Reflections on Goodluck Jonathan’s Possible Return: He Who the Cap Fits Should Wear It (Part One)

Anticipation permeates the air. The fire seems to be nearby, and there is smoke all over. Deafening excitement is building to a crescendo: Jonathan is on the way! Jonathan will arrive soon! The jury is already out in full force, as expected, with a number of journalists, pundits, and self-described political strategists analyzing the potential ramifications of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan returning to the political scene for a potential 2027 presidential endeavor.

Almost all opinion writers concur that his return to politics will result in a seismic upheaval in the power dynamics being calculated by the various political platforms, including the ruling APC, the main opposition PDP, and the rebranded ADC parties. For the simple reason that the North will remember and honor him for the massive pro-people and pro-poor programs and policies he unleashed during his first presidential term—programs that have been diminished and abandoned over the past ten years—his inclusive and compassionate style of governance, and, of course, the fact that he will only be constitutionally eligible for one term in office, many people think he will win handily if he runs. The South East, his adopted geopolitical base, will also support him, especially if Peter Obi’s name is not on the ballot, even if his South South base would vote for him with overwhelming and decisive force.

I don’t intend to address every opinion piece that has already been written about former President Jonathan’s alleged second coming in this three-part essay. Some of these articles are direct, measured, and objective, while others are written by paid hacker types who aim to damage his reputation and image. For now, I want to let his words and those of others speak for him and about him—his compassionate nature, his love for peace and good governance, his liberal outlook and tolerance, and the significant socioeconomic change he brought about in the country between 2010 and 2015. I will say a few words about the ongoing media conversation surrounding the Jonathan phenomenon.

Reviving his legacy and telling his story through his and others’ words is like traveling back in time to Nigeria, when influential figures like Dr. M I Okpara, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Tafawa Balewa, and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe walked the land they lead with moral clarity and intellectual force. You can then study their sayings and wise words, peruse their works, and hold them accountable using their words. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is one such leader—certainly not other presidents who cannot even be remembered by a single catchphrase!

With my modest commentary, I would like to rapidly offer to the Nigerian public and the international society at large a collection of these profound words and deep thoughts. This presentation approach will be carried over into parts two and three of this article.

On Political Issues Without Resentment

“My political aspirations are not worth any Nigerian’s blood.”

Jonathan Goodluck, President

This peace mantra has gained international recognition, is a source of moral clarity, and is being used as a benchmark to evaluate how African political leaders behave while in government.

President Jonathan remains a man of peace.

The inconceivable was done by President Jonathan in 2015 when he called an election with no final results yet for the opposition candidate. He had the ability to incite conflict, but for whatever reason he decided to choose peace.

― Journalist and public scholar Simon Kolawole

Kolawole was spot on in terms of his mental and visual clarity. He has a great perspective that cannot be improved.

As a Transformational Leader, Jonathan

“Dr. Jonathan’s innovative programs, such as YouWin, which the World Bank has determined is likely the most successful business growth competition globally, helped millions of young people escape poverty.” In addition, Dr. Jonathan had the impressive record of constructing 165 elementary and high schools and 14 universities for Nigeria’s young, an accomplishment that significantly increased the country’s GDP since, as any leader should understand, the more you study, the more you make.

— President of the Republic of Ghana John Dramani Mahama

There is nothing more to add to these stirring words from one of Africa’s greatest modern leaders.

A Forgiving and Caring Leader

I’ve learned from history and my own experience that using power as a sword rather than a shield will wear you down and inflict unimaginable suffering for the people you serve. People who observe power from the sidelines much too frequently mistakenly think that the strong man is the one who wields power. It isn’t true, though. Controlled strength is what is meant by real power.

—Goodluck Jonathan, President

Indeed, rather than being the opposites, the main components of presidential power are compassion, tolerance, and controlled authority. Jonathan’s famous statement has been staring us in the face ever since he left office.

Jonathan as the Face of Democracy in Africa

Because of his legacy of a democratic and peaceful handover of power, Goodluck Jonathan has become the face of democracy in Africa. Africa would quickly rise to become one of the world’s most stable and developed regions if all African leaders adopted the Jonathan Doctrine.

—Joe Trippi, popular novelist and political strategist from the United States

I agree that a lot of African leaders have not yet adopted the Jonathan Doctrine, which is why the region continues to struggle. Sit-tight civilian dictators continue to be prevalent throughout the continent, suppressing the opposition and misusing term-limit clauses in the constitution. They should put the Jonathan Doctrine into effect and give Africa some breathing room.

President Jonathan on the Moral Need for Authority

“My goal is to start an idea-based campaign, not a defamatory one. Love, not hate, is what I’ve come to preach. Our quest for nationhood has been bogged down by the dividing tendencies of the past, and I have come to break you free. I have no adversaries. We have a similar identity and you are all my buddies.

— Jonathan, President

We last heard of this kind of moral clarity during the years of Nigeria’s struggle against British colonialism and the establishment of a post-colonial nation, before Jonathan arrived to say these incredibly transforming words.

What should I say at the end of this first section of a piece that I have been considering for a long time and have finally found the confidence to write? President Jonathan’s opponents and their army of persistent translators have dubbed him names that cannot be printed. He’s been called weak, inept, and uninformed. The people who said these hurtful things have withdrawn in embarrassment ten years after he left office because the true inept and ignorant people have come calling. The remaining Chibok girls have been deserted by those who used their awful situation as a weapon to overthrow him in an election, eleven years after the abduction of the Chibok girls. It goes without saying that the Dapchi girls have subsequently been added to the expanding list of citizens and girls kidnapped between 2015 and 2025. The Unity Fountain in Abuja, where the Bring Back the Girls protesters had set up camp for months in an attempt to overthrow him and his administration, has been closed, fenced, and padlocked with DSS and police officers on duty.

I’m a Muslim, a Northerner, a public intellectual, and I’m from Gombe State. President Jonathan is an Ijaw person of Bayelsa state and a devout Christian. However, if he were to run for reelection, I would be happy to support him, advocate for him, and cast my vote because I believe in him and his historic promise as a revolutionary leader.

The Executive Director of the Leadership and Governance Training Collective, Adamu Musa Abdulkadir, wrote from Gombe, Gombe state.