The President`s `missing ears`

Being without ears refers to a certain obduracy, a peculiar inability to appreciate the truth. I see...Read the full article.

[NWANZA]

Thank you for telling us what kind of President you like for Nigeria, but I beg to differ from your assertions. Prodding a Nigerian President with enormous responsibility is not what I recommend at this point.

The wait and see attitude may be connected with the fact that his legitimacy has not been approved at the election tribunals. As soon as we know who won the 2007 presidential elections, then we can prod him wantonly for moving slow.

Nigeria desperately needs electricity, water, security, and infrastructure to grow our economy. Which will translate to more job creation for our teeming college graduates, and young professional men and women.

We need to build and grow our economy now before the oil wells dry up. They will not last forever at $100 a barrel. The cost of building our road, railway, and airport infrastructures will only escalate if they are put off again.

First thing first, and then the loud noise you requested will be given to you.

[Frisky Larr]

Interesting indeed that I am these days, clearly singing from the same hymnbook with Reuben Abati. The similarity in our vocabularies strikes me with awe. Many thanks indeed for buttressing this general picture of inertia inherent in the current status quo. Yar'Adua reminds me today of a misguided Mikhail Gorbachov, who thought the solution to the problem of the USSR was simple: "Glasnost and Perestroika and the USSR would be revamped" But he was in for a dreadful surprise. UMYA seems to think that handling Nigeria is simple: "Only be the opposite of OBJ and you are through". But he is seeing now that he needs far more imagination and charisma and not meaningless policy reversals.

@ Nwanza

Precisely the uncertainty over presidential legitimacy should have been the ultimate catalyst to spur any reasonable leader to action for as long as it lasts!

[i-go-better]

Please Dr Abati allow the still mesmerised, dazed and hungry Nigerian citizens a little more time for some semblance of recovery from Obj's 8yrs of mayhem before you start this insidious attempt at rehabilitating his "draculaic" nightmarish image that still hunts them. Those you claim are nostalgic of Obj's presidency shouldn't have affected your hard earned journalistic integrity because they leave obvious trail of dubious antecedence despite hiding behind pseudonym of several Damilolas.

And, curiously you seem to have failed to undersatnd the inextricable link between Obj and any Yaradua's inadquacy! Let me explain;

1. if Yaradua performs averagely well, then the failure of Obj would become DOUBLELY obvious even to his diehard supporters;

2. if Yaradua performs badly, then the failure of Obj would become QUADRUPLELY obvious even to his diehard supporters for 8yrs of waste and corruption and installing an unwilling president whose consequent failure was foretold. I always cringe at the realisation that I used to be one of his diehard supporters until 2003 elections!

Dr Abati, you are much better than this, however, my admiration for you is not affected by this mis-step. Happy New Year.

[Dapxin]

Originally Posted by i-go-better

Please Dr Abati allow the still mesmerised, dazed and hungry Nigerian citizens a little more time for some semblance of recovery from Obj's 8yrs of mayhem before you start this insidious attempt at rehabilitating his "draculaic" nightmarish image that still hunts them. Those you claim are nostalgic of Obj's presidency shouldn't have affected your hard earned journalistic integrity because they leave obvious trail of dubious antecedence despite hiding behind pseudonym of several Damilolas.

And, curiously you seem to have failed to undersatnd the inextricable link between Obj and any Yaradua's inadquacy! Let me explain;

1. if Yaradua performs averagely well, then the failure of Obj would become DOUBLELY obvious even to his diehard supporters;

2. if Yaradua performs badly, then the failure of Obj would become QUADRUPLELY obvious even to his diehard supporters for 8yrs of waste and corruption and installing an unwilling president whose consequent failure was foretold. I always cringe at the realisation that I used to be one of his diehard supporters until 2003 elections!

Dr Abati, you are much better than this, however, my admiration for you is not affected by this mis-step. Happy New Year.

Your excellency,
When I read this, I certainly had the same feelings as you wrote above.
Whatever oga Yaradua turns out to be - rubbish as it stands - OBJ will never be any good for it, and thus does it not become futile, if not premature, to attempt a comparative analysis ?

I think I can excuse, forgive me, Abati's seeming u-turn on gen. Obj here as resulting from the attempts of a frustrated writer to make sense of the travesty, or shall we say farce, of a president, government and countryman in that order that oga Yaradua typifies.

