You’ve not done well, Nigerians tell Jonathan

May 29, 2015 : 

Adegbite, Isaac and Ikponmwosa

President Goodluck Jonathan in his handover speech on Thursday said his administration has done its best to “intervene robustly and impact positively on key aspects of our national life.” In this piece, Nigerians, however, rated the President as having underperformed

Of course President Jonathan will never agree with anyone that his government failed. Before our very eyes, during the reign of President Jonathan, students of tertiary institutions were home for almost a year because of strike. And we had a President with an academic PhD! It’s quite unfortunate.

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Those who wear the shoe know where it pinches them. Ask any ordinary Nigerian today what he feels about the outgoing administration; you will be shocked at what he will tell you. The litany of his woeful performance is endless. It’s my hope that President Muhammadu Buhari will go in there and get the job done.

–Dayo Williams

I will say many of us living outside the country know that Jonathan has done little compare to the weight of trust reposed in him. I will say emphatically that the instability in power supply is nothing to write home about no matter the presentations of the outgoing president.

The administration also failed to strengthen the authority to fight corruption. Inability to prosecute corrupt government officials is a huge failure on his part.

–Fagbamigbe Victor

If he claimed to have met the expectations of the Nigerian people, that is a fraud of gargantuan proportion. It is absolutely untrue that Jonathan did well for Nigerians. You can imagine the terrible economic legacy he is leaving behind. Is it the hardship or hike in fuel price we should focus on? Or how he left us groaning in hardship in December? I didn’t get both November and December salaries so I could not reunite with my family even as a federal civil servant here in Abuja. interestingly, I shall only remember President Jonathan for his unflagging   support for the development of sports.

–Olalekan Faseesin

Although the outgoing president tried his best during his tenure, his best was far below what Nigerians expected and he ended up disappointing us. We had high expectations and that was why we elected him as the President but from the beginning of his tenure, the country witnessedg serious problem in the petroleum industry. The country witnessed the highest level of corruption during Jonathan’s time. We believed that he would bring us good luck but he turned out to bring bad luck in abundance. He has failed the nation as far as I am concerned.

–David Olorunsogo

Of course Jonathan has performed beyond our expectation. One of the major things he laid emphasis on during his campaign was that he had no shoes.

During his tenure, apart from getting shoes for himself which I am sure he did, he also did some good works.

He renovated and revived our rail stations and renovated roads too, among others. He has done more than buying shoes by creating ways for the shoes to be used. He is right.

–Tola Adegbite

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan tried his best for Nigeria, although many people may criticise him, those people should understand that it is not easy to lead a large country as Nigeria.

Boko Haram did not start with Jonathan government. Today, his administration and the military have shown them pepper. The government has reduced the effect of insurgency.

Also Jonathan provided many good roads across the country. He also ensured peace and stability of the country by accepting his electoral defeat.

–Abdulganiyu Adesina

He did not meet the expectations of Nigerians. If not for the people that surrounded him and gave him problems, he probably would have done better. To be a leader is not an easy thing.

He tried his best. But the issue of corruption really affected his administration. I will score him 50 per cent.

–Pastor Ojo S.P.

In the area of sports which is my jurisdiction, Jonathan tried a lot by rewarding excellence unlike his predecessors. In his six years in charge, sportsmen are now proud owner of houses and cars.

Although some directors in the National Sports Commission abused by underpaying these sportsmen and sportswomen due to the lacuna in the system.

He has been a failure.Initially, we thought he was an angel but he turned out to be something else. Now he is leaving Nigeria worse than Sanni Abacha left it.

–Oni Afolabi

Jonathan is not a bad man. I believe he was a successful President despite those challenges.

I have never seen a President that will be as bold as to concede defeat in the election. He also gave us a free and fair election.

–Olawale Majolagbe

Although he rode to power in the most unusual of circumstances, his administration can be summed up as a total failure except for those persons who still measure performance based on yardsticks such as ‘our son’ or ‘our brother-in-faith’.

–Modiu Olaguro

Compared to the previous Peoples Democratic Party administrations, President Goodluck Jonathan performed. But there were some grey areas in his administration, like power and unemployment, which I think the new administration should focus on.

–Benjamin Ikponmwosa

Nobody will say that his mother’s soup is not sweet.

But as far as I’m concerned, I will give him a weak pass because we cannot deny the fact that he did much, as far as education is concerned.

–Achilike Njoku

Jonathan has performed lower than the people’s expectations. I was not expecting this performance from Jonathan looking at his academic profile. He ought to have worked better to justify how he emerged.

Looking at the education sector, there was a major setback during his tenure. The lecturers were on strike for more than eight months and one of them even died during a protest.

Also on security, Nigeria lost a lot of soldiers during this administration in the failed fight against terrorism. On employment generation, the youths are also disappointed.

–Olakunle Samuel

Goodluck Jonathan ‘s administration is a flop. He promised a lot of things most especially during the subsidy removal in January 2012.

