PRESIDENT JONATHAN’S PRIORITIES

President Goodluck Jonathan plans to leave the country today, 19^th of September, to attend the 66^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. He will take with him six Ministers, including the Ministers of Justice and Power, and will, while in New York, also participate in a meeting on environmental problems to be hosted by the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. President Jonathan is scheduled to speak at the Assembly on Wednesday, September 21^st, and plans to meet with leaders of Brazil, Chile, Sri Lanka, the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, and Japan, and among others. He will also meet some key players in the global oil and gas sector. Mr President will therefore be away for at least 5 days.

          President Jonathan will be travelling out only a few days after ordering the military to take over the security of Plateau State, a directive which is in the process of being implemented. The Plateau State Government is said to be very unhappy over this directive, and it is not certain whether the order itself will improve or worsen the security situation, since the Government of Plateau State and the new security arrangement have not proved that they can work together. The President is also travelling out two days after an assassin shot dead a family member of the late Yusuf Muhammad that met last week with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Maiduguri, Borno State. The usual spokesman of the Yusufiyya movement has released a statement denying media reports that the group is responsible for the assassination, which confirms the worrying suspicion of the existence of multiple factions of the group, or of other groups who hide behind the group to escalate the nation’s sense of insecurity.

The President is travelling out without a word from the Presidency on former President Obasanjo’s apparent misadventure, which has resulted in the cold blooded murder of a relation of Yusuf Muhammad. The nation therefore is in the dark over the President’s position regarding Obasanjo’s visit to Maiduguri and Jos. Nigerians do not know if the administration sent Obasanjo to Maiduguri and Jos. If it did not, did it know he was going? Did the President approve of President Obasanjo’s initiative, if, that is, he acted on his own? Does the Presidency have a position on the outcome of the visit, including the killing of a relation of Yusuf Muhammad, and the claims that the visit had been identified as having potentials to engage Boko Haram?

          Mr. President is travelling one day after the State Security Service announced a N25m reward for any information leading to the arrest and prosecution of a suspect in the bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja in August. Last week, a memorial service was held by the UN Staff for their colleagues who have died, and the pain and apprehension among them is still visible. Mr. President will travel to the U.N Headquarters, where he is likely to face a lot of anxious questions and demands for assurances over the security of all staff of the UN in Nigeria who have survived the bomb attack claimed by Boko Haram. He will be at the heart of the international community, and the entire world will seek assurances from him that his administration is still in control of national security in Nigeria. These are the same questions Nigerians he will leave behind in these trying times are also asking, and they are not getting the answers they need.  

          Mr President is flying out one day after the deadlocked meeting to allocate revenues between the Federal and State Governments for the month of August. The grouse of States is the less-than-transparent nature of the figures and the amounts which are being allocated to them. But the arguments are fundamental in terms of the management of the nation’s finances by the administration; and the quarrels over the lack of transparency and policy on petroleum subsidies will not help assure the international community that the Nigerian economy has settled the basics in terms of its openness and efficiency.

          Mr. President is travelling at a time when a number of States are being literary shut down by strikes over payment of legally-prescribed minimum wage of N18, 000. He will be meeting world leaders and other opinion moulders who will seek assurances from him that the Nigerian economy is still attractive for foreign investment despite widespread labour unrest. If the ASUU strike does go on next week and the problems of State Governments facing labour action over minimum wage is unresolved, the condition of the economy will be much worse.

          All leaders like to visit General Assemblies of the United Nations. It gives them opportunities to address the world; to put forward their nations’ values, commitments and concerns; and to meet and discuss matters of great importance to their politics, economy and security with other leaders. Countries gain much from outings, but they have to take something positive to the engagements. In the case of Nigeria, President Jonathan’s visit will be preceded by very detailed and public knowledge of the serious security situation in the country. While the visit may afford President Jonathan an opportunity to condole the U.N community over the loss of their colleagues, and assure the UN and the global community that steps are being taken to prevent further attacks, the visit will also involve some very searching and direct questioning of Mr. President’s rationale for visiting New York at a time when the security situation in Nigeria is getting worse, not better. His visit would have been preceded by detailed cables outlining the threats from Boko Haram, from Jos, and from labour, most of which will tell other world leaders that President Jonathan may be addressing the wrong audience. His assurances of being on top of the situation in terms of the security; and of the attractiveness of the Nigerian economy may therefore fail to make any direct impact.

          President Jonathan’s visit to the United Nations General Assembly at this time is ill-advised and it shows poor judgement at the highest levels of the administration. It will assure neither the international community nor Nigerian citizens that national security represents a major priority for the administration. Nigeria would have lost nothing if President Jonathan had not attended the 66^th Session of the U.N General Assembly. But it will gain nothing by our President’s outing at a time when the nation needs him to take personal charge of our security.