President Goodluck Jonathan At 62 By Charles Ogbu

Oh, Jonathan! On this historic day of your birth, what can I say about you that haven’t been said before now?

With the exactitude of a Jewish Prophet and the specificity of an English Judge, you accurately predicted the naked tyranny that 15 million Nigerians would later get us into.


Under your watch as President, our right to free speech was guaranteed. We could say just about anything and even call you names because you were enlightened enough to understand that a President is nothing but the employee of the people.


Today, under your Successor, those freedom we enjoyed are no more as the whole country now live in perpetual fear.


People are targeted for assassination, midnight abduction and incarceration even against court order simply for expressing harmless opinion about the most criminally inept government this country has had the singularly tragic displeasure of being cursed with.


Even Supreme Court Justices are not exempted from this tyranny.


As President, Nigeria and Nigerians thrived under your administration. The economy was booming and everyone could see, feel and touch the effect. Poor people could afford a bag of rice at N8000. Basic necessities of life were all affordable and available.

And this was so because you were sensible enough to surround yourself with technocrats. But today, under your Successor, the whole country now wallow in unutterable penury.


Our economy is no longer in existence, even. Rather than technocrats, we now have affidavit-certified 16th century brained ethno-religious irredentists running the destiny of over 200 million of us the way a certain Herdsman I know ran his legendary 150 unproductive cows.


Oh, Jonathan!


You, it was, who gifted us with one of the best electoral systems any democratic country could boast of. You did this even at the cost of your 2nd term ambition. Sadly, my dear president Jonathan, the man who took over from you has completely destroyed that beautiful legacy of yours.


Under him, election results are no longer decided by Nigerians using their permanent voters Card. The so called “Independent” National Electoral Commission now collude with security agencies to write results in favor of the ruling party using the blood of innocent Nigerians as ink.


On corruption, you stayed true to your belief that it can only be tackled with the help of technology by introducing the Treasury Single Account (T.S.A) on January 2012 and the Bank Verification Number (BVN) on February 2014.


Those two measures alone have brought more hygiene in the anti-graft war than a million and one EFCC drama and action movie masquerading as fight against corruption under the current administration where asset stripping and looting in an industrial scale have become the order of the day.


On the fight against insurgency, the Boko Haram terrorists you rooted out of Sambisa with Russian made military hardware in the dying days of your administration have now become most sophisticated and most equipped.


Instead of our brave soldiers going for the terrorists like in the good old days, the terrorists now come for our soldiers right in their barracks, butchering them and carting away their weapons and cash all because the men in charge now prefers looting security fund meant for equipment and sending our men to the war front with inferior weapon.


Most of the terrorists arrested and jailed by your government have since been released back to their business of killing. Aside Boko Haram, Bandits now rule some part of the North. All under a Rtd Army General who promised to lead from the front.


Even your Critic who said you were weak have now realized you weren’t. You were simply as gentle, reasonable and civil as any responsible leader ought to be.


Dear Jonathan, it’s been hell ever since you left.


In all of these, one fact that has been made even more factual is that all the international conspiracy and regional gang-up against you had absolutely nothing to do with your performance as President. For David Cameron and Barack Obama, your position on the Gay bill was the problem.


For our Northern brethren, it was all about returning power to the North at all cost. As for our so called intellectuals, civil society groups and Human Rights Activists, the current Buhari reign of terror has exposed all their dirty behinds.


We now know better. Their T.V rants then were all not unconnected with selfish intestinal considerations. Today, they’ve all lost their tongue. Shame!!


On this memorable day, I join millions of other Nigerians in wishing you the humblest and noblest of them all, the best birthday celebration ever! Happy Birthday, Mr President. Happy birthday a true democrat.


Happy birthday, the ever smiling epitome of humility. We miss you, Jonathan. We miss the good old days we had under you. May Mother Nature continue to show you kindness, Mr President. Age with grace, my President.