OF RASCALS IN GOVERNMENT HAVE BEEN A SLIP

By NBF News

•Gov. Raji Fashola
I am an ardent admirer of President Goodluck Jonathan, not by virtue of the fact I am from the same South-South Nigeria like him, but because he stands out amongst the typical professional Politicians of today in our country.

For the avoidance of doubt, the typical Nigerian Politician is desperate and dangerously ambitious. By nature and by good conduct, President Goodluck Jonathan is a loyalist, well bred, humble, polite and tactical especially with words. Here was a man whom the right disposition and tactical calculation in speech and conduct, earned him the highest office in the land (Aso Rock), inspite of extreme provocations and disrespect for his person and office.

Since being President, I have been following him all the way and his speeches demeanour, his conducts and actions (particularly at the recently conducted PDP primaries} have been most commendable and hope rising.

However, we are yet to see the best in President Goodluck Jonathan due to the pressure associated with returning him to Aso Rock, come May 29th 2011.

The average Nigerian is still in a state of dispel. Take the issue of the monstrous and unabating power problem, insecurity, high costs of everything ranging from kerosene, diesel to cooking gas, etc. My consolation however is that given a fresh mandate come May 29th 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan will gain all the time necessary to consolidate and reposition Nigeria positively.

It is in the light of all of the above, that it was shocking that the President referred to Governors of South West Nigeria as rascals and all the more reason why I refer to that comment as a slip and the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Communications- Mr. Ima Niboro, made further blunder by making an already bad situation worse.

Although I hold no brief for the ACN, Labour and most especially Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos State, I know for sure that he is not one of the rascals, if there exist any at all, in the mind of the President. Here is a Governor who is one of the finest bred of politicians, shuns unnecessary publicity and is in the news only for the right reasons, focused, committed, intelligent, humble and a model for what true leadership is and should be.

Governor Raji Fashola in less than 4 years, has delivered the dividends of democracy to Lagosians and has become a pace setter amongst all the other Governors including those of PDP controlled state.

In my final analysis therefore, Governor Raji Fashola does not fit into the description of a rascal and all the more reason while regard the statement credited to the President as a slip which should be taken as such. Afterall, the President is also human.