Goodluck Jonathan: By name and nature?

(News Today) - Who is Nigeria's new president, Goodluck Jonathan?

In keeping with his name, he is sometimes regarded as one of the luckiest men in Nigerian politics. Goodluck Jonathan, 52, with a degree in zoology worked as an environmental officer until he entered politics. He ran as deputy governor for Bayelsa state in 2001-- one of Nigeria's main oil-producing states in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

After the state governor -- Diepreye Alamieyeseigha -- was indicted by Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on corruption charges in 2006, Jonathan was promoted to governor of one of the richest regions in Africa.

This rather obscure politician is then widely regarded by political analysts as having been hand-picked by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo to run as vice-president with Umaru Yar'Adua in the 2007 national elections.

In what are widely considered the most flawed in Nigeria's history they won.

Then in November 2009, President Umaru Yar'Adua was taken to Saudi Arabia because of a heart condition -- but without signing over power to his vice president.

Since November, Jonathan and his supporters struggled to gain presidential power against an array of factions competing for influence and power. In February, Jonathan was finally made acting president by the House of Representatives. With Yar'Adua's death and the consequent swearing in of Jonathan to the presidency he has now solidified his position.

Some Nigerians put Jonathan's rise to power down to 'good luck.' The removal of those above him -- through no act of his own -- provided the opportunity for his rise. Others credit him with the political patience to sit out events until they play in his favor.

Whatever the case he has no further to rise and his political prowess and skill will now be truly tested to try to introduce any of his promised reforms before elections next year.

How well known is he on the African stage?

Not at all, and not especially even in Nigeria. Jonathan's first main interview after assuming the vice presidency was CNN's "Amanpour" show.

He is a quiet man, who appears to have had little obvious ambition in reaching the dizzying heights of the presidency.

However, his recognition has skyrocketed as he assumed the presidency of Africa's most populous country, with about 150 million people. His agenda before the elections will be less about projecting Nigeria's image across the continent and world -- but maintaining stability and preparing the country for elections next year.

What was his relationship with Yar'Adua?

Very little is known about the private relationship between Yar'Adua and now-President Jonathan, who had little public influence in the administration during Yar'Adua's tenure.

Nigeria holds an unofficial policy of power sharing between the south-west, south-east and north. Yar'Adua was the north's "turn" and Jonathan's appointment to the vice presidency was seen as appeasing the South-East in the power-sharing arrangement.

However, both Yar'Adua and Jonathan were members of Nigeria's biggest political party -- the PDP or Peoples Democratic Party. With little opposition it's a party with little coherent political alignment other than maintaining control of Nigerian politics. Both Yar'Adua and Jonathan agreed on the main polices of the administration and now Jonathan promises to continue Yar'Adua's main agenda of political reform and peace in the Niger Delta.

How likely is Jonathan to get re-elected next year?

The 2011 elections are the prize for the on-going political struggles. Jonathan has not said publicly that he will run but he has also not ruled out running.

Already several of Nigeria's big political players are intimating that they will run -- in particular Ibrahim Babangida, an ex-president who annulled the country's elections in 1993.

However, holding the presidency would give Jonathan considerable influence and support as the incumbent if he decided to run. But many analysts believe Jonathan's much touted electoral reform will be difficult to implement if he decides to run in a race that he is also trying to influence through his reforms.

Jonathan also hails from Nigeria's south, and the PDP's unofficial policy of power rotation means that the presidency still belongs to the north. They are traditional powerbrokers in much Nigeria's history since independence in 1960 and feel that despite Yar'Adua's death, the president should continue to belong to a northerner for at least one more term.

In April Jonathan fired the whole of the cabinet. Why did he do this?

Jonathan and his supporters struggled to maintain their grip on power after Yar'Adua left for Saudi Arabia because of a heart condition.

What was widely criticized by political commentators and even some ministers as a "cabal" of ministers around both the president and his wife, Turai, tried to prevent the transfer of power to Jonathan and keep control of Nigeria's massive oil economy and political power for the upcoming elections for themselves.

During the political impasse, hundreds were killed in ethno-religious violence in central Nigeria, attacks against oil facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta resumed and thousands of protesters took to the streets.

To try to clear the impasse, assume political control, bring a sense of stability, as well as bow to popular pressure Jonathan fired the entire cabinet. His new cabinet is widely regarded as trying to appease most of the factions -- bringing back some of Yar'Adua's ministers, introducing ministers of his own, as well as Former Goldman Sachs executive Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga as finance minister whom many hope will continue economic reforms.

What is his attitude toward the militants in the troubled oil-rich Niger Delta region?

Jonathan is from the Niger Delta, and has plenty of political experience in the region after his time as governor of one most oil-rich states in the region.

As a politician from the Niger Delta he carries considerable political influence with the armed gangs and militants in the Niger Delta, who now see his rise to the presidency as their opportunity to wield true political power and implement long-term changes in favor of the region.

However, the Niger Delta is a region of many ethnic and political groups and many do not support Jonathan -- some even attempting to prevent him assuming the Presidency.

An amnesty for militant groups introduced under Yar'Adua maintains a relative peace in the region -- and Jonathan has stated his aim to support the amnesty and rehabilitation of militants who accepted it.

However, it must be noted that the militants were originally funded and armed by politicians in the Niger Delta who used the armed young men to win political power. This is the background against which politicians like Jonathan rose to power in the region. There is a concern that with the 2011 elections the cycle could begin again.

What other key issues face Nigeria? What are Jonathan's plans?

