It is very true that President Umaru Yar Adua is not in a hurry to adopt the fire brigade approach that was typical of successive administrations especially the Obasanjo -led reign that imposed him on the Nigerian people. It is also very true that the President has no clear -cut approach of his own or rather is yet to defreeze his ice-blocked/snail speed approach that has sent the machinery of governance to sleep since he came into office in May 2007.
No doubt, part of the problem of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is that the party is populated with several persons of questionable intelligent quotient and this group seems to form a majority of the party’s decision making machinery that has taken Yar’Adua hostage in addition to his own peculiar problems.
Laughably, the warped mindset of the PDP was recently expressed by one of the party’s National Vice Chairman, who was proud to give a direct opposite performance rating of Yar’Adua’s achievements in the one and half years he has stayed in office.
His words as reported: “So far President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had succeeded in taking and treating the problems of Nigeria one by one,” and that “one and half years after he assumed office, Nigeria was on the verge of restoration.
“The seven-point agenda of President Yar’Adua was aimed at addressing such critical, day-to-day issues that had direct bearing on the survival of the nation and the development of the ordinary people such as power and energy, food, security, wealth creation, land tenure changes, home ownership, national security, education and the Niger Delta issue.”
Such appraisal represents the criminal insensitivity of the PDP leadership to the plight of the real Nigerians who have been begging their president to please hurry up. Concerned Nigerians should please tell the PDP chieftains that so far in the one and half year already blown by this administration, no single point in the seven-point agenda has been kick-started not to even talk of milestone achievement.
The situations in the arenas of all the points have gone from bad (during Obasanjo’s administration) to terribly bad. National security –zero: oil bunkerers and arm smugglers are having field days all over the porous coastal flank of the country’s boundaries. Energy: for the first time in the history of fuel marketing in Nigeria, kerosene used by the already battered Nigerians for everyday cooking, now cost more than even diesel and petrol.
How many tales of reversed situations can anybody count? Is it Niger Delta? Of course the government is still confused or rather still planning on a workable approach to the problem.
Although the popular Nigerian adage is that: Like father like son, wallahi, former President Obasanjo and President Yar’Adua are worlds apart in almost everything including visibility, dominion, and even arrogance.
Gen Obasanjo in 1999 hit the office of the president running; Yar’Adua in 2007 hit the same office sleeping. And one and half year after, he is still sleeping or maybe just waking up and trying to figure out “a seven- point” dream he had in his sleep.
Obasanjo for one day in office never lacked ideas on what to do. Whether some of his decisions and actions were mischievous is a different issue entirely but at least he had drive and was the obvious pacesetter. Obasanjo right from May 1999 effectively occupied the driving seat of his government and provided the needed leadership as the commander in chief. Since Yar’Adua came into office in 2007, the driving seat has been vacant thus producing the current near zero kinetics in the wheels of governance at the national level.
Obasanjo’s ministers were very colourful and full of ideas. Yar’Adua’s ministers are very un-colourful because of poor illumination from the top. The ministers couldn’t have done anything to bring out their colours as nothing is being done by the man who should be providing the drive for everybody to key-in.
Obasanjo came with ideas on how to privatize everything in Nigeria except governance. Yar’Adua came with ideas on how to reverse everything Obasanjo did as economic reform with no single idea of his own on the better way forward.
Obasanjo’s National Assembly was dynamic, creative, aggressive and even confrontational right from day one. Pathetically, both chambers of the current National Assembly are deep asleep as their oga.
Since inception, the National Assembly has not successfully debated or passed a single people-oriented legislation. I stand to be corrected.
Close watchers of the present administration would obviously agree that President Yar’Adua’s hyped state of health has nothing to do with the current lack of effective leadership at the national level.
Our president is not so sick that he cannot talk or move and he will not be that sick in Jesus Name, Amen.
He goes to the office everyday to work. He talks (discusses) with people, attends public functions and even signs arrest warrants and writ of summons for erring media outfits especially the web-based group and Leadership newspaper of course. So it is time Nigerians stop this deceit of blaming the slow pace of movement in government on the President’s ill health.
