PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan may have boasted that he had 'no regrets going to Brazil' for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development otherwise termed the Earth Summit, yet his action is at once insensitive and runs counter to the public image he has sought to cultivate. He undertook the journey at a time citizens he sometimes calls 'brothers and sisters' were being bombed into smithereens, shot, and maimed; and a part of the country was on the brink of religious strife.Furthermore, the reasons he offered for his decision to travel, ostensibly to defy agents of destabilisation, were so unimpressive. How can the president merely lament that 'the issue of security in (this) country is pathetic,' that he has lost people and property, that he sympathises with affected persons, that he feels their pain; and then turns around to accuse the critics of his trip' Is it ignorance of the reason(s) ' whatever these may be ' that their leader took off with an entourage of 100-plus comfortable and secured citizens in high places when and while they, hapless and unsafe, are abandoned to destructive religious and secular forces' Is it ignorance of the benefits to derive from the president's presence at the Rio+20 talk shop that has now been acknowledged to have yielded neither tangible outcome nor concrete agreement' Besides, this was a summit that was less than a summit. The most industrialised and influential countries of the world, whose activities affect the state of the earth substantially, were not represented at the highest level of their governments, and this hints at the level of seriousness they attach to the issues at stake. Nigeria, neither a major manufacturing country nor a serious polluter of the planet, merely attended to make up the numbers, to beg for more aid for African countries, and to discuss with businessmen of some of the participating countries. Those are assignments that lesser officials of government could do.The President's presence at this summit was needless and a waste of expensive time and other resources of the state. President Jonathan told interviewers at his meeting with selected journalists that security is a global challenge. Yes; but some governments are handling it much better than others. The responsiveness, the resoluteness, the flexible creativity that for instance, the Americans, the Israelis, and the British, consistently bring to bear on this global, yet local problem, are desperately lacking here. Three, the president speaks about presidents of other countries urging him to ensure that the country is not grounded because of terrorism, and concludes that, 'the day the international community gets to know that the president of Nigeria could not travel because of Boko Haram, we are finished.' But then, who does our president report to' Is it the presidents of other countries, the international community, or the Nigerian electorate who gave him the highest job in the land to do and in their best interest' The simple truth is that the citizens are being made to feel neglected. To the rest of the world that the president seems eager to impress, all these create doubts about both leadership capability and quality of governance in the country. This is not at all good for his image or that of the country. In any case, it is not an act of cowardice but an act of concern and seriousness to cancel foreign engagements in order to attend to an important and urgent domestic issue. And if the increasing insecurity in the land is not important and urgent enough to warrant the constant presence and close attention of the President of the Republic, what else can be' Indeed, the 1999 Constitution as amended, establishes as a fundamental objective and directive principle of state policy that, 'the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government''It is abnormal to abandon one's house when it is on fire ' except of course, if the person does not care what fate befalls it. Forty-eight hours before the president left the country, scores of his fellow citizens were murdered or injured while worshipping in churches in Kaduna State. And, the Commander-in-chief was absent when the security of the state was being discussed with the vice-president by his senior security chiefs. Nothing could be less assuring to a populace feeling so unsafe. Rio Plus 20 should not be the headache of Dr. Jonathan, but Nigeria's intractable security problems. While he was away attending to global issues, scores more were killed in Yobe, Plateau, and other states. Since the president's arrival, many have died as the killings continued unchecked.President Jonathan has, at every opportunity promised Nigerians good leadership and security. On the 50th anniversary of the country's independence, he declared: 'On my part' I promise to give my all, my best to our great country. I am committed to ensuring public safety and security.' In his inaugural speech on May 29, 2011, he emphasized that he, and other elected officials 'must demonstrate the leadership, statesmanship, vision, capacity, and sacrifice to transform our nation.' He said: 'The time for lamentation is over. This is the era of transformation. This is the time for action.' Over one year in the administration's tenure, the lamentation in the land regrettably is louder; government inaction is the norm, and the much-touted transformation agenda is in dire need of transformational leadership. President Jonathan should focus on the job of ensuring the security and welfare of the Nigerian people. This is the primary purpose of his government, above and ahead of any global issue.
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