People are remembered for what they did. Either good or bad. But the best way to be remembered is definitely when we are remembered for good for a good name is better to be chosen than loving favour says the holy scriptures and to this I totally concur.
Talk of presidents, one of my best presidents in the history of my country Nigeria would be president Goodluck Jonathan. He wasn’t so lucky as his name as the evil cabals in the country did so many heinous things just to frustrate his regime and give his tenure bad name but we all know that the country has never been at its worst since his last regime.
Why the most popular things that happened in his tenure was the way he stepped down peacefully for the next president after he lost the election of which ofcourse we knew was rigged. Let’s move from the popular to the unpopular.
His peaceful leave of the office as the incumbent president in the face of imminent blood shed that the opponent threatened to bring if there was to be any resistance was something that got a global recognition before the world election observers and everyone in the globe.
It’s sad to say that the country has suffered a terrible fate since then but some of the things he did that was outstanding and helpful till date to the country’s economy, we shall look into and the first which I have alredy mentioned was his peaceful transition of power in 2015.
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He strengthened the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, he gave opportunities to the Nigerian companies which led to the significant increase in the local participation in the oil and gas sector of the economy.
Tertiary institutions development skyrocketed in his time as he saw to the establishment and development of twelve new federal universities in the country including the University of Petroleum Resources Effurun. This caused the expansion of access to higher institutions in the country.
He privatized the power sector of the country. The PHCN (power holding company of Nigeria) which actually is holding the power obviously to themselves or whoever they wish to, was privatized during his regime. This helped to unbundle them into generating and distribution companies thereby improving the supply of power in the country.
The agricultural sector was tremendously impacted in a positive way through the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Under Minister Akinwumi Adesina who was the minister of agriculture then (now President of the African Development Bank). He introduced an e-wallet system reformation that helped to reduce fertilizer corruption thereby allowing the farmers to receive inputs directly.
Railways rehabilitation. Under his regime, some of the many railways that have been abandoned over the years were rehabilitated such as the Lagos-Kano railway that has been left non functional for years. These railway stations came back in use. His government transformation agenda of his tenure in 2011-2015 focused on the building of good roads, reforming the power sector, agricultural sector reforms and rail lines rehabilitation.
The government tenure was a turbulent one as so many fights and bombings were going on just to discredit his regime of government but that had been the most resourceful government the country has ever had. Since his handover, I’d say that we are hanging by the rope end. Those who thought they were doing him a favour by removing him from government later went begging him to come back but that would be medicine after death.
Time would befell me to tell of all his impact and Input but our country had been a far cry from what it was then. He was indeed a good president and a man of Peace.