President Jonathan’s Leaderless Leadership

President Jonathan’s Leaderless Leadership

By Oluwaseyi Oduyela/Washington, DC

There are so many reasons why people like me appear to have been so hard on Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. His lack of charisma, ability to show a sense of leadership and initiative is crucial. The man is neither proactive nor retroactive.

I have been pondering over the cause of this lack of enthusiasm to lead, why this man who defeated AC in the south west despite Tinubu’s charisma has failed to consolidate his election’s victories.
Most of those who have worked and still working for him don’t have pleasant things to say about. Even military Generals who have served under him complained of his lackluster attitude to advice and intelligence reports.
Why did he want to be president? Was it his idea or someone or group of people who saw him as weak and are taking advantage of his lack of zeal for leadership?
It appears that this group of people, if they exist prefers to have a clueless person in office but not in power.

Looking at some of Jonathan’s appointments and how he has been rewarding terribly-performed officials in office. It is easy to conclude that this president is not only weak but also indolent.

He promoted the Chief of Air Staff to Chief of Defense Staff. This was a man who headed the Nigeria Air force when Shekau invaded the Air Force base, spending close to one hour on one of Nigeria’s military formation without resistance. I wonder why a commander-in-chief who strongly believes in security of his country will not consider letting such a person retire but rather promoted him to now head the Defense? Or how did this man pull wool over Jonathan’s face to get the promotion. Apart from his failure to secure the Air force Base, This Chief of Defense Staff, as the Chief of Air Staff purchased an aircraft for the Nigerian Air Force last year around April 2013. The Air craft was commissioned by President Jonathan and since then, the commissioned aircraft has been naturally decommissioned covered by weeds where it was parked.
Granted that the members of the National Assembly have just one agenda, to come to Abuja poor and go back home as millionaires doing nothing. They use their offices as people’s representatives to protect the elite and encourage cheating especially from the telecommunication companies. Most if not all members of the National Assembly don’t pay for phone credits, as a result they don’t know how much ordinary Nigerians spend on card refills daily, they have no idea what it costs to provide electricity since they don’t experience power failures. It is none of their business if Nigerians die of suffocation from inhaling Carbon monoxide from the millions of generators in circulation. To them, it’s a relief that Nigerians have figured out how to provide electricity for themselves. Stupid people! They don’t even care that poor Nigerians are billed by the comatose NEPA (That’s what I knew it to be before I left Nigeria in 2003) even when they don’t have light for weeks.

I am eager to see what president Jonathan will present as his score card for deserving a second term in office; of course, a sense of clueless leadership, evident by leadership without direction.

As it is now, Nigeria is like a bus with a driver who has a driver license without driving training supported by useless and parochial conductors (Advisers).

To worsen the situation the group people parading themselves as opposition or progressives are more clueless than the present land lord of Aso Rock. They are so blinded by their ambition for power rather than for qualitative and vision-driven leadership. They are too busy struggling for power. Though they appear as oppositions but they are not different from the runing (ruling) party.
They have not provided any evidence of difference but have been busy carrying brooms. Back in the days only SHIT people carry broom. The dirt and mess they have helped to create cannot be cleared or cleaned by brooms.
The present leadership reminds me of the Drunken Shaolin Master movie.

Awon oniranu ajeyin awo.