Is former President Goodluck Jonathan really warming up to try his hands on the 2027 Presidential contest? After much cogitation, my conclusion is that scammers have successfully lured him into the fray; they want to feast on him again, as they did in 2015 when he was voted out.
Nigerians still remember that GEJ as he is popularly called was never in charge during his presidency. He loaned his moit to the following people, who became co-presidents during his tenure: Mrs Patience Jonathan, Dezieani Allison, Stella Oduah, and Okonjo-Iweala. These powerful women were GEJ’s co-pilots when he called the shots. We will refuse to return to that era. If we are serious about helping Nigeria to move forward, GEJ should totally, completely and unreservedly be kept far away from the Villa. Those stoking him to run are deceiving him.
The GEJ era, was a period of monumental looting of our treasury, and when unfortunately, Late Buhari succeeded him, the country went rapidly into auto-pilot. No captain was in charge. A shrouded cabal, from the dark, dealt Nigeria several devastating blows and gut punches, that left Nigeria supine: it was the era of that greedy, inexperienced and gluttonous boy, called Tunde Sabiu Yusuf. An unoblique conduit. He was the deputy head of the cabal, a consequence of Buhari’s laissez-faire leadership style- “sidon look” while the country was in free fall on all fronts. Recently, when former President Buhari died, we didn’t see Tunde Sabiu by his grave-side. Life and its ephemerality, that era was a fleeting moment that produced billionaires without any substance.
Former President Jonathan was never a firm President. He has no spine to possess a gait. He was too meek and sheepish for a country that needed a man of grit, pluck and spunk. See how he handled the Sovereign Wealth Fund: a half baked pie. He left it prey for wolves to eat up when time came. Why did he not enact a law to secure it from being tampered with? Anyway, the office fell on his lap; God and God alone can satisfactorily explain that happenstance. GEJ didn’t labour or scheme for it, and the upshot of that was evinced in the way and manner he ran the office, falling short of delivering our essential needs to us.
Even his South-South geopolitical zone was left derelict throughout his five years reign. No concrete intervention; the East-West road that would have been his legacy project was left in tatters. Those women in GEJ’s life and administration rode the pantheon of power with magisterial arrogance. Dezieani in particular behaved like an alternate president, picking and choosing which presidential directives to honor. They stole the country dry, and we are now left with the vestiges of that era. We are currently grappling with morass they created. Once she left office, she took up a slot in the bevy of those afflicted by cancer. Obviously she scheduled it for a convenient time. I hope it is able to counsel her
My honest advice to former President GEJ, is that he should run away from running. He will be milked dry and empty. The modicum of respect he commands today on the global stage, is as a result of his exemplary conduct in accepting defeat in 2015. For that singular and statesman act, your name is etched in gold, Sir; but, the tablet still has room for more inscriptions. Don’t by yourself change the narrative. Don’t jump in the fray to dissipate energy for a position you cannot get. YOUR EXCELLENCY, SIR. Please RUN; RUN AWAY FROM RUNNING THE ELECTION. GO AND ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT!!.
President Tinubu is doing well and cleaning up the mess that you and PMB caused the nation by your less than stellar leaderships. To recover Nigeria from the decrepitude of the past is a tall order, and the steady approach of PBAT is already yielding some cheering results. Our prayer now, is for these fruits to be allowed to ripen, that we may all enjoy them. We are inching closer and closer to growth and prosperity. Let President Tinubu finish his eight years without let or hindrance, so he is not pushed into short termism.
Afegbua, former Commissioner for Information in Edo state writes from Abuja