All over the world, even very sick leaders still takes charge of affairs calling the shots from their sick beds so long as they can still talk, listen and think. They give directives and bearing to aides who will be doing the actual work. Take North Korea for example and this is just one in several of such cases. And thank God our president is very strong doing so many things by himself. So the issue of health or stamina to cope with the pressures of office is completely out of this matter.
The real problem is that Yar’Adua was catapulted into office without a single work policy/programme agenda. He had no single plan or programme of what to do even up till the day he was sworn-in.
Moreso, Obasanjo wouldn’t have allowed him raise his team to think for himself since the former President wanted him to continue with his ‘blind trust’ style of governance. The former President must have expected his begotten son to inherit his team of ‘wiz kids’ but Umaru in his characteristics manner only accepted such proposal just to be sworn in as the commander -in -chief.
All these contributed to the present confusion where the President has blown one and a half year still assembling his team of ‘professionals’ in a country that is in a hurry to catch up with even other backward nations.
It is strongly hoped that the existing pathetic situation at the top will change when the real servant leader ultimately comes out of his pudah to take the driver’s seat at the helm of affairs in our beloved country- naija.
IFEANYI IZEZE is an Abuja-based Consultant on Political Strategy and Grassroot Consultations (iizeze@yahoo.com)
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tony mustaph london, UK November 26, 2008
This is a good article. This writer should be encouraged and I love reading it.
For those who criticised OBJ for given power to Yaradua, they are right. This was a big mistake that not only him that is regreting it but all nigerians.
Painting OBJ as fraud like the like of Ibori, Tinubu, Kalu etc is insane. We must all look forward and realize OBJ herald is gone and our destiny is in our own hands. The first thing we must all do is to get ride of this government. Let us make Ribadu our own Obama.
Shagaya Ahmed Kano, Nigeria November 20, 2008
Yar�'adu made the controversy about his health worse by being economical with the truth about his actual state of health.
Nigerians culturally automatically sympathize with anybody who is either sick or dead but when they are not sure of what the real situation is, it normally would become either a comic issue or ridicule.
So the president should come out plainly to declare his state of health and capability to lead this nation to the promise land.
ade adeyeye lagos, nigeria November 19, 2008
It seems the only 'gear' available for Mr. President's use is either reverse, neutral or park. It seems he lacked the ideas to move the country forward, nor drive it fast enough to catch up on some lost time.
By now, he seems to have actively engaged the park gear.
The guy is so anonymous, invisible and reluctant. I feel within him, he can not wait for this cup to pass over him, for this term to run out. Oh dear nation.
Pappy Gem Lagos, Nigeria November 19, 2008
Abiye, second term where? Please don't curse Nigeria. Yar'adua is not go slow but static president. He has no idea of how to move this country forward and that is the reason why Kingibe having study the situation, wanted to outsmart him.
How i wish we have someone with vision and mission and not mere agenda on paper to rule this country. It is well!
Commander Samyoung Onwuzulike Wasghington, DC, November 19, 2008
Beloved Nigerians, We Thank Mother Christ-Chukwu Ndigbo for every thing happened in this world is for a cause and for a purpose.
Nigeria is suffering from what is called in the spirit world, The Circumstances of Witness. When New A Thing given to the world by Mother Christ is to be born like a baby. It always come first with a strong Wind blow, the type that blew on the Pentecost Day in Jerusalem when the Holy Ghost came.
President Elect The Smart Man of the century Barack Obama saw it in USA and reaped it, but Nigeria He was given to rejected him.
That Change Mother Christ gave to Nigeria for Her to be Head but President Yar adua and His people rejected it because of religion and tradition.
Jews were given The Salvation of The Body of Christ which they passed to Americans and Western World. That Salvation is known as 1st salvation The Key to Western Civilization today.
In 21st Century after Jesus The Mystery removed his Mascot of Man and took Her True Nature of the Mother of all nations. through Last Salvation of Jesus. The Salvation of The Head of Jesus for we to be Head of all body of Christ in the world both Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhism, Hindus and all religious faith that believed in sacrifice of the flesh are of the 1st Salvation.
This salvation Mother Christ gives to Her Son a Nigerian to His people of Nigeria and Africa. for them to have life and may have it more abundantly.
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