By Tony Ademiluyi
There were rumours of former President Goodluck Jonathan joining the 2027 Presidential race. Many asked what he is really looking for? Some political historians recalled when General Yakubu Gowon made a futile attempt to return to power in 1992 and was thoroughly disgraced.
Nigerians woke up to the news of his screening by the Turaki faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the sole candidate.
Why on earth would Jonathan, who is one of the greatest living Nigerian statesmen, want to reduce himself to partisanship? His greatest legacy was his peaceful handover of power to the late Major-General Muhammadu Buhari with the famous words ‘My ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.’ Why then does he want to face the grim prospect of electoral defeat in the hands of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu with his powers of incumbency? Politicians never cease to amaze me in all honesty.
Jonathan is respected globally and he is being invited to speak at international conferences, he mediates in African crisis. What is the wisdom and logic in throwing away that revered status to fighting dirty with the “pigs” in the mud?
The PDP, for starters, is an extremely weak party made so by a plethora of internal crises that seriously factionalized it. They certainly do not stand a chance against a more united APC with 31 state governors and with a majority in the National Assembly.
How will Jonathan’s image be if he is defeated for the second time next year? How will posterity judge him? On what grounds will he be campaigning on? Why should Nigerians trust him? What really is his agenda?
His administration was allegedly one of the most corrupt in Nigeria with his erstwhile petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Maduekwe, becoming a fugitive in the UK to allegedly evade justice back home. He was perceived as a very weak leader who was rather indecisive.
The multimillion-dollar question to ask is why he really wants to come back and what he will anchor his campaign on.
Does he just want to play the script of the North, who are disgruntled with Tinubu, as he won’t be eligible to run again in 2031 when the gentleman’s agreement will see power return to that region?
Do some mischievous politicians envious of his statesman’s status want to reduce him to the level of a nonentity?
I advise that Jonathan immediately perish the thought of returning to Aso Rock, as it may demystify him forever. At this stage of his life, he should be grateful to God for becoming Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice-President, Acting President, and President without ‘killing himself?’ If he could achieve all that as the boy who went to school without shoes, he should be discerning enough to know when to draw the line.
Would he heed the advice of this concerned citizen?
