. Nigeria Also Became the First African Nation to Qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
In 2010 President Jonathan Promised That Agriculture Would Be Revived. In 2011 Nigeria Imported $11 Billion Worth of Food Especially Rice and Wheat. In 2013, After the Introduction of Cassava Flour and The Duty on Imported Rice Which Led to Massive Local Production, Nigeria’s food Import Bill Has Been Reduced by 77%.
3 Million Jobs Have Been Created in the Agriculture Value Chain Since 2011. And Nigeria is amongst only a handful of countries that improved over the previous year In the 2013 Global Hunger Index (http://tinyurl.com/lskklx6).
On the 7th of March 2013, President Jonathan said “my presidential ambition is not worth your blood”. In keeping with this promise politically motivated killing or assassinations have become a thing of the past.
In 2010, President Jonathan promised Nigerian women that the Nigerian Defense
Academy, NDA, would start to admit women. Today in 2014 the is getting ready to admit its third set of female cadets having open its doors to women for the very first time in 2011.
In 2011, President Jonathan promised to sign the Hydro Power Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC) Bill into law. In 2011 he fulfilled this promise and in the 2014 proposed budget the Federal Government has made provision for a take off grant for the institution.
In 2010, President Jonathan promised to dredge the River Niger. By 2012 the Federal Government awarded a N36 billion Lower River Niger dredging contract to dredge the River Niger from Onitsa in Anambra State to Baro in Niger State.
In 2011, President Jonathan promised to tackle youth unemployment. On the 10th of October 2011 President Jonathan launched the Youth Enterprise With Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin) initiative which has so far awarded grants of between 2-10 million Naira to over 3000 Nigerian youths to start businesses that will employ other youths after receiving Federal Government funded entrepreneurial training.
Fiction: Educational Standards are Falling in Nigeria.
Fact: In 2009 only 25.99 per cent of candidates had credits in English and Mathematics in the WASSCE examinations. By 2013 70% of students had credits in at least 5 subjects.
Conclusion: Don’t Judge President Goodluck Jonathan and This Administration on the Fiction That Opposition Linked Propagandist Media Publish. Learn to Separate Facts From Fiction.
Reno Omokri is Special Assistant on New Media to President Jonathan.
