Presidential Election: Goodluck Jonathan Is Not A Hero

Chinedu Donald Odega says Goodluck Jonathan is not worthy of the “hero” title he was awarded with for accepting his defeat in the 2015 presidential election.

The praise Goodluck Jonathan has been receiving for his willingness to concede the presidential office to Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect, demonstrates how important to Nigerians is the concept of peace. But is it rational to worship a man who, according to some Nigerians, did not live up to the nation’s expectations?

Goodluck Jonathan is not a national hero. He conceded victory to Muhammadu Buhari when he was 100% sure that the latter had won the election. This action obviously helped to abate any looming crisis or uprising as a result of his electoral loss to the opposing candidate in the fiercely-contested election. Isn’t this the reason he should be commended?
Africa has seen the light and it is no news that opposition parties now win elections across the continent. Last year alone, opposition won in Mauritius, Tunisia, Malawi, and the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia. Opposition had also won before in Kenya, Ghana, Ivory Coast, etc. Recent events have shown that no leader in Africa or elsewhere can survive scuttling the political aspiration of the masses. While some of those who had tried lately to subvert the masses are being tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, others are facing the music in their respective home countries. Jonathan was only clever not to dig his own grave.

Is Jonathan a national hero?

As a result of this isolated and singular gentlemanly act, many are now calling Jonathan a hero. Some are even equating him to Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and other notable heroes. Does he belong to that league?

According to the dictionary definition, a hero is a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. Evidently, according to this definition, judgements are not to be based only an isolated event.

Nigerians need to be careful in choosing and making our heroes. We should not lower our standards.

Jonathan has spent the last six years doing too little with too much resources. He has corrupted all our institutions including traditional and religious ones. He has bastardised our structures, politicised the military and other services, and presided over the most corrupt and inefficient government Nigeria has ever known.

Is this singular action enough to blot out all his administrative transgressions and political iniquities? Is this enough for us to consider him a hero who might never have to give an account of his stewardship?

If we set this precedence, Buhari can also spend the next four years failing and then concede victory to his opponent at the end of his tenure so that he can also be hailed as a hero.

This is exactly what happened with General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar (rtd.), the man who emptied our treasuries but was forgiven for merely transferring power to Olusegun Obasanjo’s government in 1999.