By Chris Paul Otaigbe
All the television cameras were up and the whole world was watching. They were watching the final collation of the 2015 Presidential Election and Prof. Attahiru Jega the Returning Officer and Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) was patiently, calmly, with the highest visible comportment, in control of proceedings.
The atmosphere was tensed both in that room or hall and in every home and office across the country and the world where you have Nigerians especially and friends with great passion and interest in Nigeria.
The tension, this time and in this election, was a bit unusual as no one could anchor the ominous atmosphere of some foreboding to anything except for the fact that the election has been so fierce, it had polarized the country to the point of implosion.
So, the election meant so much for Nigeria. Not so much the outcome of the election but its conduct and post-election state of the country.
From nowhere and all of a sudden Peter Godsday Orubebe began his drama, freaking out and screaming “Jega is tribalistic…” Finally, the nation could now place that premonition that dominated their thinking that fateful morning. Then the tension was raised to its boiling point. At this time, the suspicion and conspiracy theory was that only one person would have been in the know of this unprecedented rude interruption of a presidential election and that person would be the president, at the time, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Thus, the ball was in the court of the incumbent in an election that was glaringly looking towards kicking him out of office. Jonathan was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while the main contender and obviously the leading candidate from the votes counted so far was, then, candidate Muhammadu Buhari.
Considering, the perceived sentiments or objections of the elite against a possible Buhari Presidency and PDP’s penchant for openly rigging elections, Nigerians had their hearts in their mouth and the nation had been finally thrown on the edge. They all know Jonathan was a nice guy, but the political hawks around him were far brutal and as symbolized by Orubebe’s outburst, this drama smelt nothing but the trouble Nigerians had been praying against in the run up to the elections and shortly after.
The nation had been deeply divided along ethnic and religious lines and the Boko Haram insurgency had about fourteen local governments under its belt and was inching to up its ante to begin to seize states in the north east. It was definitely not the best time for Nigeria and that Orubebe moment was going to be the defining moment that would either calm or throw the nation’s fragile peace into an intractable and perhaps endless strife that threatened to put paid not only to Nigeria’s inchoate democratic experiment but the union called Nigeria.
Thus, the fate of a whole nation and the destiny of over 200 million Nigerians lay in the words of one man and one man only, the incumbent President- Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
If he went ahead to endorse Orubebe’s global show of shame, to rig the election, (and he jolly well could and no one would question his authority as the President, Commander-In-Chief) then the winning side would have thrown the country into a war situation. On the other hand, if he had called Orubebe (whose unattractive performance typified the former Minister, in the mold of an attack dog of sort) and allowed the process to continue to its logical conclusion, the nation would be saved a needless anarchy and possible war.
Fortunately, he chose the latter and the nation finally heaved a sigh of relief. That relief is what gave Nigeria the lease of life she currently enjoys.
One has had to theatrically recall that historic moment in the life of the country not to magnify or overstate but to appropriately give an account of a moment that would have thrown Africa’s largest population and biggest democracy into a crisis that may have over run the continent. One had to dwell so much on it to underscore the magnitude of good, Goodluck Jonathan did the country by conceding defeat to Muhammadu Buhari in the dramatic 2015 presidential election.
That singular act of gallantry, which illustrated his declaration of those immortal words “my political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian…” wiped away any deficit in his character and alleged cluelessness in power.
By that submission to the will of the electorate, Jonathan had carved a place for himself in history, locally and globally.
His 62nd birthday celebration and all the encomiums he got, were all well deserved and more.
Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, was born November 20, 1957 in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. His father, Lawrence Ebele Jonathan was a canoe- maker and his mother, Eunice Ayi Ebele Jonathan, is a retired farmer.
Educated at St. Stephen’s Primary School, Otuoke; St Michael’s Primary School, Oloibiri; Mater Dei High School, lmiringi; Ogbia, and University of Port Harcourt, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree, Goodluck had his Master’s degree and Doctorate in Hydrobiology and Fisheries Biology.
Before joining politics, he served as a Science Inspector of Education, a lecturer at Rivers State College of Education Rumuolumeni (now Ignatius Ajuru University) and as an Assistant Director at the defunct Oil Minerals Producing Areas Development Commission.
