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Last week, WikiLeaks released cables about Nigeria. The
information focussed on discussions between President Goodluck Jonathan and
former U.S ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders.

Since the publication of the alleged conversations, many
political opponents have tried to profit from the revelations, distorting and
misinforming the public in order to score cheap political points.

Some would want us to believe the cables have portrayed the
president as not being equipped for the job. According to a statement credited
to Garba Shehu, spokesperson for presidential candidate and former vice
president Atiku Abubakar, “this expose has once again continued what we have
always said, Jonathan is not a man to be trusted”.

But away with political opponents and let us face the real
contents of the leaks and look at them intelligently.

The leaked cables quoted Sanders quoting Jonathan as saying
after her meeting with him on February 26, 2010, “I was not chosen to be vice
president because I had good political experience… I did not. There were a
lot more qualified people around to be vice president, but that does not mean I
am not my own man.”

Some people would want us to believe this means President
Jonathan cannot be trusted: what an irony. It is uncommon, for a Nigerian
politician to admit that he is not the almighty and the omnipotent. In a
society where people who are trusted with public office immediately turn
themselves into deities to be worshipped, never to be questioned, it is rare
that a Nigerian could admit that he is not the only qualified person to occupy
a public position.

Public office is not necessarily given to the most experienced,
or the most educated, but to the man who is best able to bring about
development, a man who embodies the two fundamentals of leadership as postulated
by Steven R. Covey, the personal effectiveness guru: they are sense of service
and knowledge.

President Obama had little public administration experience when
he decided to run for the highest office in the country. But the American
people followed him because they saw in him a man willing to admit his
limitations and thus willing to learn. They also saw he had the passion and the
will to serve. Leadership is not self-centred behaviour, but others centred
behaviour. How many Nigerians can resist the temptation to trumpet their own
credentials and exaggerate their achievements in order to impress?

According to the revelations Jonathan allegedly, also said he
had intended to dissolve the Cabinet early in the week of February 22, and had
planned to make that announcement at the February 24 FEC meeting but found out
that Yar’Adua was returning and this dissuaded him from acting. He said the
last Cabinet meeting was disastrous, included yelling and screaming, and was
totally dysfunctional. Sanders reported that Jonathan said he is ‘not a
politician’ and had very limited experience as an administrator, but concluded,
“I will not tolerate a brawl.”

Is President Jonathan your usual Nigerian politician? The
obvious answer is no. The president is not a desperate power monger, as some of
his opponents would want the public to believe. In the heady days of the
Yar’Adua debacle when the nation tottered on the brink, had Jonathan been your
usual politician, our circumstances as a nation may have been different today.
He would have dissolved the Cabinet, instead he was loyal to his boss when he
learnt that he was arriving even though nobody told him formally or put him in
the picture. But he remained calm, not desperate to prove a point, but willing
and ready to step up to the plate at the appointed time. And he did.

Nigerians should be optimistic about the prospects of President
Jonathan. He has the right frame of mind to determine that electoral reforms
are germane to Nigeria’s development. Sanders said: “His sole focus is to leave
a legacy of both electoral reforms and credible elections, including changing
the entire Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

The question we should ask is what can be revealed in leaked
cables regarding other politicians in Nigeria especially the ones aspiring to
become President in 2011? There is no need to wait for WikiLeaks to do that for
us. A number of such names are synonymous with corruption. That is not the case
with President Jonathan.

The leaks have shown him to be humble, truthful, sincere and
patriotic. These may not be the best attributes for a politician in these
climes but they are the attributes Nigeria needs at this time. Jonathan is a
transforming leader not a transactional leader like those who have paraded the corridors
of power for too long.

Read the final verdict from Sanders: “We believe the US
government is firmly placed to advance our bilateral agenda, including the
creation of enabling environment conducive to free, fair and credible elections
with the approval and assistance of Nigeria’s de facto head of state. Even if
he decides to contest for the presidency, Jonathan seems sincere in wanting to
leave a lasting legacy of electoral reform for Africa’s most populous nation.”

Afam is a public
commentator and a pro democracy activist, he lives in Lagos