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- FG may review Lagos-Ibadan Expressway concession
- Soyinka, Agbeyegbe ask court to void 1999 Constitution
- PDP’ll win Bayelsa, Sokoto, C/River - Jonathan •15,000 security personnel for Bayelsa poll tomorrow
- Salami knows fate as NJC meets Feb 29
- Senate backs post-UTME
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- Committee on police reorganisation meets IGP •Set to flush out bad eggs
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- Borno Speaker impeached
- Boko Haram: Security beefed up in Lagos
- Husbands petition IGP over wives’ postings
- S/Court ruling: Gov Lamido, others relocate to Abuja
- Ekiti assembly scraps office of minority leader
- Akerele mourns Aluko, Mbu, Dantata •As ex-Ekiti commissioner mourns Aluko
President Jonathan on Facebook
Written by Leon Usigbe Friday, 02 July 2010
PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is on Facebook. It is a fulfilment of the pledge that he made in May while attending the University of Port Harcourt’s convocation ceremony. There are indications that his page is already a hit as is expected, in view of his position as the number one citizen of this country.
Most importantly, he is managing his profile himself and it is impressive how he has found time to respond to numerous comments since deciding to explore this addictive but fantastic means of interaction with people, especially the youth. Other world leaders have been known to exploit its full potential and it has often proved indispensible to some of them during political campaign fund-raising activities and mobilisation for support. Millions of Nigerians are hooked to it on a daily basis. It will, therefore, come handy to those who may be interested in using it to reach out to them.
The president posted this comment last Monday: “Today, in fulfillment of the promise I made at the 26th convocation of the University of Port Harcourt on Saturday, 15 May 2010, I have created a Facebook fan page to interact with Nigerians. As I said on that day, there is an unchallengeable power of good in the Nigerian nation and its youth and through this medium, I want Nigerians to give me the privilege of relating with them without the trappings of office.” GEJ.
He signs off with these three letters, which translate into Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. About a thousand people posted various reactions on his profile within hours of its opening, and 533 people also immediately indicated that they liked it. The comments ranged from the sublime to the mundane, including praises for this audacious move to have personal link with Nigerians, prayers, suggestions, warnings, personal requests and others.
The next day, having apparently looked through all the comments of the first day, he summed up his thoughts during the next post by saying: “It is not about WHO will change Nigeria. It is how WE can change it instead. Nigeria is the sum of our thoughts and actions. I’ve trained myself not to think anything but positive thoughts about this great country of ours since God and the people of Nigeria gave me the opportunity to serve- GEJ.” This attracted 434 further comments, with 269 respondents simply indicating that they liked this point of view.
About 10, 000 people have so far accessed the page. From many of the comments they posted, it is obvious that many Nigerians are deeply worried about the state of things in the country and the ability of President Jonathan to succeed in translating his dreams into concrete reality for the citizens. It is basically because of the need to keep abreast with the genuine feelings of Nigerians that he has engaged in this bold initiative of using Facebook. President Jonathan wants to use the medium to elicit personal advice and cooperation from those who access his profile and must feel justified about that by now because of the amount of interest it has generated within and outside the country in just a few days of opening.
He said in his update of his status on Wednesday morning: “Only team work can make the dream work. You and I are a team, which is why I need to know what you think about the decisions of this administration. Communication rather than information is power. And I will listen to your voice. My vision is for Nigerians to be stake holders rather than onlookers in this administration.”
Many Nigerians will want to see the president succeed in that vision, but there is a lot of cynicism because of the perceived less than altruistic attitudes of those in authority. Rather than serve the people, they appear content to serve themselves, their families and friends, exploiting their access to public resources. In the end, while they thrive in their ostentatious lifestyles, the majority of the populace wallow in abject poverty.
It is this attitude of those in positions and politicians’ obsessive desire to acquire more wealth that must change for ordinary Nigerians to emulate. President Jonathan has started on a good note but he must have a demonstrable intolerance for corruption and corruptive attitudes among public office holders in order to be taken seriously. On this count, Nigerians are ready to pour out their hearts to him, even on Facebook.
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