He said his administration would build refineries and use the savings from the subsidy to do some investments but we hardly see any.

I was a staunch supporter of Jonathan before but I realised he makes decision without proper planning.

The removal of subsidy was an instance. My hope is that with the incoming government, poor planning, maladministration and corruption will end.

–Benedict Nyere

It has been a wonderful experience. The world itself is full of deceit and people with different opinions and mentality. For me, Jonathan’s administration is the most transparent democracy ever in this country.

The man (Jonathan) has the mental strength to take Nigeria to the next level but he was not given the opportunity. He has done his best possible. His legacy will not be felt until he leaves the office. The northerners benefitted from his administration a lot.

But come to think of it, they initiated Boko Haram. If not for that, he would have executed the seven points agenda of the late (Umar) Yar’Adua very well. He has everything at his disposal but northerners did not give him the opportunity.

“What I consider to be his weakness is that he allows his ministers to make major decisions for him and he is not quick to react to issues. He takes things lightly which is not supposed to be. He allows some ministers to take irrational decisions for him. As the number one citizen of this country, you should stamp your authority.

–Ukpenetu Emmanuel

He has tried his best. All of us know that there is no best way of managing a country. Everybody must contribute his own quota until we arrive at that point.

President Jonathan has contributed his best as the leader. I agree with the President when he said he has tried his best.

Take a look at the railway system that has died long ago, he has done a lot to revamp it.

We expect the incoming President to also contribute his own quota.

By so doing, at a point, we will meet up. It is not possible to turn Nigeria to Dubai in four years. (Muhammadu Buhari) cannot achieve that within four years.

I know that he (Buhari) will try his best like Jonathan, but he cannot transform Nigeria within four years.

–Churchill

I didn’t expect him to say that he has not done well. Jonathan started very well. But he messed it up because of his ambition.

–Tosaýusuanlele Ovoramen

The Jonathan administration is an example of an inept leadership.

He lacked the political capital and will to redefine the country on the path of success.

Little wonder his regime was an abysmal failure.

–Adebayo Hezekiah Olusegun

Goodbye to a President with so many advisers, yet foolish policies! Sorrow,tears and blood. May we not witness such a clueless government like GEJ in Nigeria again.

Despite the chronic fuel scarcity, no meaningful word from our President, this was exactly how Boko Haram took over. What manner of transformation!

–Abiola Isaac

One good thing that can be ascribed to Jonathan is his conduct of a free and fair election and smooth transition.

Also in the automobile industry and agriculture, I think he also delivered.

But generally, I would rate him 30 per cent. He has done fairly well. He has not met the expectations of many Nigerians.

–Akinwande Olawale

Jonathan would have been one of the country’s best Presidents, except for the corruption in his administration. Jonathan did well in areas like agriculture.

He got it wrong in the area of security.

He did not fight the terrorism war as he should and the opposition actually used this against him.

–Tunde Fadipe

The truth is that President Jonathan has tried his best. Sponsoring youths for training in the amnesty programme is a good achievement.

Some of the beneficiaries that I know of are now able to pay their bills with what they benefitted from the training.

He (Jonathan) has achieved a lot, but because there is so much pressure on him, many people will not realise it now.

–Abraham

I can’t explain GEJ’s thought process; I don’t understand the reasons for his actions and inactions. He alone can explain that. He sat in that office long enough to have brought the desired transformation but he didn’t. During his reign, corruption festered and there were lots of financial mismanagement. His administration so failed that the electorate just wanted a change at all cost.

–Opeyemi Ibraheem

Well, personally, I’ll neither describe GEJ as a success nor a failure. He had his good sides and bad sides as the president. He had the privilege to be the most revered leader in Nigeria but he was too timid to step on some toes.

So much was entrusted to him, he did his bit though, but they weren’t just enough to win the hearts of the masses. To get the hands of the people, you must first get their hearts. Since he couldn’t win their hearts, those same hands voted him out!

–Solomouth Wilfred

In some aspects well we might consider him a success such as the FOI bill signed into law. Again in the construction of some major federal roads – an instance of that is the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and some others in the East. Moreover, in his work of equipping the Almajiris educationally and exposing some of them to the light of knowledge.

However, on the whole President Jonathan’s administration has, from a quick look, failed woefully. He hasn’t touched the lives of Nigerians largely. See Nigerians are thirsty of the dividends of democracy. 1999 till date, we have moved through administrations of selfish leaders who lured us into voting for them with their empty promises that were unaccomplished.

Now when it got to the time of Jonathan, we thought because he had the background he claimed to have, we thought he would know what it means to suffer. But we were wrong! No development in the real sense or I just don’t see it. I wouldn’t know if anyone does.

–Akintayo Oluremi    

Unruffled by corruption and thrusting luck, religious and ethnic sentiments forward, Goodluck Jonathan and his acolytes tricked Nigerians, took the country backwards and brought it to the present precipice.