The Oracle Writes To Goodluck Jonathan

The Shrine

www.9jas-oracle.blogspot.com

26^th December 2011

Goodluck Ebelemi Jonathan,
President,
Federal Republic of Nigeria.

My dear Son,

An Open Letter Showing My Disappointment

On 16^th of  April 2011, despite all odds, Nigerians voted you into power. Owing to the then purported cool disposition and level headedness you possessed, they (Nigerians) saw you as the needed break away from the past, where Olusegun Obasanjo ruled supreme to the point of being almost tyrannous. Nigerians sheepishly repeated your mantra, saying that 'We are Goodluck Jonathan'. They believed all your promises of a better Nigeria. To ensure that the election went on well as to produce you as President; Nigerians lost their lives, especially those from the Southern part of the country. They were all full of joy when you were announced President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and eventually sworn in. Most Nigerians declared 'Yeah! Goodluck is President, now good-luck has smiled on Nigeria'...Let me ask you my son, do you think you are really the source of  good-luck the average Nigerian has been waiting for? Let's find out.

 Months after being sworn in as President, you announced your intention to remove fuel subsidy which the average Nigerian has been enjoying even from years of military rule. This was surprising because one of your campaign points was that, as an acting President, you had ensured that every petrol station sells a litre of petrol to Nigerians at N65; you even went ahead to promise that you would maintain the status quo if not make it better. Now, the story has changed and you are defending your new stance with suggestions that Nigeria spends trillions of borrowed money on this subsidy; that the subsidy is being enjoyed, not by the average Nigerian, but by the oil tycoons in the country. You suggested that removing the fuel subsidy would free up funds which would come in handy for developmental projects round the nation.

In response to this, well meaning Nigerians and experts in the oil industry have taken critical looks into your proposition and opposed it. Professor Tam David West (a former Minister of Petroleum) even suggests that at N65 per litre, there is absolutely no subsidy of fuel; this view was supported by Dr. Izielen Agbon (a professional in the field of Petroleum Engineering) whose article on the real cost of petroleum shows certain indices which suggest that Nigerians are being hoodwinked into believing that they are enjoying some sort of subsidy of fuel at the price of N65. You have been urged to drop this idea for now if you do not want a heated polity but you seem adamant...well, he who the gods want to destroy, they first make mad. 

Some months ago, you cautioned government officials across all levels to be careful in all they do in order to avoid the chances of a revolution; but you have however turned out to be the number one culprit provoking a revolution. Everyone has questioned the wisdom in:

·         Removing fuel subsidy when refineries have not been put in order. There should be refineries that could, at least, produce the amount of fuel sufficient for use within the country.

·         Removing fuel subsidy when there is total reliance on petrol by the populace who use generators to produce power for the personal and commercial use.

·         Removing fuel subsidy in a period of huge unemployment, financial drought and abject poverty. How then would an average Nigerian, who finds things difficult at the moment, cope when the subsidy is gone?

That said, I wonder how 1 or 2 Trillion Naira (gotten from the subsidy removal in a year) would remarkably change Nigeria when hundreds of trillions of Naira (which were 'properly’ budgeted for and approved) have gone down the drain and remain unaccounted for due to corruption and the likes. As usual, the greedy bed fellows you have in the ilk of Governors have already started jostling for how the funds realised from the fuel subsidy removal will be shared...Kai! I weep for Nigeria! I weep for my people.

The 2012 budget goes a long way to prove the point that this fund would be wasted. It is appalling that on one hand, you preach the need for austerity measures today to ensure that our economy grows tomorrow, hence the reason the fuel subsidy must go; while on the other hand you:

·         Budget 1 billion Naira with which to feed yourselves in Aso Rock; this boils down to about 2.7 million naira a day on food (And you are being paid your salaries and allowances in full). Leaders of countries who are serious about being conservative in spending actually take pay cuts; ask David Cameron of United Kingdom how much he ‘should’ earn and how much he ‘is’ earning.

·         Budget over a billion Naira with which you would fuel your generators next year (a big shame on you, my son).

·         Budget another billion for healthcare to the Presidency.

These are surely great signs that you are observing the austerity measures you preach, are they not? While you live lavishly, Nigerians should writhe in pain and make sacrifices for the country. Probably, when more funds are freed up after fuel subsidy has been removed; you will spend 10 billion a year on feeding. My son, you are a glutton, a hypocrite, selfish and extremely insensitive to have brought up such a budget while still fighting for fuel subsidy removal which would greatly inconvenience your people; kudos!!

Mr. President, when you took up the job to lead Nigeria, you were equally made the Chief Security Officer and Commander of the Armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. You swore to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians both from external and internal attacks. To make this work easy for you, you have at your disposal, trillions of Naira budgeted a year for security alone. Now, have you done well in this regard? NO! And you know it. You and your security chiefs have become so clueless in the face of constant threat and 'decimation' of your people by the Boko Haram Sect. 'We are on top of the situation' has long become a cliché that even you have become tired and ashamed of using. I was hoping that you would someday say 'We are in this situation'...maybe after you have narrowly escaped a Boko Haram bomb blast or a close associate has been hit; but this hasn’t happened yet.

Just as you are doing in the case of fuel subsidy removal; you have said something else that further shows how insensitive you are to the plight of Nigerians on this Boko Haram issue; you have suggested that Nigerians should learn to live with the threat until it fizzles. Wow! That coming from someone who walked the width and breadth of this country, campaigning and begging to be allowed to become the Chief Security Officer of the country! Coming from someone who demands and gets trillions of Naira a year with which to combat crime and provide security to Nigerians! Coming from someone to whom hapless Nigerians look up for help and freedom from the clutches of Boko Haram! A very big shame on you Goodluck Ebelemi Jonathan!

Without mincing words, you have failed seriously as the President and as Chief Security Officer of this country, Nigeria. You have talked about the wisdom in avoiding actions that might provoke a revolution but you are the catalyst of such a revolution; you have preached austerity but you have indeed been extravagant; I doubt if this is the first of its kind, but you can see this letter as a vote of no confidence. You should be aware that an online poll was organized to pick who was the greatest source of disappointment to Nigerians between you (GEJ); the Police; PHCN and The Super Eagles for the year 2011; you came tops by a very great margin; and this was done more than a week before your ridiculous statement urging Nigerians to learn to live with the menace of Boko Haram. You have nothing more to offer, you are confused and clueless and the fact is that since you have lost the plot, you can only do one thing...waste our money; so, please Sir, kindly resign or go back to the drawing board and salvage your dwindled reputation.

Yes, though Nigerians once said ‘We are Goodluck Jonathan’, they now say ‘It sucks to be you right now, Goodluck Jonathan’.

Yours truly,

The Great Naija Oracle

Through

Nnanyelugo Aham-Anyanwu (Ichie Nnanyelugo III)

(The Chief Priest)

The Oracle Has Spoken!!