Dear Mr. President,

I wish you a Good Morning. I do hope that by the end of this letter, you will still consider it a Good Morning.

My President,  permit me to start this letter with a Yourba Proverb that my father used to say when I was a young child. It goes like this: Eni ba nba afoju yan epa gbodo maa sufe kikan kikan. Sir, my translation of the Yoruba Language isn’t so good but I can loosely translate this proverb to mean ‘whoever roasts nuts for a blind man must relentlessly / continuously whistle.’ Do you know the reason he should whistle Sir? It is to prove to the blind man that he isn’t eating out of the roasted nuts. This is indicative of the need to establish a ‘trust’ relationship between the blind and the nut roaster.

Drawing from this analogy Sir, you are the nut roaster whilst we, your able citizens are the blind. Your rise to the office of the President of this nation as a man who had no shoes was inspirational and so, many Nigerians put their blind trust in you. In spite of this trust sir, we expected the occasional whistle to reassure us that all was well or all will be well. Many times sir, that whistle never came.

Sir, you never whistled on the Baga Massacre. This was in spite of the fact that we heard that over 2000 lives were lost. The only thing we heard from your people was that the figure had been over bloated and that it was only 150 that had died. Sir, even one Nigerian life lost deserves a whistle. It is the loss of a family member, a friend, and a loved one. It is the loss of one of your citizens.

Sir, you whistled too late on the issue of the Chibok Girls. I found it hard to believe that it took you so long to acknowledge that the girls had truly been kidnapped. Those ladies have been away from their families since the 14th of April, 2014. It is almost a year sir. Do we know where they are? Do we know if they are dead or alive? Sir, you have a family too. Would you have kept quiet for so long if armed robbers had attacked your home and taken your precious family away? Would the response have been inaction in the early days of the incidence?

Sir, I am amazed that during this campaign for re-election, your boys, Reno, FFK and Abati have done such an excellent job. They have, on your behalf, begun to whistle so loudly that we can barely hear ourselves. They whistle on social media, radio and television. These boys deserve an award sir because it is an onerous task they have undertaken to perform. Sir, I find that I am impressed, yet irritated, that this same Government that was hitherto silent, has now begun to court us only because it is the election season, but I digress, forgive my lack of concentration Sir.

You refused to blow the whistle on Corruption Sir. There were many instances when we held our breath, certain that you, our Golden President would pull out the red card. All those times, our hopes were dashed. Permit me to remind you of some of those moments Sir. One of your ministers used N10bn to charter private jets but you didn’t issue a red card, another bought two cars worth N250 million, she said they were bullet proof vehicles. We never wanted those cars yet, we never got the refund. How about the missing $20billion of oil money, have you found it Sir?

You didn’t blow the whistle on the Pension Scam worth billions of Naira, neither did you issue a red card. Perhaps you did not blow a whistle because to you, stealing is not corruption and most of what we complain about is just ‘mere stealing’. After all, Nigerians have the tendency of blowing things out of proportion don’t they?. Permit me to ask sir, what then would you define as corruption? How much would be too much to you sir?

On Electricity Sir, many Nigerians had hoped that you would issue a fiat and blow the whistle. Unfortunately, in spite of this being one of the promises you made to us, our epileptic electricity is not a lot better than it was four years ago. I have spent money I could have used in developing other areas of my life to buy petrol so I can power my house up. Recently, my generator knocked because it has been overworked. I am yet to replace it and have since made darkness and heat a companion. I realise that I now live the reality of many Nigerians for whom owning a generator is a mere fantasy.

You have refused to blow the whistle on Security. Baga and Chibok are not the only cases of insurgency. Sir, we hear these days that 20 out of the 27 local governments in Borno State are now under the control of the Boko Haram. Sir, I have begun to fear that unlike me, my children will not grow up to know Borno State as one of the States in Nigeria.

Sir, we have often heard that the insurgency was planned by detractors to bring your Government down. We empathise with you on this but you also said that some of their sponsors were/are in your cabinet. You never blew the whistle on those faceless sponsors. Nigerians would have applauded you if you had done just that. I often wonder if the families that have watched these terrorists operate and kill their loved ones will ever agree that it was a worthy sacrifice to lose a husband, wife or child for you.

You also failed to blow the whistle on Education. Sir, our Nigerian Universities are often shut down due to one strike or the other. Our young people have become tired of waiting to get an education. Many of them have opted to do other things rather than to wait for degrees that no longer have any value.

