By Denrele Animashaun

“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong, Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”- George Washington Carver.

So President Goodluck Jonathan went on to address a Christmas service in Gwarinpa, Abuja. Because  his   government  appears  slow he says that  does  not  mean  that  his administration  is  not working. On  the  contrary, his   government  is taking  its  time  to take  action  on urgent  social and economic issues but  he  would not be rushed !

The  people, he  said   do  not  understand  the  way   government  works. Will someone tell  this Jonah that Nigerians  have been so  patient  and  any  more  will   require  the  patience  of  a  saint and Nigerians  are  not  that  way  inclined.

So he goes on to say that the apparent slowness of his administration in deciding on major national issues was to avoid costly mistakes. Well, let us look at what has gone wrong on his watch: it  is  too numerous  to  enumerate and  the  evidence  are  all  to  see except to the  president.

*President Jonathan

So he is irritated and would not be rushed, so can I ask what he is waiting for? So while Nigeria disintegrates, our president is waiting to make an executive action. The  people  are tired  of  waiting  for  a change  and he  does  not  appear   to  be  listening to  the voices  of the   people.

If  only,  he  used  the  same  swift   executive  decision  and  zeal  that  he  used when requisitioning  the  senate  for  the  aggrandising of  the  presidential  palaces,  salary, lifestyle, perks of the jobs, banqueting  hall, fleet of  presidential cars, jets and annual budgets.

The   rest of the country has inadequate health, social care, high youth unemployment, training or education, needless accidents, human rights violations, and preventative accidents. There are kidnappings, sectarian killings, and youth on youth crimes, insecurities and Boko Haram.

Of course there are road fatalities, perpetual power outage, inequality, poor health, and the list goes on. Can  someone  wake  Jonah  up  and tell him he has  failed  Nigerians and that he should get  going and  make good the promises, which  was the   ticket  on  which he  was elected . They say a poor workman quarrels with his tool. Now this poor workman now blames his   customers, the citizens   for his failure.  This is not the mark of a good and effective leader.

Jonathan, who said no nation could be properly transformed without reformed citizenry, stated that the church had a great role to play in making the transformation agenda a success.

He said, “You can’t transform a country without the people being reformed. I call on the church to come up with programmes on how Nigerians can be reformed”.

He  does not  get it: we  look up to our leader to show and lead by  example and if  people  behave the  way  they do, it is  because  of  the   people   we  have  become.  So he thinks we need to be reformed? And the pot calling the kettle black. So he adds salt to injury. Like any abuser it is always the fault of its   victims.

Educate a woman.

You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”– Brigham Young

Some say having a girl is like tending a neighbours’ garden.  This  is  so  narrow-minded and   condescending perspective of  the  level  of  low sense  of value placed on females  in  our  society.  This is  borne  out of the way  people  react  to  the  arrival of the  birth of  a baby boy: that  of   jubilation and in contrast, the  arrival of  a  baby  girl is  often   with  muted  commiserations  from  friends and  family. If  the  truth  be  told the  mother is  often made  to  feel  a  failure if she   does  not  provide the  family a  male  and  a heir.

It seems to me, the girl is disadvantaged right from the   onset.  So when  I  read that  the Principal of Ajuwon High School, Ajuwon in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunke Aladeojebi, without the   consent  of  the  parents conducted a virginity test on young girls in her school, I was  revolted  and  enraged. I  felt  compelled to register  my  abhorrence and  contempt   for  a  system that  allows  such flagrant abuse  of  power.

So, she  was   feared  and   known  for  being   a tough   disciplinarian, sorry,  she  was  aperpetual abuser of  vulnerable young  people and, as result, the  young  girls were  threatened with suspension  that they submitted  themselves for this   forced examination. Apparently, she took this decision because of the level of immorality amongst young people.As always, the young   women are to be blamed!

What makes a change was that the children reported their ordeal to their parents, who reported her to the police and led to her suspension.