By Azuka Onwuka
As president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was not fantastic in office. He was just so-so. But there is something he has more than all those who have ruled Nigeria: a good heart. He has the best heart among all our rulers and was the least desperate about power. That was why elections under him were among the most credible in Nigeria. People joined unknown parties, won elections, and were declared winners. Thugs were not deployed to chase away voters from expected strongholds of opponents. He warned everybody repeatedly not to rig for him or harm or kill another for him. “My ambition is not worth the life of any Nigerian”, he said repeatedly. “If I lose, I will hand over,” he said unambiguously.
Beyond being the first Nigerian president that allowed himself to be defeated in office and quietly handing over to his successor with no bickering or court case, the way he has continued to support his successor and has refrained from making unkind or inciting comments against the presidency of Buhari in spite of all Buhari and his supporters said and did against him is extraordinary. Only very few people can act the way he has acted in the last six years.
In 2007 when Buhari lost to his fellow Fulani, fellow Katsina indigene, fellow Muslim and fellow Northerner (Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua), he was so angry and bitter that he did not attend any National Council of State meeting or state functions until Yar’Adua died, even though he was collecting all his entitlements. He even said unkind things against Yar’Adua while Yar’Adua was seriously ill. He continued the bitterness and acerbic statements all through Jonathan’s tenure and even after Jonathan had left office.
One thing I have noticed in life is that people are different. Some are born the way they are while some trained themselves to be the way they are. But there are those who cannot change from who they are, no matter their age, religion, ethnicity, education, exposure, etc.
While I commend Jonathan for this exemplary behaviour, I urge him not to heed the rumour that he may run for the Presidency again (2023). APC will mess him up and not even give him the ticket. Many of us who supported him will take it as a celestial project to tear him to shreds as a greedy and myopic man.
Even though Nigerian politicians are unpredictable, I still think it sounds outlandish that Jonathan will succumb to the evil plan to lure him into another presidential contest. But let us wait and see how things go.
• Onwuka is a newspaper columnist and author.