DAZED AND CONFUSED, PRESIDENT JONATHAN SETS UP YET ANOTHER PANEL?

Apparently lost as to what to do about the intractable security breakdown in the country, the president groping in the dark, sets up yet another panel to "get to the root of the matter?" Icheoku says, for what and for what purpose is this latest panel when recommendations made by similar previous panels, have never been implemented or acted upon? 

There was the Jos crisis Panel, there was Abuja first-bombing panel, there was Niger Delta panel as well as so many other panels set up to "get to the root of the matters" under their respective advisement; but regrettably no action has been taken by the government in furtherance of these recommendations. Now another bomb has gone off in Abuja, at the very heart of the Nigerian Police service - their headquarters, and what action did the president take but to set yet another panel to "get to the root of the matter?" Icheoku says another exercise in futility by a president who is ill-prepared to lead a country as diverse and as complicated as Nigeria. A rudderless president, lacking in raw courage to do what is needed at this material time, sought refuge in setting up panels to once again "get to the root of the matter" that Icheoku ponders whether a destination of conclusive resolution would ever be in the sight of this president? 

Instead of wielding the big stick and breaking some shanks, particularly that of IGP Hafiz Ringim, over the embarrassing catastrophic security breach at the police headquarters, the uninspiring president is setting up another panel to "confirm whether or not Boko Haram is indeed a terrorist organisation and whether they are indeed behind the current anarchy spreading in the land?" Icheoku asks what is the use of this panel when the perpetrators are not in doubt since they have owned up to their atrocity. A decisive president would have instead, declared a full-throttled earth-scorch campaign against these lunatics and respond to their acts of war in kind. It is called reciprocity, period! But this knee-jerk half measures would be interpreted by Boko Haram as once did the other terrorists of Niger Delta as government unpreparedness to meet their challenge. 

At a time like this, admitted it is a very bitter and hard pill to swallow, an Olusegun Obasanjo presidency is seriously being missed; as that was all that would be needed for these Boko Haram scumbags to hike out of town into oblivion. Icheoku knows that no panel's recommendation in Nigeria ever sees the daylight and this current Boko Haram panel will not be otherwise. Mr President, instead of all these useless distracting panels you have formed the habit of setting up, is it not better for you to just throw in the towel if you suddenly found out that the office is not really the cake-walk you expected it to be? If the heavy-lifting is beyond your ability, just let another man try. What a rudderless, confused, lost in the wilderness and possibly very stiff-scared president, Nigeria is witnessing. A man who cannot even call the bluff of lobbyists and name his ministers, several months after his own inauguration. But why can't President Jonathan put a call to his godfather that never sleeps, OBJ, for some help - even if the Odi or Zaki Ibiam option?