Sir, your Reuben Abati informed us that you had built 12 additional Universities. Permit me to congratulate you on a job well done. However, permit to also ask how many of those Universities are on the league tables? How many of them are amongst the top 200 schools in the world? Sir, many parents now struggle to pay for Private Schooling for their wards, as the standards in our public schools have really dropped . I suspect Sir, that you are amongst those parents. Or do your children attend our public schools?

For those who struggle and wait through incessant University Strikes, you refused to blow the whistle on Unemployment. Many of our young people are out of school and unemployed. Many parents have now been saddled with the responsibility of fending for children who should ordinarily have moved out to start their own lives. It is now the norm to see 30 year olds still living at home. Permit me to ask you sir, at what age did you leave the nest?

Sir, on Health, it is a pathetic situation and as usual, no red card was issued. To have even the most minor of medical conditions in this country can be tantamount to a death sentence. Many pregnant women fast and pray in spite of their pregnancies. They pray that they have no complications. For others who can afford to do so, they stand for long hours at various embassies in order to give themselves and their unborn children a stab at good medical care. Permit me to ask you sir, were you born abroad?

On this note sir, please advise your hard working Trio – FFK, Abati and Reno to stop giving your exalted party a bad name. They need to stop tearing people down in the hope of making you look good. We now jokingly refer to your PDP as ‘People Demonising People’. Advise them sir to have a campaign based on some of the achievements you made whilst in office. I know that could be a daunting task but I’m certain that if they looked hard enough, they would surely find one thing that they can base your campaign on. It will be hard but surely there must be something.

Tell the PDP Trio to hunt for another strategy. I admit that given the nature of some fickle Nigreians, words like Islamist Fundamentalists, No Certificate and Ex Soldier is enough to sway their minds. For most others, it is the proof of work done that would make them vote for you. Tell the Trio to seat  down and do the real work, rather than swing slime.

It is without doubt that you, our darling President Jonathan have great intentions for this nation but since when have intentions been able to buy a bag of pure water in the market? Since when have intentions paid school fees or fixed my broken down generator? Will it start to do so after Valentines Day 2015?

Permit me to say sir that we know you are a good person but to be fair, that good has not manifested in our daily living. Many children still do not go to school, too many Nigerians are impoverished, too much insecurity and quite frankly, too much hunger. Unfortunately at this time sir, your wealthy friends, the dollar spenders are also not happy. The say the exchange rate is just too high. Well I do not know about that, I know that my Naira cannot buy me much in the market.

Sir, rather than see this as an attack, see this as an evaluation. On this six year stint you have scored an F+. Therefore, permit me to ask you sir, what exactly are you coming back for? What Sir, will you do differently if you were re-elected and how do you intend to do it?

As you ponder on these questions Sir, permit me to crave your indulgence. Please tell Reno and FFK to respond only to the questions asked because if I am not careful, I would be labelled as a mad, angry, Nigerian woman. To be fair though, they may be right.

Signed
Mad, Angry, Nigerian Woman

As I write this letter, I wonder what the PDP has to offer us in the next tenure. Is it going to be more of the same style of Governance? Would this be acceptable to you? Do you want the PDP back in and why?

Over to you, after all the verdict is yours…

That President Goodluck Jonathan is one of the(if not the) most vilified president in Nigeria’s 54 years, is stating the obvious. This to an extent, can be said to be an evidence that our democracy is growing. Citizens are getting more aware of the duties/roles of government and naturally expectations are getting higher daily(I believe the next president will have a tougher time), most importantly the new media has given so many people an opportunity to air their opinions – leading to the emergence of overlords & tin gods; hitherto parlor talks have become matters for public discussions. THE STAKES ARE HIGHER!

While this is a welcome development and a sign of growth in our democratic process; what continues to baffle me is the inability of persons to distinguish between hatred and criticism. That a living being who has been in Nigeria since 1999 can say that President Jonathan’s administration has achieved nothing over the last couple of years is undiluted hatred. In this category is an ex president who has openly tried to rubbish all the efforts of President Jonathan and possibly besmirch him in the process, despite his(the ex president’s) several failings – top on the list being his inability(for 8 years) to fix the most important road in his region.

This hatred over the person of Jonathan seems to me as chiefly an ethnic and maybe religious issue. The illusioned ‘born to rule’ class are yet to come to terms with the fact that a southerner from a minority tribe is president(and most likely to remain so till 2019) in this ‘their Great Grandfather Uthman Dan Fodio’s estate’. Having failed to prevent the DIVINE change of power in 2010, have resorted to fulfilling their threat of making the country ungovernable combining same with messages of hate being preached in street corners and worship places. These ones can’t come to terms with the reality that someone from the ‘conquered’ south is president.