I mean, for a moment, I am prepared to envisage myself having to critique this administration, and I cannot but agree to the salient issues Abati highlighted here, the worst being the suggestion that the president of a country, so energyless, so roadless, so healthless, so policingless, so classless, goes to work 9-4pm minus weekends! It is grotesque, its unbelievable, I mean its shocking not just to the bone marrows, but right to the red blood cells!

And we have 4 more years of this abi ? (apologies to that villager, you know yourself)

[akuluouno]

I totally support UMYA for restoring decorum at Aso Rock. The place has had some quiet and dignity in recent times and I believe that this is good for the country. What remains is for UMYA to translate that peace and decorum to the entire country just as he did in Katsina State. For power we need less megawatts in the pages of newspapers and more light in peoples homes.
I believe that we will get there once the legal obstacles I believe earlier mentioned by Nwanza are overcome. Give it to the Fulani man to be cool, calm and calculating. Behind that veneer of Umar go slow is a powerful man who understands the calculus of power. It is not by being theatrical, flamboyant, garroulous and generating heat in the polity that good govenance is done.
Yes I agree he needs to build his own team of eminient Nigerians to tackle the challenges which have been identified. But Nigeria is a complex state and it is better to waltz through the minefields of governance than to do hip pop dance around them like the former regime to the detriment of the whole polity.
Some go slow are surely needed at these times. UMYA should continue to make haste but less speed.

[giafaleye]

Honestly I’m really, really disappointed in Mr. Abati’s write up. Singing OBJ praises so soon and comparing him to Yardua is like comparing Night and Day. Abati is one of those I respect and enjoy reading but this particular write up made me sad. I believe Mr. Abati is not in touch with the masses any longer. This is the only Christmas without price increase in fuel and other commodities. Here in Port Harcourt and Rivers State in general people I have had the privilege of interacting with many people who are really happy with this government and are constantly praying for the leadership. However my prayer is that the Tribunal nullifies Yardua’s election and hopefully he’ll keep to his promise not to recontest so that we can have someone that would throw party in Aso Rock and go against all known rules and probably uses another Ribadu to intimidate and close down government of states to the joy of the likes of Abati.
We still have a long way to go in this country what a pity!

[ajimoh]

No amount of huffing and puffing by the image launderers for this government will save it from the inevitable. How could a government composed largely of people not chosen on merit be expected to perform? When this government starts performing, or ever performs, let its apologists direct as much vituperations as possible my path. This government is founded on dishonesty and fraud, it is beholden to too many disreputable people in the ‘House of Thieves’ and that is why many clueless people have been put forward for ministerial appointments. Amongst thieves, there are NO honours; so palpably it is with the thieves ruling Nigeria and stripping it to the bones and fighting amongst themselves in the process, with token scape goats here and there! A house not built with a solid foundation never last long and it is a matter of time for this government to pack it in via the Tribunal or the people. How difficult can it be to provide the basic necessities of life to ones people? I take it the increment in the President’s salary had been premised on performance; is it? That is Nigeria for you! The other day, it was reported that new cars were approved for ministers and that the Secretary to the Federal Government (WHO ELSE?) had defended the decision before the legislators! Yes, new cars for ministers, salary increases for the Executives and what else? All these no doubt predicated on the sterling jobs they have been doing! There is now abundance of food, habitable shelter, quality education, quality and affordable health services, motorable roads, confidence in the security of life and property. The masses are all smiling and thanking their good fortunes. Nigeria has suddenly been blessed with leaders who place the electorates before their own pockets, who meet to address matters of concern to their constituents!

Outside, the international community have no qualms doing business with us at all and foreign investors, at least the honest ones, are queuing up to come and do business in Nigeria because of our enabling environment: we do not ask for kickbacks here; children of government functionaries (who may even have their hands in the commonwealth pie themselves) do not go around the globe signing documents using pseudonyms; we award contract here based purely on competitive tendering. We do not apply sanctions selectively and have recently reawakened our consciousness to root out corruption: most of the erstwhile corrupt public officials have been tried, convicted and jailed: we refused to succumb to the temptation of doing deals with criminals in return for lesser sentences because to do so would have sent the wrong signal to the coming generation that there are two sets of laws in Nigeria – the one for the high & mighty and the other for lesser mortals!

