Getting to know the president better

He has honour if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable or dangerous to do so. – Walter Lippman

If the peoples cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists – to protect them and promote their common welfare – all else is lost. – Barack Obama

Gradually, the president’s real character is emerging and it is not a flattering one. It is one that betrays him as a sly fellow who would do or say anything just to have his way. Nigerians must as a matter of urgency brace themselves for more shocks and the attendant disappointments that will follow until the end of his tenure hopefully in 2015. Perhaps it is in realization of this that some Nigerians who can not wait to see the back of this president famous for his shoeless campaign mantra have begun a count down to his possible exit.

Leaders that have made a success of their tenures the world over are those who have endeavored to gain the trust of their people and dedicated themselves to keeping that invaluable commodity. Some notable leaders who did not fare well in that regard in the not too distant past include George W. Bush and Tony Blair of the United States and United Kingdom respectively who led a coalition of war mongers into a phantom chase for so called weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. As a consequence, the two left office with their reputations in shreds

President Jonathan seems well on his way to joining that inglorious league as demonstrated by his ingenious moves which leave even the barely literate in no doubt that this man has taken too much for granted and sees Nigerians as gullible people who have permanently been stricken by a bout of amnesia. It must be said that the president is blessed with a mien that presents him as an innocent who is not wise in the ways of the world. It was this demeanor that he sold to many sympathizers who fought hard to make him acting president during those trying times when the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua was sick in Saudi Arabia. But having known what many of us didn’t, the so called cabal dared to stop him. It has now become apparent that despite his pretentions, he was keen and a touch desperate to seize power from his bed ridden boss.

Having comfortably settled in office, Nigerians were soon to realize that this man is not one to whom agreements mean much. As far as he is concerned, they are just a necessary inconvenience with which to get what one wants. Once the pendulum swings in one’s favour, then to hell with agreements. That was his exact disposition to the zoning arrangement of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party {PDP}, whose constitution he trampled upon on his way to becoming president in spite of the fact that he was a signatory to its agreement on zoning   If he was a respecter of agreements, he probably would have been nestling in his county home in Otueke instead of Aso Rock Villa.

This is all in the past as I am certain his supporters would argue. Let us grant them that, after all, what has happened has happened. But as sure as we all are that a leopard cannot change its spots no matter how hard it tries, the real Jonathan was on show again, even if by sleigh of hand.  Just last week, he attempted and woefully failed to grab the chairmanship of the African Union {AU}.  Jonathan attempted a coup de grace of sorts against his Beninous counterpart, Yayi Boni of Benin, by lobbying ECOWAS leaders to transfer their support to him. He was forced to back down when it became clear that they were resolute in their support for Boni. What is poignant about the president’s action was that, as he did during the zoning controversy, he attempted to violate an agreement by the ECOWAS leaders who had, at a mini summit here in Abuja, unanimously agreed to back Boni’s bid. The president and his handlers may not know it but this singular action has completely demeaned not only his person and his office but ridiculed Nigeria as a whole.

It may well be that his attempt for the AU chair was to try to checkmate South Africa’s growing influence in the continent. What he however failed to realize is that his fellow African leaders are not as gullible as Nigerians back home who he has taken for granted. South Africa is generally perceived - and rightly too – as a country that has got its priorities right and is seen o be more serious at actualizing them. It has positioned itself well to provide leadership for the continent in deepening democratic values and good governance. African leaders will also not forget in a hurry Jonathan’s ill-advised hasty endorsement of the Libyan rebels in the run up to Ghaddafi’s fall even before the AU took a stand.    

The president has also got himself in a mess back in his home state, Bayelsa, over the choice of the PDP candidate in the coming gubernatorial elections. When he was desperately seeking support for his presidential bid last year, he was full of accolades for  then Governor Timipre Sylva who went on to deliver Bayelsa for the president. But since that goal has now been achieved, the president said Sylva did not perform hence his decision to dump him. If we may ask; did all the PDP governors he backed performed well enough to deserve re-election? Or what other criteria did he use to determine his support for them? Did he not promise to back them all in return for their supporting his bid?

Nigerian workers who always get the short end of the stick in any agreement with government are now left to rue their misfortune as many of them have still not received their January salaries which the president promised will be paid by the 20^th of that month. He made this promise in desperation to gain support for the removal of fuel subsidy. Now that that dust has settled – albeit temporarily - that pledge seems to have been forgotten, with that also are the many other palliatives he promised.

The president need to realize that trust is the glue that binds him to Nigerians and one sure way to strengthen that bond is if he is acknowledged by all as one who is trustworthy. He can not go on violating agreement after agreement and expect that he will gain the trust and confidence of Nigerians. In the opinion of many, any one who violates agreements at will especially for personal gain is devoid of honour and the greatest tragedy to befall a leader is when he loses honour.