They closed down the 3rd Mainland Bridge. All because a book of the president's Facebook quotes was being launched..
The president's Facebook quotes!
I don't want to go into the argument about the value of a compilation of Facebook quotes, but I must ask what they will add to the body of knowledge, and why the launch of such a book should be turned into such a humongous event?
For the record, 3rd Mainland Bridge at 12km is the longest bridge on the continent. Because of the number of areas in Lagos that can be accessed through that bridge, it services over a million people each day. The traffic on that bridge has actually gone up slightly since the road works at the Orile axis began. Driving at a constant 100km/h on that bridge will take you across it in 12 minutes. Now imagine the hell that people went through yesterday simply because of a political gimmick?
My anger however is not directed at Goodluck Jonathan. In my view, this event shows that he is absolutely no different from the politicians around him, and the vast majority of those who came before him. My anger is directed at Nigerians.
Why are we so tame?
When I complained about this incident on the Internet, a friend of mine admonished me that since he is president it is his right to close down traffic. Did I not grow up in Nigeria?.
Which leader has not done this before? Good question. My reply to that friend would be the fact that previous Nigerian leaders (most of them military dictators) did it, does not make it right? Why do we as a people have this really annoying tendency of defending what is wrong simply because other people are doing it or have done it before?
Being that this friend of mine lived in the UK for some years, I would point him to the outcry that followed Tony Blair. When returning from a trip to the US in 2006, Mr. Blair's driver decided to avoid traffic by driving on a bus lane! People screamed, Mr. Blair paid the fine and it did not happen again.
That, my people, is a leader who (at least on the surface), panders to the wishes of the electorate who voted him in.
They have been criticising Jonathan for kneeling before God and now saying it is a political gimmick .
The Man is not the messiah neither is he a mess ! Our Take on this on 9jabook..
It takes guts for a man with so much power to go before another man whom he apparently has power over and ask for the blessings of a being whom he cannot see but whom we know exists . If a man with such Power can do this he must be aware of the consequnces of using it as political gimmick .Jonathan is not the messiah but he is better than the mess of panderers, atikus and so called freedom activists whose agenda has long ben exposed. Buhari i wish for but he wont win. he knows it .it is bw atiku & Goodluck .
