Goodluck Jonathan's luck running out

If recent polls are accurate, President Goodluck Jonathan's dreams of another term in the big chair are rapidly coming to naught.

As Fisayo Soyombo points out in this story, matters have gone only from bad to worse for the incumbent. The spectacle of a political debate over whether institutionalized corruption is really "corruption," which is really bad, or mere "common thievery," which is apparently not so bad, gives a sense of how out of touch the Jonathan administration has been.

The "Chibok girls" farce went from tragic to even worse last month with the much ballyhooed Boko Haram ceasefire proving to be little more than wishful thinking on the part of certain Jonathan underlings.

The news that Goodluck was paying some extra-smart white folks in Washington millions from the public purse to polish his halo leading up to the election has had rather the opposite effect, revealing him to be a shallow conniver who is concerned more with his image than with getting results for his people.

And if all of that is not enough of a gathering storm, the global petroleum markets are now conspiring against Mr. Goodluck Jonathan. Oil prices may be one thing he can justly claim no influence over, but if prices languish in the $60 range for long, Nigeria is doomed.

Or at least the Westernized elites are doomed. The impoverished masses have seen scant benefits from the oil boom, and will scarcely notice when it's over.

As 100 million Nigerians struggle in poverty, Goodluck Jonathan spends $100,000/month for image makeover

Now that is some chutzpah!

Beset by scandals on all sides, from hundreds of billions in missing oil revenues to hundreds of missing girls to near-daily terror bombings, you'd think Mr. President would roll up his sleeves and get to work...

But you'd be wrong! Instead, Hardluck Jonathan has contracted with some really smart white folks in Washington DC, for some public image polishing in the lead up to the next elections! This will cost the long-suffering Nigerian tax-payers some $100,000 per month according to The Guardian.

While turd-polishing is a fine art in political circles everywhere, it is widely acknowledged that the masters of the universe operate inside the Beltway, and Goodluck is so far down on his luck that only the best of the best will do. Levick pride themselves on acting urgently today to avoid the uncertainty of tomorrow; whether that will be enough to save Noluck's skin remains to be seen.