What has been most astonishing about us, to the chagrin of our detractors, is that we were meticulous about choosing a man of unquestionable poise, intellect and integrity, not smeared by the tar of ‘conflict of interest’ as our chief law officer: we chose a man who had never been compromised by his antecedents, utterances and actions as our Attorney General, a man who is honest and down-to-earth, who is not beholden to any corrupt ex-government official. Our choice has been the envy of the British legal system in particular, who remain befuddled by how intelligible our Attorney General is about their system: it was a surprise to them that our AG knew, and understood, that it was sufficient for an official of the Home Official to sign request on behalf of the British Home Secretary. Above all, the pro-activeness of our AG in assisting the international community in rooting out corruption is still being marvelled at. In one case involving an ex-con, who later metamorphosed into a State Chief Executive, all the available evidence have been placed at the disposal of the British authorities with such alarming alacrity that they, the British, are now contemplating naming our AG the man of the decade for his stance against corruption.

There is such a buzz about governance in Nigeria, that some British parliamentarians are coming to learn from our legislators the art of purchasing properties all over the globe, junketing around the world, renovation of official quarters at an ‘undervalue’, allocation of houses to elected officials (in a country that cannot feed its citizens, educate children, quench the thirst of its people for water and decent living). Whilst in the country, they are scheduled to visit Chief Lamidi ‘Amala’ Adedibu to learn about political tolerance; visit ‘Dr’ Andy Uba to learn about how to assist in laundering and pilferage of state resources; the triumvirate of General Olusegun Obasanjo, Senator Iyiola Omisore & Atiku Abubakar will grant them audience on the subtleties of handling how one former Attorney General got murdered and his wife indirectly murdered by the intrigues surrounding the trial. They are bound to be astounded by the abundance in our society, so much that our leaders are so popular with the masses that they go around mixing among the teeming masses, using the same excellent public transportation systems, sending their children to the same public schools that they have adequately provisioned and equipped to the same, if not better, standards as obtain abroad. There is so much to learn here; the Kenyans have just left to put into practice what they came to learn.

Postscript
Nigeria will continue to go down the drain for the obvious reason that we have a nation largely founded on dishonesty and led by hugely corrupt, selfish and greedy people. It does not take a year to start making an immediate impact, when you have no skeletons in your cupboard, e.g. the ghost of a singing Ibori! A situation where the first act done was to appoint the same old guard, a man of questionable integrity, as Secretary, gave me the first inkling that it is going to be business as usual. I invite Mr Olusegun Adeniyi to tell us what exactly has been the achievement of this government so far. After all, he went to the US the other day to learn about information management. I envy him and wish him good luck in his endeavours with this government. The day for Nigeria has not come. The present president is a hostage, just like Shehu Shagari was a hostage, and we all know what happen to hostages in the end: they are either killed, die, escape or freed from bondage. I hope that the present president is freed from bondage by the Election Tribunal.

[giafaleye]

Honestly I’m really, really disappointed in Mr. Abati’s write up. Singing OBJ praises so soon and comparing him to Yardua is like comparing Night and Day. Abati is one of those I respect and enjoy reading but this particular write up made me sad. I believe Mr. Abati is not in touch with the masses any longer. This is the only Christmas without price increase in fuel and other commodities. Here in Port Harcourt and Rivers State in general people I have had the privilege of interacting with are really happy with this government and are constantly praying for the leadership. However my prayer is that the Tribunal nullifies Yardua’s election and hopefully he’ll keep to his promise not to recontest so that we can have someone that would throw party in Aso Rock and go against all known rules and probably uses another Ribadu to intimidate and close down government of states to the joy of the likes of Abati.
We still have a long way to go in this country what a pity!

[bob]

the change of baton has really made some people unhappy. they cannot even wait for morning before they start grumbling.
perhaps, the writer wants an ignorant and overzealous security man to pay him a visit so we can start another witch hunting round.

i had a boss who said 'if u work hard from 7 to 4, then u can put your feet up the table'.

