The new president takes over this May, and Jonathan’s tenure will be over. Mr President has surely had a rough time being the leader of the nation.
The opposition did not let him breathe. Terrorists persistently hammered his people. The economy was in trouble due to the falling oil price. His people nearly overthrew him. For four years he has been under constant fire from almost every direction. He really should be relieved that he did not get the second term.
But there are some positive things the president should be remembered for, as he leaves the Aso Rock next month. Here are the seven best highlights of his tenure.
1. Job creation & female empowerment
The YouWin business plan competition produced 2,400 winners and created 26,000 according to the government.
Seriously, this program should have got more publicity so that people know what the president has achieved through the program. But the publicity was inadequate and so a lot of those who discount the program do so ignorantly.
The fact is, people have got jobs and the government has given people the means to grow their businesses and improve their lives. The good thing is all these were done in a largely transparent manner. People who did not have any connections got a grant. This is absolutely one of the most beneficial government programs in a long time.
President Jonathan encouraged female empowerment through his adminstration. He put 13 women in his cabinet for example, something no one before him ever did. By this he tried to show that he supported gender equality and he demonstrated his commitment to leveling the playing field for men and women in the country.
2. Transportation
Before Jonathan, the railways were practically dead. Hardly anyone could travel by train. But today so many people use the train to commute within Lagos and across Nigeria. The Lagos-Kano gauge line has been fixed. The trains are moving again.
A lot of people say these are not the modern trains, but at least the president deserves some credit for doing something. It is not where we should be in terms of rail transport when you look at world standards, but at least now people can get around the country by train, a system that was comatose years before Jonathan administration.
Airports were also in a sorry state before Jonathan became president. The aviation system was broken. It was not so long ago that planes used to fall out of the sky. But things have changed significantly today.
The government rehabilitated over a dozen airports nationwide and built five new international passenger terminals. Better infrastructure has also been installed at airports to make flights safer. Flying in Nigeria is a lot better today than it was five years ago. Jonathan ought to be acknowledged for that achievement.
3. Communications
We’ve made IT advancements too. For instance, two IT Development Entrepreneur accelerators (idEa hubs) were launched in Lagos and Cross River state. 27 federal universities were connected via 10GBps meshed trunk circuits to form the Nigerian research and education network with connectivity to other international research networks. We also launched the NigComSat-1R satellite to provide more options for distributed access and rural connectivity.
Furthermore, we now have a lot more online businesses thriving. The extent of transactions and activities done online signifies that more people have access to internet in Nigeria than ever before.
So from shopping to activism and education, more people are using the internet than before, and the thing is the government’s been working to make this happen by putting up the infrastructure to support mobile communication and internet use. This is remarkable.
4. Health
Two years ago we eradicated the guinea worm disease. We also eradicated Ebola last year.
When Ebola happened, a lot of people thought it would overwhelm the country, with people dying, some trying to escape to other countries and all that kind of stuff. But none of that happened.
The government appeared rattled at first, but it quickly reacted and worked with the affected state governments to contain the spread and snuff out the disease. A few months later the fight was over and the epidemic was finished.
President Jonathan and his health minister honestly didn’t get their fair share of the commendation for that surprising accomplishment. The opposition party stole that from them and tried to hog the spotlight, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is one of the best highlights of the Jonathan’s tenure and a major achievement from the president that deserves a good deal of respect.
5. Education
The government has also done remarkably in education. The government developed some intervention programs to cut the number of kids who are out of school. There was the Almajiri program for example. The schools haven’t got enough publicity so that more people know what the government is accomplishing through the program, but they’ve been helping many kids in the north gain basic formal education alongside learning the Quran.
The government also set up a dozen new universities to increase access to university education. Every year over a million young Nigerians sit the UTME hoping to go to university, but most don’t make it even if they qualify, and that’s partly because the existing universities simply don’t have the capacity to absorb so many students. That’s why setting up these new schools was a timely move by the government.
Some people have tried to do down the government for this initiative, but such people obviously don’t have a son or daughter trying to get into university.
6. Security
Security has been dismal under Jonathan especially in the north with all these Boko Haram attacks. Nevertheless the army has made gains under Jonathan.
There’s the Nigerian Army Language Institute that was established to make our soldiers bilingual within the near future. The army also built the first armoured personnel carrier and first warship too. Several defence technology programs have been going on in the recent years, but understandably the crisis in the north has overshadowed them.
7. Politics
Talking about elections, one thing we’ve got to admit is that elections have got a lot better under Jonathan. The elections we’ve had since 2011 have been substantially flawed, but they’ve also probably been the most credible elections we’ve had in history.
This year is the first time an incumbent head of state has been booted out in an election, and the man President Jonathan has acted honourably so far. He’s accepted his defeat gracefully and has reached out to the incoming president in the interest of the Nigerian people. This is certainly a shining way for the president to end his tenure.
His tenure has been stormy and he certainly should have done better, but the way he’s reacted to his defeat and kept to his promise about the election is something that he’ll definitely be remembered for. It’s a fine legacy for the outgoing president.
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