By Doun Kogbara
I AM in Paris at the moment. The editors of a foreign publication invited me here because they want me a) provide them with professional advice about the best way of covering the upcoming Nigerian elections and b) to add my voice to wide-ranging discussions about the publication’s African coverage in general.

Black Kenyan, South African, Zimbabwean and Ghanaian writers – and European journalists who have lived in or undertaken reportage assignments in Senegal, Guinea, Zambia, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Libya, Egypt, etc, etc, etc – have also been invited to Paris to participate in these brainstorming sessions.

Uhuru Kenyatta.

All of the above have talked at considerable length about multiple scenarios that are likely to be especially newsworthy in their respective countries next year…and have highlighted personalities who will probably play significant positive or negative roles. And I’m really enjoying the educational experience.

Educational experience

The nitty-gritty – and often gory – details that highly knowledgeable media folks are revealing about different African histories, cultures, social issues, economies, politicians, opposition activists and so on are very interesting.

My favourite stories revolve around Kenya.

The father of my Kenyan colleague was very friendly with Barack Obama’s late father; and he has been regaling us with hilarious and fascinating tales about Obama Senior – whom he describes as an immensely colourful character and extremely intelligent lover of whiskey and literature.

When Obama Junior became President of the United States, my colleague was jubilant and took a personal interest in recording local reactions to the fact that an accomplished Harvard graduate who possessed Kenyan roots – and was one of them in a sense – was now running the most powerful nation on earth.

Much to his amazement, not every Kenyan shared his excitement. Obama’s family comes from the Luo tribe; and my colleague encountered quite a few Kikuyus who were half-hearted about Obama’s victory because he wasn’t a Kikuyu!…and some Luos who were equally unenthusiastic about Obama’s fantastic triumph because Obama was not from the same Luo clan as they were!

This story made me feel that Nigerians are not so tribalistic or clannish after all. I’m pretty sure that every single Nigerian on the planet would rejoice wildly if a Nigerian from any part of Nigeria became President of the United States!

Do Vanguard readers agree with me?

And, by the way, I have never criticized Obama before because he is one of my heroes and I just LOVE his wonderful wife; and I wept tears of sheer, unadulterated joy when they entered the White House with their lovely children. That momentuous day was one of the happiest days of my life.

But every hero is human and has feet of clay and I must tell you that I am absolutely furious with the Obamas for not visiting Kenya (or Nigeria for that matter) once since they were elevated. There is no excuse for this negligence!

As for President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, the son of the late great Jomo Kenyatta: What a terrible disappointment he has turned out to be!

Colonial shackles

I expected the well-schooled heir of an iconic African Independence leader who liberated his people from British colonial shackles to be seriously impressive.

But corruption is rife in Kenya and bad governance is the norm. And it gives me no pleasure to say that Uhuru sounds downright irresponsible and callous! He is said to drink like a fish and has, because of the role he played during the 2007 election, been indicted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for crimes against humanity.

Meanwhile, Kenya, thanks to Al-Shabaab, an Islamic terror outfit that is based in Somalia and regularly launches cross-border attacks on its neighbour, is suffering from the same kind of security headaches that Nigeria is enduring.

Uhuru happened to be in Abu Dhabi having fun with a bunch of cronies (they went there to watch the Grand Prix motor race) when Al-Shabaab hijacked a bus and butchered 28 Kenyans.

Security matters

And guess what?

He didn’t rush back home the minute this tragic news was conveyed to him. He stayed abroad for 3 more days; and when he finally returned to Nairobi, he proceeded to blame citizens for not being more vigilant about security matters.

Why are so many African heads of state so chronically unsatisfactory?

Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan described himself as the best leader Nigeria has ever produced.

This claim was contained in a statement that was issued by his Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe. It was a response to ex-President Obasanjo expressing the view that Jonathan’s administration has been below-average.

Excerpts from Okupe’s press release: “We aver that Obasanjo’s comments are untrue, misleading and clearly do not tally with the facts on the ground…We therefore wish to assert without equivocation that in terms of performance and achievements, no administration since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain, has done as much as that of President Jonathan.”

“…While it is true that the…terrorists in the 3 north-eastern states have become more deadly…government has made giant diplomatic strides with neighbouring countries…to checkmate the crisscrossing of the insurgents.

“…The military and other security agents, which have engaged the insurgents since inception, have done a great job in spite of recent challenges…”

It is interesting that this government is praising itself at a time when others are reluctant to share its view that it is doing well!

Profound concerns

Since I arrived in France, I have come across several individuals who know quite a bit about Nigeria. I have also come across a few individuals who know a lot about Nigeria. And all of them have expressed profound concerns about the current state of Nigeria. And these commentators aren’t only focussing on military stuff. They are also referring to issues like oil theft.

None of the above are partisan or interested in our APC versus PDP political shenanigans. None of the above has anything personal against Jonathan. Some have even told me that they think he looks like a very pleasant fellow.

But the widespread perception is that he is failing woefully. Enough said.