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Here is a thought, President Goodluck Jonathan: deliver on your promises.

Implement electoral reform and give us an efficient and functional power sector so that our economy can grow.

It is true that
the death of former president, Umaru Yar’Adua is likely to add to the
troubles currently bedeviling the ruling People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) to which you belong. But that should not worry you. Their
so-called gentleman’s agreement on rotational presidency is on the line
and squabbling is sure to follow any attempt to junket this inane
accord. Your refusal to rule yourself out of the race for office in
2011 is not likely to help matters.

As an incumbent
president in a country like Nigeria, where the constitution has vested
enormous power in your hands, you are almost omnipotent. The
appointment of the umpire for the 2011 elections, for example, rests
with you. So too do some other key appointments, such as that of vice
president and Justices of the Supreme Court, the final arbiters of any
dispute in our land including election petitions.

When we add to the
mix the fact that you are from the Niger Delta – the region that
generates most of Nigeria’s wealth but which has never produced any
president for the country – and that people of this region see your
ascendancy as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that cannot be
squandered, you will begin to understand why you are holding all the
aces.

You are in a
position to take on those in your ruling party who insist that they
want to adhere to a rotational system that has no place in a democratic
society, if you choose to.

My advice will be to not bother.

You should not
spend the limited time you have in office engaged in politicking. The
surest way you can remain in office is by delivering on the promises
you have made thus far to Nigerians.

Reform our
electoral processes so that our votes begin to count. Ensure that we
begin to utilise the vast resources we have – from gas and coal to
solar – to power our homes and workplaces and you will have nothing to
worry about.

The death of the
former president means the country is emerging from the twilight zone
it entered. It has removed the uncertainty that was hanging over your
presidency and should allow all those politicians who have been hedging
their bets to do that which they do best, quickly switch allegiance and
line up behind you, the man in power. So, your presidency, which
started on a shaky note, has a more solid foundation. All that is left
is to deliver to Nigerians.

Do not get
distracted. There are those who will want you to waste precious time
writing notes to your ministers, so they can be get contracts. Others
will want to lobby you for plump appointments into various government
agencies. Another bunch will try to convince you that you must find
money and dole it out to them so they can begin campaigning for your
election in 2011. They will not care how you lay your hands on the
funds, whether legitimately or illegitimately.

Politicians will try to convince you that you need to make less than kosher deals for your survival.

But all that will be hogwash as long as you fulfill you promises.

A robust electoral system will mean you cannot be rigged out of office if Nigerians decide you are their man and vote for you.

Please remember
that just as being from a certain region in itself should not be an
automatic ticket into the highest political office in the land,
incumbency too should not automatically lead to a mandate. How you
perform in office over the next one year should be the determinant of
whether you are fit to run for office and if, indeed, Nigerians will
elect you. If you want to remain our president beyond 2011, you should
begin, today, to earn those votes.