Slow govt: Opposition parties, others blast Jonathan

Opposition political  parties, socio-political  and civil rights groups  on Wednesday berated President  Goodluck Jonathan for justifying  his slow style of leadership.

They said in separate reactions  that  Jonathan’s  comment  had clearly shown that he was not prepared for governance.

The President, at a Christmas service in Abuja  had said that his government appeared to be slow because it did not want to make mistakes.

“By human thinking our administration is slow; I won’t say we are slow,  but we need to think through things properly if we are to make lasting impact.

“If we rush, we will make mistakes and sometimes it is more difficult to correct those mistakes,” he  told the congregation.

But the  Action Congress of Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive Change, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, the Arewa Consultative Forum, Afenifere,   Coalition of Concerned Northern Politicians,  Academics and Professionals as well as the Ijaw Youth Council  challenged  the President to wake up and perform.

Berating the President,  the CPC said that  he  was slow because he stumbled upon power.

Its  National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, said the President was always looking for excuses.

The CPC  said, “If we spend seven years to prepare for madness, when will the madness materialise? That is what Nigerians should ask their President.

“He is slow because he stumbled on power; he never prepared for it. His coming to power was accidental. He has no idea about governance.”

According to the CPC, the President is always looking for excuses to justify his inadequacies.

It added,  “The government and the man heading it are bereft of ideas. The government only ponders to the  tunes  of the corrupt. The last 13 years has been hectic for Nigerians and the Jonathan Presidency is worse.

“Despite the hue and cry of the citizenry, he has refused to change his transformation agenda which is only transforming the pockets of a few.”

Also, the ANPP said Jonathan’s statement was a demonstration of his incompetence.

 Its National Publicity Secretary,  Chief Emma Eneukwu, said, “The President is not competent to be there. He is a  President by chance. He keeps on giving excuses for his incompetence and inadequacies.

“He was not prepared for the position he suddenly found himself. He came into office with the hope of learning and he has refused to learn. He has no specific programme unlike the late President(Umaru Yar’Adua), who came with a seven- point agenda.

“Jonathan came with a bogus Transformation Agenda without transforming anything. Nigerians are tired of his excuses.”

The ACN, through its National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande,  also flayed  Jonathan.

“The President must be a joker with his kind of submission. As the elected President, he is expected to take decisions, good decisions,” he said in a brief SMS by his media aide, Lani Baderinwa.

Afenifere,  a Pan- Yoruba socio-cultural organisation,  said that Jonathan’s slowness was not a recipe for perfection.

  “We need a President who will take actions that will solve the numerous problems and challenges confronting Nigeria as a nation. We do not need a slow leader right now,” its Secretary General, Chief Seinde Arogbofa,  told  one of our correspondents in  Akure, Ondo State.

“Nigerians are expecting quick results and solution to their problems and not excuses for poor performances.”

Faulting the President, the ACF said  he  should be mindful  that he had only four years to spend in office.

The forum, in a response by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Anthony Sani,   noted that Jonathan  had no time to waste and must start performing immediately.

The ACF added that Jonathan would be judged as the President who used all his tenure only to plan but never transformed  the country.

It  said, “Those who framed the 1999 Constitution and provided for a maximum of four years per tenure must have taken into account the need for thorough analyses of situations with a view to arriving at informed judgment for performance by those with the mandate of leadership.

“So, Mr. President must take into account the fact that he does not have limitless time, lest he  runs out of time and go down in history as a President who used all his tenure for plans that did not deliver on his promise to transform Nigeria into a better place.”

 The CD  through its President, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said  Jonathan  should have been guided by his manifesto if he had one.

“What is the essence of having a manifesto or a vision before occupying an exalted position or running for an office?  It shows clearly that he is an accidental President, with no clear-cut vision,” the group said.

To the  convener of the Coalition of Concerned Northern Politicians , Academics and Professionals, Dr.Junaid Mohammed,   Jonathan  must stop giving  excuses.

He told one of our correspondents, in Abuja,  “No amount of fishing for excuses will make him a better President.”

 Mohammed reminded the President that  good leaders  learn from their mistakes and the people around them.

He said, “I think it is very disingenuous of Jonathan to advance this kind of argument so late in our democratic experience.  It is a known fact all over the world that the human species are not perfect; people who come into office accidentally or even by design  are expected to make  mistakes at the beginning of their tenures because of the learning curve.

“But getting to two years out of a four- year tenure and  we are still having this kind of excuses does not inspire confidence at all.

 “He simply does not have what it takes to rule Nigeria; he lacks political savvy and he is lacking in intellectual capacity  also.

“It is clear that Jonathan has the worst set of characters who are deficient in knowledge and cognate experience in leadership.”