I have my personal wishes, I hope Mr president would grant before May 29 2019. Most of which concern the welfare of his immediate people(The Niger Delta). I would like to see a bridge linking the Yenagoa jetty to Asaka(in Brass LGA of Bayelsa State – one of the areas that contributes to the nations wealth). Others include, implementation of the UNEC report on the Ogoni oil spill, the full take off of both the Brass and Bonny LNG projects,reconstruction of the Calabar section of the Calabar-Itu highway, completion of all sections of the east-west road,completion of the 2nd Niger bridge amongst other wishes. In spite of all the above, I would be exhibiting gross ignorance to say the President has done nothing, not when I was in this country while an ex general who is having difficulty staying in retirement ruled for 8 years.

I do not belong to the Presidents media team and will not bother you with his accomplishments(as regards infrastructure) which you are already aware of (unless you belong to the group of blind talkers, who hate for no just cause other than personal gains, those whose “god is their stomach”). His giants strides aimed at strengthening our economy and democracy which cannot be ignored is my major concern:

a)The significant improvement in our electoral process is worth celebrating. Today it is possible for persons in relatively unknown parties to dream of winning elections. Compare this to ‘tsunami Obasanjo’ witnessed across the country in 2003. Through Jonathan, Yar’adua’s promise to strengthen the electoral process in 2007 has become a reality.

b)Non interference with judicial matters. I lived in this country when it seemed acceptable for the President/Presidency to disobey court orders. Serving ministers were laws unto themselves; one even demolished a judges house despite a restraining court order. President Jonathan is ensuring that the Judiciary is truly independent,an effort worthy of commendation.

c)How about the agricultural revolution which remains a positive step towards the diversification of our economy(this was embarked on long before the global decline in oil prices). Now farmers receive fertilizers directly, eliminating the fraud that once was associated with fertilizer distribution. The rice pyramids are back and in the words of Agriculture minister Akinwumi Adesina, “Nigerians will stop thinking of agriculture just as a means of livelihood, but more as a business”. Nigeria has reduced its food imports by over 40% as of 2013, moving the country closer to self sufficiency in agriculture.

d)Under this administration, Nigeria has been opened up to the global business community and is fast becoming Africa’s number one destination for foreign investments. Between January and June this year, a total of US$9.70 billion(N1.51 trillion)flowed into the national economy as foreign direct investments. Proceeds from non oil exports rose to 2.97billion by December 2013, up from 2.3billion in 2010.

e)The YOUWIN program initiated in 2011 has been a blessing to hundreds of unemployed persons who hitherto lacked capital to start their own businesses and has so far created thousands of jobs for others within only 3 years of its launch.

f)Prior to this administration, the automotive industry was non existent. Today due to the automotive policy of the federal government, global auto-giants like peugeot,nissan and hyundai either manufacture or assemble all kinds of cars in Nigeria(thus creating jobs for citizens). Nigeria’s flagship indigenous auto-maker Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company begun the sale of their made in Nigeria cars in August 2014 – with the support of a president who understands the need to support the growth of local businesses as a means of growing the economy. Alhaji Aliko Dangote has attributed the increase in his monetary worth to the “favourable economic policies of the Goodluck Jonathan administration”.

g) Revival of the comatose railway transportation – that was long forgotten in Nigeria.

h) The modification of the almajiri system of education in northen Nigeria can only be done by a president who understands the importance of education and its benefits to the individual(in particular) and the society in general.

i) Completion and commissioning of the Omotosho1&2 power generating plants and Geregu power generating plants.

j) Under this administration, the whole national transmission grid has been rehabilitated and upgraded – only a myopic mind will downplay the importance of this achievements.

With the 2015 elections less than 2 months away, it is expected that those seeking to sell ‘bad products’ will attempt to discredit ALL the achievements of the Jonathan administration. It is okay for individuals to express their biases but making a mockery of oneself for any reason is unacceptable even in politics. Considering the efforts this administration has put into restructuring the nation, it is foolhardy for anyone to say president Jonathan has done NOTHING unless such a person was either born in 2011 or just got out of coma. We haven’t arrived at our destination yet but we are steadily on course.

If you have decided not to show love to President Jonathan on Valentines day next year, choosing to cling to the old and outdated order; kindly ask yourself the following questions:

1)Am I making my choice because he has done nothing at all?
2)Is it because power must return to where it all should reside?
3)Is it because of his religion?
4)Is it because I do not like his face?

because in the end the joke will be on you for taking a stand from an uninformed and myopic perspective. There is no middle ground.

Goodluck to Nigeria.

Enenim Ubon is on twitter @enenimubon.

Views Expressed are Solely Author’s.