THE SQUARE HOLE

The misadventures of the calamitous and confused GEJ continue apace. His propensity for creating a storm in a teacup is fast becoming his trademark around the world. Heaven knows why this man can't just think straight for one second before enraging the sensibilities of the people he is supposed to be serving. His adeptness at starting a riot in a telephone booth is beyond legendary proportions, and frankly, it has become rather tedious and patently dangerous. To say he is an oddity would probably qualify as the understatement of the millennium! He is an intellectual rambler and a political schlep. Why this rather acerbic preamble to this post? This is why.

Jonathan has made an approach to the legislature for permission to borrow a brain-shattering, mind-numbing and ear-exploding N1.3 trillion (almost $8 billion) externally to pursue some 'pipeline projects'. I don't, for one, know what this guy is all about, or who he thinks Nigerians are. Hasn't he learned his lessons? Why is he always making foolish attempts to square holes?

In my post, http://9jainc.blogspot.com/2011/12/nigerias-2012-budget-sombre-critique.html, I made clear my suspicion (under Macroeconomic Stability) that he was going to go, in the short- to the medium-term, on a borrowing spree. Within eight weeks, he has proved me right! What a plonker! At a stroke, if his request is granted, our debt profile will shoot straight up to N7.489 trillion. I probably wouldn't have had any qualms if it was for a reasonable, quantifiable, verifiable, and justifiable purpose. What exactly are the 'pipeline projects'? Are those he concocted in his pipe dreams? (pun intended, as a matter of fact!)

What has happened to the National Job Creation Scheme, for which N50 billion was appropriated in the 2011 budget? What about YouWin (Youth Enterprise With Innovation In Nigeria, believe it or not)? How's that going? How many of the 100,000 jobs promised through this scheme have been created?

To think we have another three years of this malfunctioning robot fills me with uncontrollable exasperation and acute frustration. Isn't mental agility a sine qua non for the occupation of the highest office in the land? When did mental fragility become a prerequisite for being the first citizen of Nigeria? I just hope that the legislature tells him to stick his request up his backside, or is that even too much to hope for? Well, sod it!