Why Nigerians Should Re-Elect Jonathan – Jallo

The rescheduled 2015 general election in Nigeria is now at it’s peak. At the counts of days and hours from now, we are expected to have Presidential and National Assembly elections.
To this end, though they have since rounded off their national campaign tours and therefore relaxed the tempo of their conventional rallies, it is not as if political gladiators have gone to bed. To them, the game is not yet over until it is over and so, political horse-trading has intensified.
In maneuvering the electorate has to get their mandate, wives of the various political parties’ flag bearers have abandoned their domestic responsibilities for political activities and stepped up antics in marketing their husbands to the people for the national assignment just as the various candidates’ foot soldiers are engaged in neighbor-to- neighbor or call it door-to-door campaign for votes.
There are over 10 presidential candidates struggling for the souls of Nigeria. But out of the number, only two of them are the serious contenders. These are the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and former head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, his archrival, flying PDP and APC flags respectively. The duo are tested and trusted hands.
It is on record that in 2011, the race was between Buhari and Jonathan but eventually, Jonathan was voted into power. After the election, Buhari decided to say goodbye to the game of politics, having given it a trial three times without realising his dream. However, the warhorse rescinded his decision to contest again, when pressure on him became tense, in the spirit like of Abraham Lincoln, an American President who made it to presidency after his 7th attempt to rule his country.
With the pressure arising from the political history of Abraham Lincoln, Buhari is back to the ring to slug it out with Jonathan who is out to keep date with history, despite the attempts to nail his ambition. Now that the die is cast, who will emerge victorious in this election adjudged crucial between these two political titans, is the question to be answered by Nigerians in a matter of days from now.
At their various rally grounds, APC had always accused PDP particularly at the center of not doing enough to deserve the Nigerian people’s mandate. On the other hand, the PDP had dismissed such claims.
Kaduna is the political and administrative headquarters of Northern Nigeria and so, the state is like a mini-Nigeria.
It is therefore obvious that no presidential candidate will not want to win a state like Kaduna in pursuit of his election. Thus, one of the arrowheads of the campaign for the reelection of President Jonathan in Kaduna state is the former Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Hon. Hussaini Muhammed Jallo, who serves as the State Deputy Coordinator, Goodluck/ Sambo Presidential Campaign Organization Kaduna state. In this case, Jallo who is arguing that PDP is doing its best to develop Nigeria had always insisted that the Federal government under the leadership of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has embarked on many projects for the benefit of the people of Kaduna state. Among these achievements are:

Power Sector:
In this sector, Jallo said Jonathan’s administration has made reasonable impact. He argued that “it has constructed 10 gas power plants and generated 4700 Megawatts of electricity”, a development which he described as an improvement, noting that “before Jonathan’s administration, ,power generation was only 2000 Megawatts’. “The administration also provided 3500 Kilometers of transmission lines and 295 Pump Stations”.
Thus, “the 215 Megawatts thermal power plants at Kudenda industrial area in Kaduna are at completion stage. This will provide employment and improve the economic activities of the area.
“Another project worthy of note is the ongoing works on the 30mw hydro-power component of Gurara multi-purpose Dam in Kaduna State. This will, no doubt, enhances economic activities and provide employment to the people of the area. Similarly, a 132KVA high voltage transmission line of 140Kilometres to Kaduna is being mounted from Gurara to evacuate power to the industrial areas”, he articulated.

Road Projects:
While thumping up the present administration that it has made considerable progress in infrastructural development, Hon. Jallo said “roads across the country have been rehabilitated and new ones constructed”. And to buttress his point, he gave the example of the dualisation of Jere-Abuja road, access roads to Kaduna refinery and Mararaba -Pambeguwa -Saminaka-Jos road, which “have since been rehabilitated”.
Similarly, the Abuja- Kaduna- Kano expressway, he recounted, is being rehabilitated to make it free from pot holes”. With this development therefore, “President Jonathan’s administration has made over 5,400KM of federal roads in Northwest motorable”, giving the programme managed by FERMA with the aim at creating Jobs. So far, “370,000 young Nigerians are engaged to maintain 17,000, Kilometers of federal roads across Nigeria”, he stressed.

Transportation:
(Railways) “The President Jonathan and Sambo’s administration has made giant strides in railway industry. While The Kaduna- Abuja fast train rail line is currently at 90% completion, the existing narrow gauge from Zaria to Kauran Namoda in Zamfara State has been rehabilitated, just as the administration has completed rehabilitation works on 1,124KM western line railways from Lagos to Kano”.
Jallo said: “flour mills now transport wheat from Apapa to Kaduna and Kano”, adding “Lafarge now moves 1,500 tons of cement, equivalent of 50 trailers, by rail”.
Likewise, “the downstream oil now moves the equivalent of 30 tankers by rail”, he disclosed and declared that “undoubtedly, the transformation of the railways has contributed to the economic well being of the citizens of Nigeria”, particularly, the northern region.

Aviation:
He said while a number of new airports were built during the period of Jonathan under review, old ones were rehabilitated across the country, to make them airworthy. Among those rehabilitated include “Kano, Enugu Port Harcourt and Lagos airports.
These airports have been provided with standard facilities and equipments” for the comfort and safety of passengers. With the assistance of Federal government, “some state Governments have also constructed standard airports. The benefiting states include Bauchi, Jigawa, and Kebbi States”, he announced and remarked that against some criticisms, “economic benefits of these investments are indeed enormous”. Education:
In this regard, the campaign director noted that the impact of Jonathan administration in the last four years is reflected in the establishment and construction of a new Petroleum institute in Kaduna, as well as financial interventions accruing to various higher institutions across the country, using Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
In what looks like presenting the report card of his principal to the Nigeria electorates for scrutinizing and considerations ahead of Saturday poll, Jallo disclosed that “through the TETFUND, the federal Government has resuscitated 173 institution based journal; 1,480 institution based research project and the takeoff of 33 cutting-edge National research projects worth N738million as at November 2014.
“Evidently, within two and half years of Jonathan and Sambo’s administration, 14 new Universities were built across the country in states that have no federal University. The universities are in Katsina, Birnin Kebbi, Jigawa and Zamfara States. Just as the Police Academy wudil in Jigawa State was converted into a degree awarding institution, the maritime institution in Oron is transformed into a specialist degree awarding institution. And for the benefit of our pupils, the administration has also distributed a total of 96,326,675 books for primary Schools and library resource materials for schools in the Northwest.
“This administration has also established over 200 Almajirai Schools across the federation. The Northwest Zone is the greater beneficiary’ stressing that “the aim is to remove the “Almajirais” from the streets and give them sense of belonging. The Jonathan and Sambo’s Administration has also provided 4million Children access to formal education in the northwest. The distribution of flash drives and laptops also deserves mentioning”, Jallo chronicled.
One other area of development where Jonathan administration Jallo claimed to have made impact, despite the public criticism, particularly the distressed textile workers, is Industrialization and Solid Minerals. The largest employer of labour all over the world is textile industry. In view of its importance to human dignity, successive administrations have attempted to see textile industry revived in Nigeria. But none has been able to bring the attempt to fruition.
Prior to the election of late President Umoru Musa Yar’adua/ goodluck Jonathan in 2007, while the companies were operating skeletally in the south west, they slept off in the north with Kaduna feeling the worse hit. This is reflected in the number of jobless men and women with attendant despair on the lives of their dependants and of course, security situation in the state.