Jonathan, stop making the same mistakes  

There must be something fundamentally addictive about public office in Nigeria that former holders cannot stop hogging the limelight, I think. For those of us who have never had the opportunity or privilege or the capacity to rig our ways to such offices, we watch amusingly from the sidelines various attempts by former public officials who cannot just accept the fact that the country has moved on without them. Probably not seeing themselves on the front pages of newspapers or television screens have a way of showing them their true worth, and suddenly they are reminded of their negligible value, in most cases.

We shall not dwell on the letter writer extraordinaire, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose fondness for seeing himself as ‘father of Nigeria’ knows no bounds with a tinge of megalomania believing that everything Nigerian must revolve round him. Incidentally, another loquacious fellow responded to him very well on his last letter to the senate president and the House of Representatives speaker and in a rare moment of seriousness, this person made quite a great deal of sense. Neither shall we dwell on the other gentleman, former (?) PDP spokesman, as no one knows who is in charge of the party now or whatever remains of it , Olisa Metuh, who could not wait a moment upon his release on bail before resuming normal activities. Apparently, these folks recognise that selective amnesia is in Nigerians DNA, as we seemingly forget their deeds in office without demanding penance from them.

It is in this light I view attempts by former President Goodluck Jonathan to re-write accounts of what happened while he was in office from May 6, 2010 till May 29, 2015 when he left office. While I’m not among those who believe erroneously that Jonathan’s years in office were all doom and gloom, he should not attempt to pull wool over our faces as well. One had thought that leaving office would offer the former president opportunity to be himself away from the hawks and vultures that surrounded him while he was president. Whoever advised him to hold a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland never meant well for him. Following it up with an interview on FRANCE 24 was like putting his foot in his mouth as well. These two media activities, with a sprinkle of awards from nebulous organisations, did not add any value to his legacy as president as Nigerians remain the judges of his government.

The choice of Geneva, the world’s diplomatic city, could have been to draw attention to his foundation but it did not attract the kind of mileage he must have expected. Similarly, for a predominantly English speaking country, how come Jonathan’s handlers settled for a French channel even though the interview was in English? Does the station have a reach like other international media outlets, which broadcast in English? Why did they not consider a Nigerian television station after all most are now on satellite as well? Some factual errors in the press conference text are also worth mentioning: claiming that nine states in the northern part of the country did not have universities is not entirely true as Katsina, Kogi, Kebbi, Jigawa and Gombe States have state universities prior to that time. Reading also that his government improved on the intelligence gathering capacity of our security agents left a sour taste in the mouth as we all remember the regularity of Boko Haram attacks which reached a climax in Jonathan’s admittance that terrorism is everywhere and so Nigerians must learn to live with it.

In the interview, he also said that the Buhari government is prosecuting the war on Boko Haram terrorists with the arms his government bought saying “I believe they are still using the equipment we procured” even though he added that the war will be won with other arms purchased by the present government. This is not a new argument as we have heard it from PDP spokesmen before, shortly after Jonathan left office except that juxtaposing this with the ongoing arms scandal trial with $2.1 billion allegedly misappropriated and the stories of soldiers and officers abandoning the warfront because of lack of equipment and ammunition.

While we congratulate him that he handed over to President Buhari, it is trite to continue playing this card, as Jonathan really did not have a choice but to do the bidding of Nigerians. I suggest he follow his own answer to a question that since he has access to the president he can always tell him whatever he wants to tell him. He may also devote time to rebuilding the political party that brought him to power just as he can continue with his foundation.