Goodluck Jonathan’s Second Coming? He Who the Cap Fits Should Wear It – Part One

Expectations abound in the air. There’s smoke everywhere, and the fire looks nearby. The excitement is building to a climax: Jonathan is on the way! Jonathan Is On His Way! As expected, the jury is already out in full force, with a number of analysts, pundits, and self-described political strategists analyzing the potential ramifications of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan returning to politics in order to run for president in 2027.

Almost all opinion writers agree that his return to politics will produce 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. Many people think that if he runs, he will win handily because the North will remember and honor him for the massive pro-people and pro-poor programs and policies he unleashed during his first term as president, but which have since been scaled back and abandoned, his inclusive and compassionate style of governance, and, of course, the fact that he is only allowed to serve one term in office under the constitution. His adoptive geopolitical base in the South East will support him likewise, especially if Peter Obi’s name is not on the ballot, even though his South South base would vote for him with overwhelming and decisive force.

In this three-part essay, I do not intend to address every opinion piece that has already been written about former President Jonathan’s alleged second coming. 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. Although I will say a few words regarding the current media discourse surrounding the Jonathan phenomenon, for the time being I want to let his and others’ words speak for him and about him—his compassionate nature, his commitment to peace and good governance, his liberal outlook and tolerance, and the significant socioeconomic change he brought about in the country between 2010 and 2015.

It would be like traveling back in time to Nigeria’s past, when influential figures like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Tafawa Balewa, and Dr. M I Okpara passed through the country with moral clarity and intellectual vigor, using both his own words and those of others to resurrect his legacy. After reading their sayings and wise statements, you can peruse their works and hold them accountable for their words. This kind of leader is Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and not other presidents who haven’t even left us with a catchphrase to remember them by!

With my humble commentary, I would like to now swiftly introduce to the Nigerian public and the international society at large a collection of these thought-provoking statements and profound ideas. This presentation technique will be maintained in parts two and three of this article.

About Politics Without Resentment

“The blood of any Nigerian is not worth my political ambition.”

Jonathan, President Goodluck

African political leaders’ behavior while in power is now evaluated using this motto of peace, which has a worldwide resonance and a force of moral clarity.

Still Believing in President Jonathan as a Peacemaker

In 2015, President Jonathan took the unimaginable step of calling an election with inconclusive results for the opposition candidate. He could have incited conflict, but for whatever reason he opted for peace.

Journalist and public intellectual Simon Kolawole

The clarity of Kolawole’s vision and thought process was spot on. To his great perspective, there is nothing more to offer.

Jonathan’s Leadership Style: Transformational

“Dr. Jonathan helped millions of young people escape poverty with creative programs like YouWin, which the World Bank has deemed to be the most successful company growth competition globally. In addition to his impressive record of establishing more schools for Nigeria’s youth—165 elementary and high schools and 14 universities—Dr. Jonathan also achieved the remarkable accomplishment of raising the country’s GDP because, as any leader should understand, the more you learn, the more you make.

In the Republic of Ghana, President John Dramani Mahama

It is unnecessary to say anything more to these stirring words from one of Africa’s greatest modern leaders.

A Leader Who is Compassionate and Tolerant

“History and my own experience have shown me that when you wield power as a sword rather than a shield, it will start to sap your energy and cause unimaginable suffering for anyone you serve. The mistaken belief that the man who wields power is the strong one is all too common among those who observe power from the sidelines. Yet, that is untrue. Power that is controlled is true power.

Jonathan, President Goodluck

The main components of presidential power are, in fact, compassion, tolerance, and restrained authority—not the opposites. Now that Jonathan is out of power, the obvious truth of his historic statement is staring us in the face.

The Face of African Democracy: Jonathan

As the embodiment of democracy in Africa, Goodluck Jonathan has left a legacy of a peaceful and democratic handover of power. The Jonathan Doctrine would quickly make Africa one of the world’s most stable and developed continents if all African leaders adopted it.

—Bestselling author and US political strategist Joe Trippi

Since many African leaders have not yet adopted the Jonathan Doctrine, I cannot help but concur that the region continues to face difficulties. There are still many sit-tight civilian tyrants across the continent who suppress the opposition and misuse term-limit clauses in their constitutions. Let Africa breathe and put the Jonathan Doctrine into practice.

President Jonathan’s View on the Ethical Need for Authority

Instead of launching a campaign of slander, I’ve come to spread ideas. Not hate, but love is what I’ve come to preach. I’ve come to help you break free from the polarizing past that has impeded our progress toward national unity. I have no adversaries to battle. All of you are friends of mine, and we have a similar identity.

President Jonathan

The years of Nigeria’s struggle against British colonialism and the establishment of a post-colonial Nigeria were the last time we heard of this kind of moral clarity before Jonathan came to say these incredibly transforming words.

How should this introduction to a work that I have been considering for a long time and have finally found the bravery to write be concluded? Opponents of President Jonathan and his army of persistent translators have dubbed him names that cannot be printed. People have called him weak, inept, and uninformed. Ten years after he stepped down, those who spoke these hurtful things have turned their heads in shame as the true inept and ignorant people have taken their place. The remaining girls have been deserted by people who used their awful situation as a means of defeating him in an election, eleven years after the Chibok girls were kidnapped. The Dapchi girls, of course, have since been added to the increasing number of people and girls kidnapped between 2015 and 2025. Furthermore, the Unity Fountain in Abuja, where the Bring Back the Girls campaigners had set up camp for months in order to criticize him and his administration, has been closed, fenced, and padlocked with DSS and police officers on duty.

From Gombe state, I am a Northerner, a Muslim, a scholar, and a public thinker. As a Christian, President Jonathan hails from Bayelsa state and is of Ijaw ethnicity. However, I have faith in him and his historic potential as a transformative leader, and I would be happy to support him, campaign for him, and cast my vote if he were to run for reelection.

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