His remarkable political career began with the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1998, following the death of General Sani Abacha who ruled Nigeria as a military dictator from 1993. In the run up to the 1998 elections, Diepreye Alaimeyeseigha, governorship candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), chose Jonathan to be his running mate.
The Alaimeyeseigha/Jonathan ticket won the election and he became the first civilian deputy governor of Bayelsa State on May 29, 1999. They were re-elected in 2004. Jonathan’s diligence and loyalty to Governor Alaimeyeseigha earned him the recognition as the “most hardworking deputy governor” in Nigeria. He was also widely respected for his humility, sense of responsibility and loyalty.
Goodluck Jonathan served as deputy governor of Bayelsa state until December 12, 2005, when he was sworn in as governor. In 2007 he won the PDP Bayelsa State gubernatorial primary and was in the midst of his campaign when he was nominated to be the PDP presidential candidate, Governor Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua’s vice presidential running mate.
The Yar’Adua/Jonathan ticket won the election. Their victory marked the first peaceful transition of power from one elected civilian leader to another since Nigeria attained independence from Britain in 1960. On May 29, 2007, Dr. Jonathan took the oath of office as Nigeria’s Vice-President, the first time that a civilian from Nigeria’s South-South geopolitical zone would hold such high political office in Nigeria.
Following President Yar’ Adua’s prolonged treatment in Saudi Arabia and as a result of the National Assembly’s adoption of the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ resolution in the absence of a constitutional accommodation for such lacuna, Vice President Jonathan became Acting President on February 9, 2010. In line with constitutional provisions, after the unforeseen and unfortunate death of President Yar’ Adua on May 5, 2010, Jonathan was sworn in as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 6 2010, becoming Nigeria’s 14th Head of State.
As Vice President, and being from the Niger Delta region, President Jonathan worked with the late President Yar’ Adua and South South leaders to develop a response to the militancy in the region that culminated in the widely acclaimed Niger Delta Amnesty Program, which brought peace and stability to the region.
In 2011, President Jonathan vied for the presidency as the PDP’s candidate and was elected president, a position he held until 2015. As President he made major contributions to the political, economic and social development of Nigeria through his Transformation Agenda. He promoted democratization through the observance of the rule of law, enactment of the Freedom of Information Act, electoral reforms and non-interference in electoral outcomes. He expanded the economy and increased agricultural and industrial production and supported and elevated the creative industry sector. He promoted social advancement through gender inclusion and equity and expanded access to education through the establishment and expansion of specialized and tertiary institutions. He significantly expanded the physical infrastructure and then laid the foundation for the take-off of a national intermodal transport system that combines roads, railroads, waterways and aviation. President Jonathan through the developmental activities of his Transformation Agenda, successfully placed the country in the leadership of the Africa Rising movement by establishing Nigeria, through a long overdue rebasing of its economy as the largest economy in Africa.
He worked tirelessly to strengthen the capacity of ECOWAS to respond to several challenges and personally led efforts that resolved the political crises in Cote d’lvoire, Niger, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin and Togo.
In 2015, after a keenly contested presidential campaign and to the surprise of his opponents, he conceded victory to General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress via a phone call even before the final tally and formal announcement by the Independent National Electoral Commission. With this unprecedented action President Jonathan demonstrated commitment to peace and electoral transparency giving significance to one of his most repeated mantras-“nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian.” Against the backdrop of African and international commendation for the statesmanship, President Jonathan presided over the first peaceful transfer of political power from a ruling party to an opposition party in Nigeria culminating with the swearing in of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari as President/Commander in Chief on May 29, 2015.
President Jonathan has received several local and global awards in recognition of his exceptional public service. He is committed to continuing to promote peace, democracy and development in Africa through the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation where he serves as Chairman.
Some of the other dramatic moments in the life of the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration include; the fuel subsidy removal saga.
On 13 December 2011, the 2012 fiscal year’s budget removed any provisions for the existing fuel subsidy. According to a poll carried out by the Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE- Nigeria), 80% of Nigerians opposed the plan to remove the fuel subsidy.
