Jonathan and the no-alternativesnarrative

In Nigerian politics, it is a waste of
campaign efforts to try to canvass for the
votes of some categories of the electorate.
The first category comprises voters who
have firmly made up their minds
concerning whom to vote for. Given the
nature of their support, nothing can
possibly change their choice. For
instance, General Muhammadu Buhari
commands a chunk of fanatical young
supporters in the Northern parts of the
country. It is almost impossible to change
the minds and orientations of these
Buharians.
The second category of voters are those
usually referred to as “floating voters”
made up of members of the electorate
who have not decided on whom to
support but remain malleable and,
therefore, subject to change. This
category also includes those yet to decide
on where to pitch their camp.
Electioneering campaigns are mainly
targeted at this group of voters who are
persuadable, convertible or simply
buyable in the Nigerian way.
Between now and February 2015 when
the general elections will hold, the major
political parties, especially the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), the All
Progressives Congress (APC) and the All
Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) will be
in a fierce competition to win votes. The
questions to ask are: What have the
parties got to offer Nigerians? What will
they do to improve the quality of life of
Nigerians, protect life and property? What
are their credentials and records of
achievement? Of the political parties, only
the PDP can boast of previous
performances at the federal and state
levels. And, among the presidential
contestants, only President Jonathan has
had the experience of having served as
President in a civilian administration.Until
the merger that gave birth to the APC,
which is the main opposition party, the
parties that came together were
fragmented, poorly organised and lacking
in vision and focus. Their experience in
governance was limited to a few states.
Today, all that the APC’s promising
Nigerians is “change” in some nebulous
terms, without any clear definition of what
it means or how it is to be effected. The
APC spends much of its time on
destructive criticisms of virtually every
policy and action of President Jonathan
and his administration. In developed
democracies of the world such as the
United States and the UK, the main
opposition parties have their own shadow
cabinets with appropriate policies and
programmes, prepared to step in as
alternative governments should the needs
arise. Hand over power to the APC today
and the party would be in total darkness
as to what to do! The main reason some
of our opposition parties are seeking
power is because they perceive
government as an opportunity, not for
service but for self-aggrandizement.
Herein lies the dangers of electing a party
such as the APC, because it would take
the country back to the pre-democracy
years.
If the leadership of the APC were truly
ready to take over government and serve
the people of this country, it would spell
out detailed alternative plans of how it
intends to tackle the nation’s economic
challenges; what the party would do to
diversify our sources of income and solve
the problems of our dependence on oil;
how it intends to improve on the nation’s
infrastructure challenges, power supply,
road construction, or deal with
healthcare, education, unemployment, etc.
The APC ought to roll out details of its
plans and strategies on how it intends to
put an end to the challenges of insurgency
in the North-East. This is the only way the
party can inject content into its message
of change to the Nigerian electorate and
be taken seriously. It is not enough to
“sweep out the PDP” as the APC’s
National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-
Oyegun, sings everyday; he must go
beyond the call of “Bring–Back–Our
Girls” and tell Nigerians how his party
would have resolved the problem, were it
given the opportunity. For now, the APC
should be advised to stop talking about
change, until it has worked out
acceptable details and convinced
Nigerians of what it plans to do if given
power.The good luck which the PDP
enjoys today is, first, that no opposition
party is ready to offer itself to Nigerians
as a viable alternative. Secondly, the
party, at all levels of governance, has a
history of 15 years of uninterrupted
service to Nigeria. In spite of the daunting
challenges, the PDP government has an
enviable record of service in areas,
including the welfare of the people,
provision of infrastructure and social
amenities, the economy, poverty
alleviation, security and governance in
general. With all modesty, since the PDP
Federal Government assumed power in
1999, it has succeeded in rescuing the
country out of the slavery of foreign debts
accumulated by previous governments. It
is the PDP government that has moved
Nigeria to the position of Number 1
economy in Africa, expanded university
education by privatising the sector and
allowing the establishment of more than
70 private universities, with the attendant
expansion of university opportunities for
Nigerian youths; brought a revolution in
telecommunication, through the GSM and
took Nigeria to the club of space research,
through the launching of her own satellite.
More critically, it is the PDP Government
that has finally found the solution to
Nigeria epileptic power supply by
successfully privatising the sector.
Indeed, after 15 years of service, the PDP
can proudly say that it has been tested
and should be trusted by Nigerians.
As for the p Nyanya: When relocation is
worthwhile residential aspirants, Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan, General Muhammadu
Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the
others, the verdict should not be difficult
to reach. Without going into details,
Nigerians know the antecedents of Buhari,
whose economic policies as Head of
State, attracted sanctions from the West,
thereby ruining the economy and
necessitating our adoption of the policy of
devaluation and IMF conditionalities.
Also, Buhari’s human rights profile has
not been favourable to the image of
Nigeria. What about Atiku Abubakar?
Apart from those who dance around this
man for whatever reasons, the only thing
that Nigerians know about Atiku is
inconsistency. It is not clear if the man
himself knows what he wants for himself,
not to talk of what he wants to do for
Nigerians. The good thing about
democracy is that everybody, including
Atiku Abubakar, is free to vote and be
voted for.
When all is said and done, the only
serious candidate, among those to
contest the 2015 presidential elections, is
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who
has been tested after years of service
through the PDP. Indeed, the credit for the
bulk of achievements by the PDP
Government goes to President Jonathan
as well as his predecessors in office. He
towers over and above all the other
contestants.President Jonathan’s greatest
achievement is not so much in the areas
of the economy, infrastructure or social
amenities, as in the development of
democracy. He assumed office with a
pledge to reform the nation’s electoral
system. His dictum of “one man-one
vote” has been a major success so much
so that incidents such as the imposition
of candidates, rigging and ballot box-
snatching, etc., are now things of the
past. Under President Jonathan, elections
in Nigeria have been free, fair and
credible. Coupled with these electoral
reforms, President Jonathan has a
commendable human rights profile. More
importantly, he is a committed patriot
who, in spite, of mounting challenges, has
kept Nigeria one and united. There can be
no doubt that most Nigerians will give
him their votes in 2015, under the
platform of the PDP.
•Momodu writes from Benin City.