Nigeria has a host of problems it needs to tackle -- corruption, ethno-religious violence in central Nigeria, armed gangs in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the rise of Islamic sects in the north, dependency on oil (oil accounts for 80% of budgetary revenue), and a overwhelming population explosion.

Perhaps the most important key to alleviating most of these issues is free and fair elections and Jonathan is promising electoral reform.

However, so too have many of his predecessors, and Jonathan's rise to power is on the back of what are widely regarded as some of the most flawed elections in the country's history. But even some a small improvement in the election process would help return from what is a complete erosion in the legitimacy of government in the eyes of Nigerians, and in turn hope to promote better governance.

Jonathan is a product of Nigeria's current political system who has attempted few big reforms against the status quo during most of his time in office. Why would he start now? Nigerians don't care -- they just want him to start.

Source : CNN

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What parents say about family vacations

(News Terupdate) - Go for it.
You need a vacation now more than ever, and you shouldn't feel the least bit guilty. In fact, you've got lots of company, according to a new family-travel poll for which I partnered with Travelocity.com.

The majority of the 1,100 people who responded said that vacations are as important now as they were before the recession, and nearly one-fourth of respondents said vacations are more important now.

With all of the extra stresses this recession has wrought, "People recognize the importance of quality time with their families away from the stress," says Dr. Dannee Neal, an Indianapolis family physician and mom of three who is serving as a member this year of the Disney World Moms Panel. "The recession has caused people a lot of stress, and they need the release from that more than ever."

I couldn't agree more. But that's not to say we're willing to blow next month's mortgage payment. In fact, the poll shows that we're scaling back at home in order to afford a getaway.

Sixty-seven percent will cut back on entertainment and eating out, more than half will postpone a major purchase, and a third will trim health and beauty expenses (do you really need that haircut?) in order to afford going away.

And once we decide to go, we'll cut costs every way we can. We'll avoid expensive travel around the holidays -- 10 percent say they'll take kids out of school, in fact -- drive instead of fly (49 percent), and vacation closer to home. (National parks are all waiving admissions fees on June 5-6, August 14-15, September 25 (Public Lands Day), and November 11 (Veterans Day); visit http://www.nps.gov/index.htm.)

Travelocity's Genevieve Brown says wherever you want to go, the good news is that there are plenty of deals to be had. She notes that nine out of 10 top beach destinations are reporting lower hotel rates than last year -- as much as 29 percent in Myrtle Beach, 23 percent in Jamaica, 12 percent in Los Angeles and even 4 percent in popular San Diego.

"The savings are all in the hotels," says Brown, noting that airfares are up -- all the more reason to book packages (that let you save significantly) or drive, as do the Neals.

Besides saving money, Dannee Neal says, she likes the road trip part of their vacation -- the time to wind down from work, to reconnect. "And I don't have to worry about how I'm packing my bag," she says. "I can just throw everything in."

Nor is there concern about missing a flight or getting involuntarily bumped, or dealing with a toddler who doesn't want to let go of his "lovey" at security. That and the airlines' efforts to continue to nickel-and-dime passengers -- the latest by Spirit Airlines, which announced it will now charge for carry-on bags, though diaper bags are excluded -- is reason enough, parents tell me, to avoid air travel.

And if the baby starts crying on a car trip or the toddler starts kicking the seat in front of them, they're not inconveniencing strangers.

But wherever you go and however you get there, it's about keeping the kids happy. Any parent who has vacationed with an inconsolable toddler or a sulking tween or a teen pining for her boyfriend knows that if the kids aren't happy, no one will be happy.

"We want to avoid places that lead to frequent whining and tantrums," says Kerei Yuen, a Northern California mom of four boys.

The survey shows that kids are involved in the planning. "Although they don't always tell you directly, most kids are happy to spend time together as a family," says Dr. David Fassler, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and University of Vermont Professor of Psychiatry.

"Vacation trips often include adventures and memories which are recalled years later." He adds that when planning, "decide what really helps you and your kids relax," whether it's a quiet beach or a cruise ship with morning-till-night activities.

Lucky kids. When I was a kid, no one ever asked me where I wanted to go on vacation or what I wanted to do when I got there.

More than half of those polled select activities with the kids in mind. The Yuens, for example, opt for the Santa Barbara Family Vacation Center. A quarter of the kids determine the type of vacation (cruise or campground. perhaps?), and a third of kids 11 and older are doing vacation research online.

In many cases, they know their way around the Web better than their parents. (A third of those with kids 11 or older report that the kids determine the type of vacations.)

A tip to the travel industry on marketing to families: Pay attention to these junior travelers. They may well decide which hotel or cruise line the family chooses (the one with the best water slide!) or where the family will go.

Just ask Jamie Pearson, creator of www.travelsavvymom.com. "We skied a lot more than I would have liked this year because the kids took to it," she reports.

Another tip for the travel industry that we gleaned from this poll: Pay attention to single-parent families. There are millions of single parents out there, after all, and 98 percent of the ones polled say the travel industry doesn't adequately meet their needs.

Seventy-one percent would like to see more single-parent packages, for example, and a third asked for more organized kids activities so that the parent could get a break.

For example, from June 1 through August 31, the luxury all-inclusive Velas Resorts at three top Mexican beach destinations are waiving the single supplement fee for single parents traveling with their children. Makes sense to me!

The thing we all need to remember is that, unlike a crockpot or even a car (yes, there have been deals suggesting we can return a minivan if we don't like it), we can't return a vacation if it doesn't turn out the way we expected. It might rain. Someone might get sick. The hotel pool might not look anything like the photographs.

But at least if the kids helped plan, it's not your fault when things go awry. You're all in it together.

And that's what matters most anyway.

Source : CNN

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