gave a robust defence of his
administration's performance at mid-term
and dismissed public and media
assessment of his ministers, saying the
criticisms were mostly bereft of
objectivity.
The presentation was graced by former Nigerian
leaders, including former President Shehu
Shagari, General Yakubu Gowon, Chief Ernest
Shonekan, former Chief of General Staff, Gen.
Oladipo Diya; one-time United States
presidential candidate, Jesse Jackson among
others.President Jonathan spoke at the public
presentation of the administration's mid-term
report in Abuja during which administration
officials rolled out positive financial indicators
which among others was that Nigeria has
become the highest investment destination in
the continent.
Also present at the event were the Senate
President, Sen. David Mark; Deputy Speaker of
the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha
and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma
Mukhtar.
Jackson, speaking at the occasion, commended
the president for giving a mid-term report of his
performance. He said that it was indicative that
the ship of the nation was sailing in the right
direction.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation,
Senator Anyim Pius Anyim also commended the
leadership of President Jonathan, who he said
had shown impressive democratic culture
through his restraint in the face of unparalleled
challenges to his authority.
President Jonathan was nevertheless dismissive
of media assessment of his administration. He
said that as a former teacher, he was conscious
of the fact that any examination should be
guided by a marking scheme.
He thus challenged the media to use the 234-
page report as a veritable tool for any objective
assessment.
He said: "Only on Monday, I looked through a
particular publication in one of our dailies,
which gave an assessment of the performance of
the ministers.
"The first thing I looked for that I did not see
was the criteria they used to assess the
performance of the ministers. As a teacher, I
know that for you to mark a student, you must
have a marking scheme. Because, assessment
could be very subjective, and if a fellow
politician is assessing another politician, you
assess the person based on heartbeats."
He said two ministries; the ministries of Trade
and Investments and National Planning which
performed creditably well were rated average.
"Since I came to the centre in 2007, I have
worked with three ministers of National
Planning and three ministers of Trade and
Investments. They have never done what is
being done today.
"In terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
attracted to this country by activities of that
ministry, it has never happened. In spite of our
security challenges, there is so much interest
from business men wanting to come to Nigeria.
"Before now, that Ministry of Trade and
Investments was a dead end, but now they are
very active. Talk about Ministry of Planning,
people say that until Shamsudeen came on
board, we did not even know that we had a
Planning Ministry.
"But these two ministries were scored average
and I asked what are the criteria? That is the
purpose of today, our elders, ladies and
gentlemen. The idea is to formally present a
document to all Nigerians about the activities of
the government these past two years.
"I plead with all of us especially those who want
to assess and write about it to develop criteria
because without a marking scheme, you cannot
mark anybody's paper. Develop your own,
compare with previous governments. Develop
your marking scheme and mark us."
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