(Kansas City, KANSAS) – There is growing resentment of the derelict Goodluck Jonathan leadership in Nigeria for leaving a majority of the country’s citizens to the mercy of a rag-tag religious killer group, popularly known as Boko Haram, without any effective strategy put-down the continued slaughter of innocent Nigerians.
At home and abroad, Nigerians are not hiding their resentment of President Jonathan’s flagrant travel addiction in the face of his administration’s inability to end these killings by a supposed religious sect sponsored by politicians and other amorphous ideologues.
The people’s anger is stoked by Jonathan’s poor demonstration of gusto in choosing to attend a ritualistic earth summit in Brazil at a time when close to one hundred Nigerians have just been slaughtered while exercising their constitutional right to worship in Kaduna State. The week before, tens of Nigerians were burned to death in fuel tanker explosions on Nigeria’s badly maintained road network. Yet the week before that, about 163 Nigerians died in an aviation disaster that was mainly triggered by official corruption and disregard for rules, norms and commonsense.
The victims of these disasters have not yet been buried. Many of them have not even been identified while their bodies still lie in poorly-run morgues in different locations around the country. There was no proven resolve to punish anyone for the human errors that so cheapened the life of these dead Nigerians. Yet the president, believing that enough has been done with a symbolic show of flags flying at half masts, got on his presidential jet at tax-payers’ expense on a junket to events around the world.
Various interest groups have now begun to respond to the president’s insensitive gallivanting, considering the fact that his official presence at the Earth Summit event, year-in and year-out, has not in any way motivated the government and its oil industry collaborators to treat the Nigerian environment right.
“In other climes, the usual thing is for leaders to cancel foreign trips or rush home from such trips when their countries suffer tragedies,” said the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria earlier on Tuesday.
“In April 2010, Chinese President, Hu Jintao cut short his Latin American tour and returned home after a strong earthquake hit the west of China; This year, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir returned home early from his visit to China, due to the rising tension along the border of his country with Sudan, and even a phone-hacking scandal was enough for British Prime Minister David Cameron to cut short an African trade tour and return home in 2011,” Mr. Mohammed stressed.
Criticism of the president’s trip came from other quarters including from his fellow Peoples Democratic Party politicians in the legislator. Rep. Zakari Mohammed, in his reaction told a national newspaper that the president’s action was tantamount to a father who abandoned his house while it was on fire.
“He swore to an oath to protect lives and property of his citizens. Is this the right time for him to move when his house is on fire? He should be more sensitive to the plight of his people and take the right decision at the right time.”
Rep. Abiodun Faleke, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency said “while his people are being buried for his lack of security effectiveness, yet he travelled to another country to tell the world about his weakness or his transformation agenda.” Another Representative, Femi Gbajabamila, the House minority leader said he was shocked to learn of the president’s trip. “I am taken aback that at a time when the country is under siege Mr. President has travelled to far away Brazil,” he said.
Civil rights lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu also added his voice to the chorus of critics who accuse the president of showing poor judgment for his trip to at a time when the country faces growing and deadly security challenges.
“His leaving the country does not make any difference because even when he was around, the security agencies could really not do anything,” Mr Aturu said on Tuesday.
“People are being butchered anyhow and life, it seems, does not mean anything. We had on our part asked him to rejig the security agencies but he did not. So for me, leaving for an international assignment does not make any difference which is itself, a very sad commentary.
“They are just killing our people anyhow and he has chosen this time to travel, it is very sad because for me, this is not the time to travel. And it is so sad because the protection of lives, according to the constitution, shall be the primary reason of government.”