[ifeolooni]

d simple msg frm this write-up is dt yara donothing should wake up ,waiting for the tribunal is nt excuse for lethargy.igbochukwu onyejekwe was a meniac we all know, we need to know this man we call prsident who has refused to go home or perform.
koda!!!!! those in katsina tried sha in any case igbochukwu will still carry the blame

[Ebe]

Let's stop the pretense. I can forgive some people who expected competence from Yar'Adua for their ignorance of his lame duck tenure as Katsina governor. But other people know very well that the man's tenure in Katsina is a mirror image of his visionless and drab presidency and are still pretending that they are surprised that he has turned out this way. Obasanjo knew the man's record--or lack thereof--in Katsina and yet wickedly foisted him on a country already brutalized by his incompetent, corrupt, and tyrannical presidency. Obasanjo is deeply implicated in the Yar'Adua presidential disaster. To write him out of it or to pretend that we're no longer suffering from that deliberate and wicked imposition is to be escapist in one's analysis.

[sammyrob]

Dr Reuben Abati,
Once again you have not failed to deliver. This apt description of the inate administration of Yar'Adua makes an exciting reading indeed.
My take though is that we excuse UMYA his ineptitude, may be he is awaiting the judgement of the election tribunal before taking decisive actions. He needs all the friends (he cant afford to acquire enemies at this stage of the administrations' life) and resources he can muster in the event of a re-run of the elections which, under the circumstance one can only pray for.

@Nwanza
You are in order!

[bjdon]

Thank you Ruben Abati for reflecting what many of us are now thinking. It's a shame that many people seem to be misreading Dr Abati's article. From my understanding he is not trying to rehabilitate Obasanjo in any way. He's meraly pointing out how bad Yar'dua is doing that we are now in a situation where people are being forced to make comparsions with OBJ. How can any fair person not conclude that after 7 months in office Yar'dua has completly and totally failed to inspire any sense of urgency or direction in tacking the many problmes facing our Nation?

I do agree that some the issues we are facing will take time and detailed planning to resolve, but surly after 7 months we should have some kind of feeling about where our president is taking us. The issues in our country are CRTICAL. People are dying everyday on bad roads, in ill-equiped hospitals. Factories are clossing everday due to the epiliptic power situation. Say what you will about the Obasanjo govt (And there's quite a lot of Negative stuff that can be rightly be said about it) at least he was able to leave some kind of base for Yar'dua to build on. By getting the bulk of external debt wiped off, there is now more money available for social infrastructure, yet what does Yar'dua do in his budget? He gives the largest allocation to the Security/Defense establishment. Where is the state of emergency promised in the power sector? What of the promise to reform the land use decree?

Yar'dua may well be a decent and humble gentleman, who would never steal a dime of Nigeria's money, but I am starting to belive he's is also a man who is simply not up to the job of being President of Nigeria. The President is the living embodiment of his nation. Being a competent administrator is simply not enough. He needs to reflect a presence of strenght, competence and courage, and deliver a vision his people can belive in as well as a sense that he understands their pains and is working Night and day to resolve them. On all these Umaru Yar'dua fails misreabliy.

[salford]

A man with a vision needs no excuse. Tribunal or not, UMYA should get on with the people's business like a man with a purpose. Time and tide waits for no man.

[NWANZA]

Originally Posted by bob

the change of baton has really made some people unhappy. they cannot even wait for morning before they start grumbling.
perhaps, the writer wants an ignorant and overzealous security man to pay him a visit so we can start another witch hunting round.

i had a boss who said 'if u work hard from 7 to 4, then u can put your feet up the table'.

Well put analysis!

Obasanjo needed to work round the clock due to lack of education, and the need to find loop hole to hide stolen goods like silver, gold, iron & steel, and a lot of crude oil.

Yar'Adua a college graduate knows that after 8 hours on the Job, any additional time spent there is useless. Why kill yourself when you have ministers delegated to take care of govt.

It is ignorant to compare a farmer with machinery with a farmer with hand tools. Productivity is a factor of one's use of technology plus a little wisdom.

Furthermore, Nigerians are easy to please if these Oga's can build a few good roads traversing the country from Lagos to east, to north east, to northwest, and back to Ibadan.

Simply things in life can really boost the economy because Nigerians are hard working people, and they will complete the development. They only need good leaders period.

[Dapxin]

Originally Posted by NWANZA

Well put analysis!

Obasanjo needed to work round the clock due to lack of education, and the need to find loop hole to hide stolen goods like silver, gold, iron & steel, and a lot of crude oil.

