Edited by Anthony Elikene
In the four years that the
Goodluck Jonathan administration has been in power, there have been flaws,
successes and giant leaps. Sadly, the Nigerian media tends to focus more on the
setbacks. That is why getting a comprehensive list of achievements is a “rather daunting task,” according to Mr. Chinedu George Nnawetanma
The Goodluck Jonathan administration has been “silently
transforming Nigeria from its dark ages of underdevelopment to a 21st century
economic and political force,” Mr. Nnawetanma writes.
Mr. Nnawetanma has completed a list
of implementations of the Goodluck Jonathan administration he considers to be a progress.
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| Rice Milling plant |
1. Promotion and practice of true democracy by
creating an enabling environment where people from diverse backgrounds and with
divergent views and opinions can be accommodated. Under the watch
of Goodluck Jonathan administration, the APC was registered by INEC as a mega
opposition party big enough to challenge the PDP at both state and national
levels. This would have been unthinkable some years back.
2. Conduct of free and fair elections in the country,
including the 2011 poll which was adjudged to be the most credible election of
its magnitude that has ever been conducted in the country, though it was not
without its flaws. Unlike in other administrations, the Goodluck Jonathan
administration has
given a free hand to the country’s electoral umpire, INEC, to perform its
statutory duties.
3. Relative non-interference with electoral and
judicial matters. This is evident in the number of governorship elections that
have been won both at the polls and in the court by opposition parties in
Anambra, Imo, Osun states, among others.
4. Liberalization of the press and guaranteeing the
freedom of speech in a country where the stifling of the press and
suppression of the citizens’ right to freedom of speech used to be the
norm, a legacy of over 30 years of military rule. The existence of
vocal anti-government media houses and critics would have culminated in some
high-profile assassinations some years back, but today citizens are free to air
their views whenever and wherever they like just like any other sane country.
5. Opening up of Nigeria to the global business
community and
becoming Africa’s number one destination of foreign investors. In the first six months
of 2014, a total of US$9.70 billion or N1.51 trillion flowed into the national
economy as foreign direct investments (FDI).
6. Under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, Nigeria
rebased it’s GDP for the
first time in over a decade to become the largest economy in Africa, overtaking
South Africa and Egypt in the process.
7. Proceeds from Nigeria’s non-oil exports
rose to 2.97 billion by the end of 2013, up from 2.3 billion in 2010.
8. Initiation of the YOUWIN program in 2011. The
Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN) program aims to generate
over 100,000 jobs for innovative unemployed youths across the country in the
course of three years. It is currently in its third year.
9. Nigerians are now a step closer to being fully
integrated into the international e-commerce community with the approval
and reinclusion of Nigeria as one of the Paypal-compliant countries
after being banned from using the service at the peak of the advanced fee fraud
(419 scams). With Paypal, Nigerians can now pay for goods and services online
from anywhere in the world.
10. Goodluck Jonathan administration is the one behind
the revival of the dead automotive industry in Nigeria. Global auto giants like
Peugeot, Nissan and Hyundai now either assemble or wholly manufacture small
cars, Sport Utility Vehicles, trucks and buses at various locations in Nigeria. In
addition to that, Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company (IVM), Nigeria’s
flagship indigenous automaker, has begun the sale of their first
made-in-Nigeria cars and SUVs in August 2014.
11. Under the Goodluck Jonathan administration,
Nigeria became the first country in West Africa to host the World Economic
Forum (WEF) in 2014. It was also the most successful World Economic Forum
for Africa (WEFA) in history, boasting of a global reach of 2.1 billion people
according to estimates.
12. Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote’s net
worth increased from US$2.1 billion at the start of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s
administration to US$23 billion in 2014, making him Forbes’
richest black person in the world and the overall 26th richest in the world. He
attributed this mammoth increase in his monetary worth to Goodluck Jonathan
administration favourable
economic policies.
13. Construction and beautification of many federal
roads in the country, including the Lagos-Benin expressway, Abuja-Lokoja
expressway, Enugu-Abakiliki expressway, Onitsha-Owerri highway and most parts
of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway. Also, construction of the second Niger
Bridge between
Onitsha and Asaba to relieve the pressure on the old Niger Bridge which was
completed in December 1965.
14. Revival of the comatose railway system of
transportation in the country is happening under the current Goodluck Jonathan
administration.
15. Remodelling, beautification and standardization of
airports across the country. In addition to that, aircraft from
Nigeria are now allowed to fly directly to the United States of America instead
of going through many stopovers in Amsterdam and some other European cities
along/in the route. The Akanu Ibiam Airport in Enugu was upgradede into an
international airport, directly connecting the South-East region
of the country to the outside world for the first time since independence.
16. Establishment of nine federal universities across
the country in
states which previously had no federal degree awarding institution.
17. Computerizing education in the country with the
introduction of the computer-based test (CBT) which will be
mandatory for all UTME candidates from 2015.
18. Introduction of the Almajiri system of education
in the academically disadvantaged Northern parts of the country.
19. Arresting the outbreak of the deadly and highly
contagious Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in record time, though it
unfortunately claimed some lives at the onset.
20. Transformation of the agricultural sector, so
that, in the words of Agriculture minister Akinwumi Adesina, “Nigerians
will stop thinking of agriculture just as a means of livelihood, but more as a
business.”
21. Nigeria has reduced its food imports by over 40%
as of 2013, moving the country closer to self sufficiency in agriculture.
22. Nigeria is the world’s largest producer
of cassava with an
output of over 45 million metric tonnes in 2014 according to the Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
23. Due to favourable economic policies, Internet
penetration in Nigeria has now increased from about 45 million in 2011 to 63
million in 2014, overtaking countries such as the United Kingdom and France in
the process. What this means is that more people now use the internet in
Nigeria than in the UK and France.
24. As of the second quarter of 2014, the number of
registered active telephone lines in Nigeria stood at 130 million out of
a total of over 170 million telephone lines.
25. Introduction of the Nigerian electronic identity
card (e-ID card), one of the most secure in the world d the largest in Africa.
The e-ID card serves as both an international identification module and an
electronic payment solution.
26. Introduction of the cashless system which
aims to encourage the use of e-payment systems in the country and reduce the
volume of physical cash in circulation.
27. Unbundling of the dysfunctional Power Holding
Company of Nigeria (PHCN) into about 18 profit-driven successor companies.
28. Under the watch of President Goodluck Jonathan
administration, Nigeria won the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 19
years in South Africa in February, 2013.
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| Made in Nigeria Armored Vehicle |
29. Nigeria ended up with 11 gold , 11 silver and 14
bronze medals at the recently concluded 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow,
finishing 8th in the overall ranking.
30. Women in politics have been given more prominent
roles in the current President Goodluck Jonathan administration. A large
number of the federal appointees of the Goodluck Jonathan administration are
women. They include, but are not limited to, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Miriam Aloma
Mukhtar, Nigeria’s first female Chief Justice; Diezani Alison-Madueke; ex-aviation
minister Stella Oduah, Joy Ogwu, Nigeria’s representatives
at the United Nations; Sarah Jibril; and Viola Onwuliri.
The list is not complete, Mr. Nnawetanma argues, and
may be missing out on some key developments. Could you add any other
significant break-throughs performed by the Goodluck Jonathan
administration in this or that sector?
