By Niyi AkinnasoLet's call on President Goodluck Jonathan to speed up on his 'transformation' agenda and to ensure that such transformation is progressive, rather than retrogressive, as we now have with national security.This call is warranted on two grounds. First, Jonathan has made 'transformation' the watchword of his presidency. In one form or the other, the word was used three times in his declaration speech on September 16, 2010; three times in his 50th independence anniversary speech on October 1, 2010; ten times in his inauguration speech on May 29, 2011; and five times in his 51st independence anniversary speech on October 1, 2011.Second, on various occasions, Jonathan enjoined us to participate in his transformation mission. He did so five times in his inauguration speech: 'I therefore call on the good people of Nigeria, to enlist as agents of this great transformation'. He even invited 'presidential candidates who contested with me to join hands with us as we begin the transformation of our country'. In his 50th independence anniversary speech, he also enlisted the participation of the youths: 'I will like to speak to Nigeria's greatest resource: our young people. I say you have the greatest stake in transforming our nation ' It is your time to take the hope of Nigeria you hold in your heart and transform your homeland'.While he spoke in general terms in the above examples, he was specific in his 51st independence anniversary speech on what he wants citizens to do'to join him in solving national security problems: 'I have put in place a new and reinvigorated national security strategy, to combat the threat to our safety. Yet, no matter what I do as your President and no matter what we do as your elected leaders, at all levels, the peace and security of our nation rest also on our collective efforts as citizens, in our various communities.'The implications of these speeches are clear. First, by repeatedly emphasising transformation, Jonathan seems to mean business. Whether he can effectively deliver is a different question that I will address at the end. Second, by repeatedly inviting our participation, he has successfully made us accomplices in his transformation project. Although he provides us with no tools with which to assist him, we still could be blamed for not playing our part in his effort to transform Nigeria. Goading him along, as I do here, could be a good starting point.But what exactly does Jonathan mean by transformation and what aspects of Nigeria does he want to transform' By transformation, Jonathan means change from the present deplorable condition to a better one. Everything is currently downhill, from education to health care; from national security to food security; from power supply to the transport sector (road, rail and air). To complicate matters, political corruption is endemic and getting worse.The cumulative effects of these defects include high poverty and illiteracy rates; deaths from preventable and curable diseases; high maternal and infantile mortality rates; declining educational quality; inadequate power supply; and high death tolls on decrepit roadways. No wonder then that Nigeria ranks at or near the bottom of major international indices on corruption, human development, and state viability. It is this unhealthy state of affairs that Jonathan seeks to change.He indicated in his declaration speech that he had discovered the potential of presidential powers as 'a potent instrument for the transformation of our country'. He closed that speech with a pledge: 'Goodluck has come to transform Nigeria and I will never let you down'.He reiterated the same transformation mission in his inauguration speech: 'The day of transformation begins today'. He also specified the targets of reform: 'The transformation will be achieved in all the critical sectors'. Using infrastructure as the rubric, he identified the critical sectors as power supply, education, health care, transport, and agriculture.In his 51st independence anniversary speech, he turned attention to national security, agriculture, and the petroleum industry. He elaborated on his ambitious scheme to transform agriculture: 'Agriculture remains one of the highest priorities in my government's Agenda for National Transformation. We have set out clear, agricultural, transformation action plans and policy measures, to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of rice, cassava, maize, sorghum and other staple foods ' Self-sufficiency in rice alone will save us the N356bn that we currently spend annually importing rice ' We plan to reach 20 million farmers with private-sector distributed fertiliers over the next four years. We will improve the investment environment and incentives for the private sector across the agricultural value chains. Our agricultural transformation plan will generate 3.5 million jobs and an additional 20 million metric tonnes of food'. Well said. But will we ever be able to say 'Well done''The fight against corruption is also included in the transformation agenda, although references to corruption have been relatively vacuous. In the declaration speech, he said he had instructed 'anti-corruption agencies to speed up the war against corruption'. Is that all' In the independence anniversary speech, he talked about banning 'corruption and its attendant vices'; but did not state how. This lack of specificity continues in his inauguration speech: 'The bane of corruption shall be met by the overwhelming force of our collective determination to rid our nation of this scourge'. True, we are determined; but the President was elected to translate our determination into catching corrupt officials.Can Jonathan deliver' There is scepticism across the land, fuelled by four key factors. First, Jonathan does not appear to have kr, a Yoruba concept that combines the multiple abilities of speaking, acting, and carrying oneself with authoritative dignity. It is a form of capital inherent in the persona of the actor. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo came into office with this form of capital but misused it to the point that he almost lost it completely by the end of his tenure. Jonathan has yet to find it.Second, Jonathan's track record in office leaves much to be desired. Apart from projects initiated by his predecessors, such as the amnesty for Niger Delta militants, electoral reform, and the Freedom of Information bill, which he continued or completed, there really is nothing for which Jonathan could be proudly credited after over a year in office. True, a few more kilowatts of electricity were added to the national grid, but they are not enough to make significant improvements to the overall power shortage. The establishment of nine new federal universities is widely criticised as the wrong answer to our educational problems. As for the fight against corruption, fingers are crossed over the few big fish caught recently by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's hook. In the meantime, most corruption investigations have gone nowhere, including Halliburton and Siemens bribery scams.Third, Nigeria has been undergoing retrogressive transformation in some sectors since Jonathan became president. The most glaring retrogressive sector is national security. Under his watch, the worst post-elections violence and the most destructive acts of terrorism in Nigerian history occurred. Kidnappings and armed robberies remain unchecked. Jonathan's 'tough' talk on national security has yet to materialise into the safety of lives and property of Nigerians.Fourth, there are questions as to whether Jonathan could overcome pre-existing handicaps. Apart from the 'Goliaths' he recently mentioned as sabotaging his efforts, the Federal Government has chewed more than it could swallow on contracts, resulting in budgetary choking. The government owes at least N5tr on nearly 12,000 outstanding contracts. Moreover, dipping oil prices have resulted in revenue reduction, leading to necessary revisions of the 2011 budget. Finally, we should not forget about the corrosive role of corruption on even the most laudable of Nigerian projects. This accentuates the need for Jonathan to speed up the fight against corruption.In view of these problems, it is incumbent on Jonathan to focus on just a few projects he can effectively accomplish, instead of insisting on large-scale transformation of Nigeria. Besides, there's much more to transform beyond infrastructure. Government institutions, our overall political culture, and our work ethic, need transformation too.* Professor Akinnaso teaches Anthropology and Linguistics at Temple University, Philadelphia, United States. He can be reached at niyi@temple.edu
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