Mr. President, How Many Shoes Do You Have?

Not long ago, a young boy in Otueke in southern Nigeria went to school without shoes. He also read his books on a kerosene lantern and sometimes from a candle's illumination. However, his fortunes changed for he has become Nigeria's president. What a tale of transformation. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan at his campaign spoke long and hard about his travails of going bare-foot to school and believed his tale was inspiring to young Nigerians.

Young Nigerians today are however disappointed in their employee, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan's refusal to show them how many shoes he now has in his shoe rack has become a reason many of them have vowed to go bare foot to the next occupy Nigeria movement. The president argued in his media chat with the nation's most conservative news station the NTA, that it was against his ‘personal beliefs and principle’ to disclose to his employers how many shoes he currently possesses. 

We would like to know how many shoes are in the president's shoe rack for obvious reasons. First, he is our employee, we want to determine whether or not there are enough shoes in his wardrobe to keep him from getting distracted about his childhood deprivation. Or are we not aware that people tend to amass that which they lacked in childhood in their old age thinking they can make up for it then.

Why is this writer making this a matter of shoes? You see shoes are so important to this president that at the heat of the presidential elections, the president found his shoes too big to fill by avoiding debates. Instead he chose to grant an interview with Mo-Hits crooner D'Banj. Curiously, the artiste who claimed to be representing Nigerian youths found one compliment to give the president, it was about his shoes. That brought a huge glee on the face of the president. He had finally arrived; someone like D'Banj had noticed that the once bare-foot Otueke boy now had shoes worthy of compliment on national TV.

But why would Nigerians care about the president's assets? Are they not a matter of his personal concern? Are they not a matter of his personal conviction? Hold on a minute, are Nigerians not being overly pugnacious as to pry into the president's personal affairs and possibly inspect the colour of his briefs? Nigerian youths are some of the most impersonal bunch on the planet, they want to know everything especially if the president signs into his Facebook account or perhaps it was Reuben masquerading all along. 

For all intents and purposes, the law is clear and even the president noted that. We had assumed he was reading a different employee manual other than the constitution. What baffles the Nigerian youth is why their employee should brazenly insist that he will not open his wardrobe for public inspection because his conviction was mightier than the manual. Such brazen effrontery is not only arrogant but highly suggestive of impudent candor and dictatorial. 

We are not disappointed that Dr. Goodluck is not the humble young man who had no shoes some years ago or that he has been able to transform his destiny as a result of his name or whatever divine providence that also made him president with our consent. What is most important now is that as president, he is our employee and if the employee manual says: declare, then Mr. President, you should reluctantly oblige us that cursory peep into your wardrobe.

In a related development, an Abuja High Court has ordered the National Assembly to divulge to Nigerians their full emoluments in line with provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. For so long, the lawmakers have refused to let us see how much milk they take off our farm that will necessitate a certain committee chairman to stuff his pockets and then his cap with more. Perhaps someday, there will be a real show of pro-people leadership where leaders are not shy of speaking the truth, leaders who do not grow bigger than the constitution. 

The constitution is faulty everyone. It can be selectively adhered to. If the president likes, he will obey a section and leave the other. More importantly, his conviction is greater than it. We must set aside the constitution and follow the convictions of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. That will be wisest thing to do at this point for our constitution has been severely dealt a major knock out by the president with this singular action. If our president can selectively adhere to some aspect and ignore others of the constitution he swore publicly to uphold and defend, then we must all agree with him too.

Whatever the case, Nigerians are disappointed yet again by the president’s stand on the issues and there are no consequences.