On 1 January 2012, the Jonathan administration announced the start of a controversial plan to end fuel subsidies. The government followed the advice of international experts that claimed the fuel subsidy ($8 billion per year, or 25% of the government annual budget) was not sustainable. Brookings Institution, a think tank, praised the government’s move, arguing that the subsidy crowds out other development spending, like education, and that it discourages investment in the country’s economic lifeblood, the oil sector. In his book, “My Transition Hours, Goodluck Jonathan said that subsidy was consuming too much of our revenues and the public believed that the sector was highly corrupt. He mentioned that the then Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Honorable Minister of Finance, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo Iweala briefed him about the corrupt practices that a technical committee she had put together discovered. He said that he was alarmed that billions of naira was being lost by the nation through the subsidy regime.
Many prominent Nigerians spoke out against the removal of the subsidy. Former Petroleum Minister, the Late Professor Tam David-West spoke out and expressed concern that the planned removal of the fuel subsidy will squeeze the economy, increase inflation, and hurt both businesses and the public.
Former military Head of State and ex Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources, General (now President) Buhari, urged Jonathan not to remove the fuel subsidy and to tackle corruption.
Yakubu Gowon, another former military Head of State, warned the government that the country’s infrastructure should be revived before fuel subsidy removal steps were taken.
Former military president Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, joined millions of Nigerians protesting against the removal of the fuel subsidy by the Jonathan administration, saying that the action is ill-timed.
Following Nigeria Labour Congress’ warning that the country faced many strikes, the country unions followed up with strikes that were matched with civil protests from 9–13 January, 2012.
Protesters and groups called for Jonathan to resign over the removal of fuel subsidies. After five days of national protests and strikes, on 16th January, Jonathan announced that the pump price of petroleum would be 97 naira per litre compared with a post-subsidy level of 147 naira.
Another controversy that dogged his government was the renaming of the University of Lagos.
In May 2012, President Jonathan changed the name of the University of Lagos to the Moshood Abiola University in honor of the late MKO Abiola. The action drew attention from critics; among them were pro-Abiola advocates and parties involved with the university. Some critics posited that the President did not submit an appropriate bill to the legislature for the change; that the University’s brand name should not be tampered with. The UNILAG Alumni Association commented that although they do not have prejudice against MKO Abiola, they were concerned “that neither the Governing Council nor the University Senate nor any other stakeholder was consulted before the change was announced. The President had attempted to regularize the renaming of the school by submitting a bill for an amendment of the University’s establishing law to the legislature.
Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act was one of the highpoints of the Jonathan administration as his decision won him the love of Nigerians even though they never expected any less from a Nigerian in power let alone the President of the country.
In January 2014, Jonathan signed into law the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act after it was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives. The law prohibits gay relationships, membership and other involvement in gay societies and organizations and gay marriages.
The bill berthed after international polls showed that 98% of Nigerians did not think homosexuality should be accepted by society, the highest percentage of any country surveyed. Penalties can be up to 14 years in prison for gay marriages and up to 10 years for other violations of the law.
Within a short period, the federal police department compiled a list of 168 gay people who would subsequently be jailed. Within days, 38 lesbian and gay people had been jailed, with arrests beginning during Christmas. The anti-LGBT bill stipulates that those who withhold the details of LGBT individuals face prison terms of up to five years. His decision and the law itself have been described as controversial, but according to a poll, 92% of Nigerians supported the ban.
Although, some of the policies of his highly favored successor at the time, such as the payment of N145/liter at the pump to buy fuel seem to have vindicated him and among others make him look like the ‘nicer guy’, it has still not convinced Nigerians that he is the better President.
Clearly, many of the unpopular policies of the Buhari administration seem to make Jonathan the saint of the two Presidents and the pro-Jonathan camp of the PDP have leveraged on this to continue to paint the former President as an angel compared to the current President. Unfortunately, many Nigerians see the Jonathan-led PDP government as their final tolerance of the corruption country the PDP turned the nation into in their over 16-year rule. That point was forcefully driven home in the defeat of Atiku Abubakar of the PDP by President Buhari, in the 2019 presidential election.
But that defeat, and many, if any, more to come, can never minimize the fact that when history called on Jonathan to rescue his nation from falling over the cliff edge, he did not let her down… That act would forever underpin his name and character as the nice and peaceful Nigerian who once governed a complicated country called Nigeria.
Considering the tension that gripped the nation and the probable outbreak of a war that was looming in the horizon, many who witnessed that Orubebe moment would agree that Goodluck Ebele Jonathan deserved to be given a national holiday or a minimum of as many guns salute every year to symbolize his age and contribution to the sustenance of the union called Nigeria.
