THE effort of producing the May 29 presidential address dripped through every line. President Goodluck Jonathan wanted Nigerians to know how hard he had worked in the past year though many think he hardly worked.

The speech was mostly filled with re-assurances of assurances the President gave when he assumed office a year ago. Some of the achievements were in motions, intentions and expectations. Nigerians want more, which is why they are wondering what the speech was meant to achieve.

There are no admissions of the hard times, just as the speech failed to provide concrete instances of how government was tackling the daunting times Nigerians face.

Nigeria’s version of the state of the union address, had only one huge point, the President’s recognition of Chief Moshood Abiola’s martyrdom and re-naming the University of Lagos after him.

Otherwise, the entire speech was celebratory, reeling out the President’s achievements from agriculture to electricity. Education, infrastructure, industrial growth and job creation were areas where the President said he excelled or was making irreversible progress.

“In 2011, our economy grew by 7.45%. As at mid-May 2012, our foreign exchange reserves had risen to $37.02 billion, the highest level in 21 months. We have stabilized and improved our fiscal regime. We brought the fiscal deficit down to 2. 85% of GDP from 2.9% in 2011. We reduced recurrent expenditures from 74% to 71% and reduced domestic borrowing from N852 billion in 2011 to N744 billion in 2012.

We cut out over N100 billion of non-essential expenditure and increased our internally generated revenue from N200 billion to N467 billion,” the President sang. These have not reflected in the lives of Nigerians. How would a budget of 71 per cent recurrent expenditure build an economy? What aspects of the 2012 budget reflect the benefits, to Nigerians, of doubling internally generated revenue?

Nigerians want jobs. The President speaks glowingly of the number of job summits he supervised. If the issue is electricity, the achievements are roadmaps, high number of MOUs signed and increase in power generation, though the country is practically in darkness.

Are we celebrating cassava export when Nigerians barely have enough for local consumption? Why would government stop involvement in fertilizer purchase, with the attendant hardship for farmers, instead of punishing the criminals who fed off fertilizer contracts?

Security challenges of the past year distracted the President. He should have admitted it as a major reason for his less than satisfactory performance. He worsened concerns about his vision with a speech that appeared written by people who have never lived in Nigeria, particularly in the past year.
Serious economic challenges loom with dwindling investments, poor electricity, and feeble leadership efforts.