Nigeria - Critics, Cynics And President Jonathan By Simon Kolawole

When a presidential spokesman begins to react to beer-parlour gossips about his principal with a full-page newspaper article, then you know the rumour mongers are in good business. 

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan

Some of the title-tattle Dr. Rueben Abati was responding to last Sunday had been on the shelves for years. While I was still trying to digest Abati’s apologetics, President Goodluck Jonathan joined the fray. Speaking at a conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), he described himself as “the most criticised president in the whole world”. He said of the criticisms: “Sometimes I ask: Were there roads across this country and Jonathan brought floods to wipe them out? Or, we had power and I brought hurricanes to bring down the infrastructure? Were there massive irrigation projects in the North where agriculture can thrive and massive farms, and Jonathan brought drought to wipe out these farms under two years?”

Abati’s apologetics and Jonathan’s rhetoric can only point to one fact: criticism is getting to the president and his team. There is no need to be in denial. So I am tempted to ask: is the heat in the kitchen getting too hot for the president? What exactly is going on in his mind? Why does he think he is the most criticised president in the world? Does he think the criticisms are unfair? Does he think anybody would be president of Nigeria (and any country for that matter) and would not be criticised? Has he done, or is he doing, anything worthy of criticism? Can the president determine the kind of criticisms that he should get from the populace? Is criticism in itself bad? Really, it is one thing for the president to grumble within his circle that he is being unfairly criticised; it is another thing for him, or his spokesperson, to go public with the complaint.

I can’t say for a fact that Jonathan is the most criticised president in the world, but I know that the age of social media has not helped his cause at all. Past presidents and heads of state have been severely savaged by critics, but this was done primarily in the newspapers and at village squares. Now, almost everybody has access to mobile phones and the internet, meaning they can give vent to their feelings via SMS, BBM, twitter, facebook and blogs. It would therefore be impossible to determine the most criticised president. I do know that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo got far more than a fair dose of umbrage from Nigerians during his eight years in office (I think I filled my quota of Obasanjo-bashing to the brim and had to borrow space from others). I do know that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was ruthlessly pummelled, even on his sick bed. To determine who goes home with the trophy will therefore be pretty difficult. But, for the benefit of argument, let’s say it’s Jonathan.

If I were to advise President Jonathan, I would tell him he has not seen anything yet. Criticism—informed or ill-informed, fair or unfair, constructive or destructive—comes with the presidential package. The critics come in different packets. There are those criticising Jonathan because, by nature, they must criticise. That is what they are very good at. They are perennial critics. That is how they maintain their prominence in the media. There are also those criticising him because they are not benefiting from his government. If he gives them “something” today they would stop talking. (Conversely, there are those praising Jonathan because they are getting “something” from his government. If the pepper soup stops flowing, they will become public affairs analysts.)

Furthermore, there are those who believe that Jonathan usurped power by failing to abide by the “zoning formula” of his party. They, therefore, can never see anything good in him. They will criticise him till the world comes to an end. This category is not really bothered about his performance in office, but it helps if it is poor. You also have people who just hate him. Simple. They just cannot stand him. If Jonathan loses one of his arms in the service of Nigeria, they will ask: what is he still doing with the other arm? Everything he does must be wrong. Every word he utters must be condemned. What’s more, you have the opposition parties which, by definition, must oppose him. It is part and parcel of democracy. They will stop being opposition the day they start praising him. That means they are digging their own electoral grave.

But there is a final category: there are those who genuinely criticise Jonathan out of love for Nigeria. They are worried about the Nigerian condition. They want action. They want progress. Some have given up on Jonathan’s ability to deliver the goods as promised in his campaign; others are still giving him a benefit of the doubt. Meanwhile, they will continue to criticise him for as long as there is no steady power supply, for as long as we are importing fuel, for as long as insecurity persists, for as long as unemployment is pervasive, for as long as corruption is not treated as leprosy. This is the trick: Jonathan should not fall into the mistake of grouping all his critics together. He will be missing the point if he regards anyone who raises any issue with his administration as an enemy.

Of course, people criticise him with different motives, even though we may all be saying the same thing and using the same words to express our feelings about the performance of the administration. But does the motive really matter? The president should respond to all criticisms—whether good or bad—with unrivalled performance in office. If he performs extraordinarily well, nobody can argue against it. If we have 24-hour electricity, if our schools are back in top shape, if the federal roads under his care are first class, if the corrupt persons in his government are flushed out, it would be difficult for us to deny these things. That is the best way to shame his critics.
The president ended his speech at the NBA conference thus: “I can tell this noble audience that before I leave, I will also be the most praised president.” That is the spirit! Action will speak louder than words.