President
Jonathan spoke at the public presentation of the administration’s
mid-term report in Abuja during which administration officials rolled
out positive financial indicators which among others was that Nigeria
has become the highest investment destination in the continent.
The
presentation was graced by former Nigerian leaders, including former
President Shehu Shagari, General Yakubu Gowon, Chief Ernest Shonekan,
former Chief of General Staff, Gen. Oladipo Diya; one-time United States
presidential candidate, Jesse Jackson among others.
Also present
at the event were the Senate President, Sen. David Mark; Deputy Speaker
of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha and the Chief Justice of
Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar.
Jackson, speaking at the
occasion, commended the president for giving a mid-term report of his
performance. He said that it was indicative that the ship of the nation
was sailing in the right direction.
Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim also commended the leadership
of President Jonathan, who he said had shown impressive democratic
culture through his restraint in the face of unparalleled challenges to
his authority.
President Jonathan was nevertheless dismissive of
media assessment of his administration. He said that as a former
teacher, he was conscious of the fact that any examination should be
guided by a marking scheme.
He thus challenged the media to use the 234-page report as a veritable tool for any objective assessment.
He
said: “Only on Monday, I looked through a particular publication in one
of our dailies, which gave an assessment of the performance of the
ministers.
“The first thing I looked for that I did not see was
the criteria they used to assess the performance of the ministers. As a
teacher, I know that for you to mark a student, you must have a marking
scheme. Because, assessment could be very subjective, and if a fellow
politician is assessing another politician, you assess the person based
on heartbeats.”
He said two ministries; the ministries of Trade
and Investments and National Planning which performed creditably well
were rated average.
“Since I came to the centre in 2007, I have
worked with three ministers of National Planning and three ministers of
Trade and Investments. They have never done what is being done today.
“In
terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) attracted to this country by
activities of that ministry, it has never happened. In spite of our
security challenges, there is so much interest from business men wanting
to come to Nigeria.
“Before now, that Ministry of Trade and
Investments was a dead end, but now they are very active. Talk about
Ministry of Planning, people say that until Shamsudeen came on board, we
did not even know that we had a Planning Ministry.
“But these two
ministries were scored average and I asked what are the criteria? That
is the purpose of today, our elders, ladies and gentlemen. The idea is
to formally present a document to all Nigerians about the activities of
the government these past two years.
“I plead with all of us
especially those who want to assess and write about it to develop
criteria because without a marking scheme, you cannot mark anybody’s
paper. Develop your own, compare with previous governments. Develop your
marking scheme and mark us.”
American
civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson, after listening in on the
presentation of the mid-term report of the transformation agenda of
President Goodluck Jonathan, described the latter’s administration as
transparent and unequalled in contemporary democracy.
He
said that as a son of the region, the president should be given the
support to enable him succeed, noting that “politics in Nigeria is still
very regional.”