BEFORE WE CRUCIFY DR. GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, GCFR

“Ingratitude is innate to humans.”
― KRISTIAN GOLMUND AUMANN

Could the foregoing, a quote by Sir KRISTIAN GOLMUND AUMANN, renowned author, screenwriter, filmmaker, director and actor be true? I ask this question because I have realized that most times we (human beings) tend to forget so much in a hurry the good that other people have done for us or mankind, but sadly, we do not forget in a hurry their mistakes.

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 Is man created to act this way or is this man’s natural way of paying back when a fellow man genuinely goes out of his way to make contributions that could positively shape humanity and in the process makes a mistake? Is there really a perfect man on earth or is there any leader that has never made any mistake?

May be, the quote above might be true as further buttressed by Matthew 13:57, (a Bible verse) And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to him "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home."

My reasons for this article are based on how we (Nigerians) have in recent times, despised, hated, persecuted, maligned, and insulted our former president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ).

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What else can be more embarrassing, demeaning and destructive, like an outright condemnation and defaming of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government as if GEJ never meant well for Nigeria or he never did anything good for Nigerians even when he is being recognized by the international community?

It is no longer news that he has been working for the Commonwealth and the United Nations; GEJ has played some key roles for these most respected international bodies in recognition of his legacies.  

Jonathan convened a national conference to achieve stability and equitable distribution of resources which he stood for, which most Nigerians, including President Muhammadu Buhari’s (PMB) former running mate in his 2011 attempt at the presidency, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Founder and General Overseer of Latter Rain Assembly, are still clamoring for the implementation of the resolutions reached at this conference (even though the APC boycotted the conference) as this, according to Bakare, remains the solution to Nigeria’s socio-economic and political advancement.  

GEJ also established schools for Almajiris, to take these set of abandoned children who are always willing tools for criminal activities off the streets, he continued the implementation of the amnesty programme which brought youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria to almost a  zero level, which in turn, enabled higher crude oil exploitation and exportation.

 GEJ renovated our airports which we currently use, including airports for agricultural produce export to avoid perishing and wastage of these products (as witnessed recently in Kano state when there was tomato glut) to enable the average Nigerian farmer make profit and to encourage farming as a business; he made several successful inroads into the development of agriculture. And this led to the appointment of the then minister for agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina, as African Development Bank President. He designed Treasury Single Account though he did not implement it. He held on strictly to the rule of law which also enabled some opposition parties to get victory at the courts and emerge Governors. Jonathan established 12 federal universities to enable easy admission and access to government owned universities in each state of the federation. He constructed the highest number of roads more than all the ones constructed by previous governments (put together) as testified by the minister for power, housing and works, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola. Fuel scarcity too was almost nonexistent, and he finally kept to his word of not allowing any Nigerian blood to be spilled because of his ambition by conducting a free and fair election, conceding defeat, and handing over to his challenger, President Muhammadu Buhari.

Noteworthy is the fact that he achieved the foregoing while prosecuting the war against Boko Haram, allegedly orchestrated by some northerners to scuttle GEJ’s efforts. I say this because even PMB at a time said that GEJ was killing his brothers (Boko Haram). Even the Nigerian military at a time sent a warning to some prominent northerners supporting Boko haram.

Is it that Nigerians never see anything good in their own or it is just an attempt to completely destroy their citizens just like President Muhamadu Buhari (PMB) told the entire world that Nigerians are corrupt people?

I am not in support of corruption but it is also imperative for us to look inwards and really carry out a proper assessment of GEJ whether he supported corruption during his tenure as president or not. Also, it is proper for us to know whether he was directly in charge of disbursement of funds at the time he was in government.

Some Nigerians once described him as a very gentle man who lacked father figure. We are also aware of how shabbily and poorly, GEJ was treated when former President Umaru Musa Yar-Adua, passed on, by the late president’s wife, Turai Yar’ Adua, and others before he divinely became president of the federal republic of Nigeria.

 Though not in support of GEJ’s lack of capacity at that time, while he was president to detect that some alleged fraudulent activities were going on under his nose, as could be established through the statements from some Nigerians like the current Emir of Kano, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who once said that “Jonathan means well for Nigeria; but he is surrounded by thieves”. And Alhaji Asari Dokubo, leader of the Niger-Delta Volunteer Force, who also said that GEJ was surrounded by selfish people;  “Jonathan is surrounded by selfish people”. To cap it all, in 2014, a very prominent Nigerian, former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, staked his neck for GEJ and told Nigerians that “Jonathan means well for Nigeria and anybody who means well for Nigeria should support him.”

It could be seen that while GEJ saw nothing wrong in some of the people he was working with, probably thinking that the above statements were just another attempt to rubbish him, those who said the foregoing (apart from Babangida) may have been actually right that he was working with some corrupt people, unknown to him. Jonathan never took these allegations about some of these people seriously enough to investigate their activities. And, I am sure, if he did, he would have averted the current embarrassment caused by the alleged arms gate.

But as much as we may blame GEJ, it has become pertinent that we ask ourselves the following questions before we crucify him: was GEJ responsible for the disbursement of funds as president? Was he also responsible for the procurement of arms after approval was given? Has any kobo of the alleged looted funds been traced to GEJ’s account? Couldn’t it be possible that Lamido Sanusi made the above statement from an informed point of view? Is it not possible that some of the people that worked with him took advantage of his gentility or liberal posture to perpetrate the alleged crimes by PMB’s led government? Is it all those that worked with him that have been alleged to be corrupt? Why have some Nigerians who served with him like Ngozi Okonj- Iweala and Akinwumi Adesino (just to mention a few) being given higher responsibilities by international Agencies/organizations? Why is GEJ too being given more responsibilities by the international community? Does the international community lack the apparatus to gage GEJ’s corruptive tendencies (if any)? Is GEJ really a thief?

Is there nothing good about GEJ or did he never do anything good for Nigeria or Nigerians?

Answers to the foregoing questions may well guide us on what size of nails and cross that should be used to crucify GEJ.

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