President
Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday said he regarded all Nigerians as
members of his family, irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliations.
In a Christmas message to his numerous
fans on Facebook, the President claimed he had put everything in place
for every citizen to celebrate Yuletide with “minimum comfort.”
Jonathan said he had been doing everything possible to ensure that “every Nigerian has enough to eat at all times.”
The President’s message read in part,
“Christmas is a time of joyous family gatherings and as President, I see
every Nigerian as a member of my family and I urge us all to retain the
unique sense of brotherly love that this season evokes beyond the
Yuletide.
“While we will surely mark this holiday
in our different ways and according to our established traditions, it is
my desire that we all celebrate Christmas with some minimum comforts
and my team and I have long prepared for this by working to improve our
infrastructure, especially those that most serve us during this season.
“These steps have been undertaken
because of my belief that every good and great thing is possible in our
country if we desire to achieve it.”
But some people have waved aside the
President’s claim that his team had ensured that basic services needed
by the citizenry to enjoy the Yuletide was already in place.
Several complaints on the President’s Facebook wall claimed that many Nigerians were celebrating Christmas in darkness.
Commenting on Jonathan’s Facebook wall,
Vince Emeribe, wrote that the President goofed when he said that
Nigerians were celebrating Christmas in comfort.
“Merry Christmas to you and your family,
Mr. President! Please put more effort in managing the affairs of the
country! As I am writing this, my area has not enjoyed electricity for
about two weeks! I am celebrating Christmas in darkness. This is not
good enough!” Emeribe stated.
Another respondent, Uzukwu Patrick-Eze,
said it would amount to sycophancy if he agrees with Jonathan on his
claims of a better life for the citizenry.
“I am writing this comment with my
generator thundering noisily. As I celebrate this Christmas in the
comfort of my house, over 70 per cent of Nigerians are not sure where
their next day meal will come from,” Patrick-Eze said.
However, some visitors to the Facebook
page of the President said the inability of some people to celebrate
Christmas in comfort was due to corruption.
According to them, the Jonathan
administration’s efforts has not in any way translated into the
amelioration of the suffering of the ordinary Nigerian on the streets.
Examining the development, Taiwo Fagbemi
asked, “Although this is the season of goodwill to all men, can we
really say that the majority of the people are happy about the present
situation in the country? The Federal Government has not been able to
tackle the issue of corruption, which has retarded the much needed
development of the country. The government needs to be a government in
action not in words.”
Harrison Ejueyitsi-Aletile urged the
President to check the rising incidence of corruption in the polity. He
wrote, “There are millions of people today who cannot celebrate
Christmas because of the hardship caused by politicians and government
officials who divert public funds to their own pockets. Corruption is on
the rise.
“No one is punished. Madam Oduah
(Aviation Minister) is still there in your cabinet. How can the
Christmas be merry? Even on Christmas day there is no light in my house.
I know all this shall come to an end one day. I salute you my
president.”
Paul Oduye expressed his disappointment
with the President’s account of stewardship, as posted on the latter’s
Facebook page, adding that he was compelled by the mood of the Yuletide
to wish the President a “Merry Christmas.”
“Thank you Mr. President. In spite of my
beef with you and disappointment with your stewardship; I wish you and
your family a very Merry Christmas in the spirit of the season of
goodwill to all mankind,” Oduye wrote.
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