Yar'Adua a college graduate knows that after 8 hours on the Job, any additional time spent there is useless. Why kill yourself when you have ministers delegated to take care of govt.

It is ignorant to compare a farmer with machinery with a farmer with hand tools. Productivity is a factor of one's use of technology plus a little wisdom.

Furthermore, Nigerians are easy to please if these Oga's can build a few good roads traversing the country from Lagos to east, to north east, to northwest, and back to Ibadan.

Simply things in life can really boost the economy because Nigerians are hard working people, and they will complete the development. They only need good leaders period.

Interesting.

This would have been a thumbs up response but hold on, how about coming in , on saturday to find out what's the latest from XYZ minister? I mean, read a report on this and that - so you can fire him the next target ?

While, we can bask in the obvious differences in personality and credential a la Obj, let's not start rolling out our gangans and shekeres. Part of being a president is being in charge, and responsibly so 24/7 and tell me one pilot who 'll go to sleep when his plane is nosediving fast ontop of River Zambesi ?

And to think the excuse will be 'cos he's been on a 8hr flight from Pakistan to Zamfara ?

I opine, maybe wrongly, that Mr. President needs to show more haste.

[NWANZA]

Originally Posted by bjdon

Thank you Ruben Abati for reflecting what many of us are now thinking. It's a shame that many people seem to be misreading Dr Abati's article. From my understanding he is not trying to rehabilitate Obasanjo in any way. He's meraly pointing out how bad Yar'dua is doing that we are now in a situation where people are being forced to make comparsions with OBJ. How can any fair person not conclude that after 7 months in office Yar'dua has completly and totally failed to inspire any sense of urgency or direction in tacking the many problmes facing our Nation?

I do agree that some the issues we are facing will take time and detailed planning to resolve, but surly after 7 months we should have some kind of feeling about where our president is taking us. The issues in our country are CRTICAL. People are dying everyday on bad roads, in ill-equiped hospitals. Factories are clossing everday due to the epiliptic power situation. Say what you will about the Obasanjo govt (And there's quite a lot of Negative stuff that can be rightly be said about it) at least he was able to leave some kind of base for Yar'dua to build on. By getting the bulk of external debt wiped off, there is now more money available for social infrastructure, yet what does Yar'dua do in his budget? He gives the largest allocation to the Security/Defense establishment. Where is the state of emergency promised in the power sector? What of the promise to reform the land use decree?

Yar'dua may well be a decent and humble gentleman, who would never steal a dime of Nigeria's money, but I am starting to belive he's is also a man who is simply not up to the job of being President of Nigeria. The President is the living embodiment of his nation. Being a competent administrator is simply not enough. He needs to reflect a presence of strenght, competence and courage, and deliver a vision his people can belive in as well as a sense that he understands their pains and is working Night and day to resolve them. On all these Umaru Yar'dua fails misreabliy.

I can see the point Ruben Abati is trying to make as a journalist who need to sell newspaper, and magazine articles. Yar'Adua do not generate income for the media rats in this rat race, and have to move to south Africa just to find materials. That is how they feed their families.

Ministers in the Yar'Adua government should go on Television and sell their program to the masses. Miracles will not happen overnight, and no sane person will drive on a stretch of road build in three months.

Nigeria do not need quick fixes, let's wait for something that will last a long time. Just for the records, Yar'Adua is not my ideal president for a country of this magnitude.

[aguabata]

Dr Abati is miffed over Ribadu's removal that's why the scathing attack on Yaradua. seven months is too short to compare Yaradua's government to Obasanjo based on infrastructural improvement, but for anything else Yaradua exceeds Obasanjo's class.

[Onari]

Originally Posted by NWANZA

Well put analysis!

Obasanjo needed to work round the clock due to lack of education, and the need to find loop hole to hide stolen goods like silver, gold, iron & steel, and a lot of crude oil.

Nwanza and Bob,

Thank you for pointing that working round the clock do not bring productivity. Come to look at OBJ working around the clock was not to bring lasting solution to problem of Energy, power, health, education, security and other social issues but nocturnal meetings dwelling on how to deal with enemies and steal the country dry.

Honestly, it is not how long you put in a job, but how well and productive those hours are to the job that matters.