When in 2012 TIME magazine listed President Goodluck Jonathan as one of the most influential 100 persons in the world, I wrote a column titled ‘Have you been influenced by Jonathan?’
I was amused about what could have informed the choice of our president, considering the largely negative perception about his leadership style which did not seem to make him suitable for such listing, which, according to the magazine includes “the people who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world”.
The citation by Liberian President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, in which she stated among others that “with leaders like President Jonathan, Africa is sure to move toward prosperity, freedom and dignity for all of its people”, didn’t also sound true based on what the situation in the country was.
My reaction to President Jonathan’s inclusion on the Influential persons list then was not because he had not made any impact that deserved to be acknowledged, but I felt he had not done enough to deserve such recognition.
I would probably not have been disposed to any similar recognition for President Jonathan even up till last week, until he did the ‘unthinkable’ by calling his main opponent, General Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him hours before the announcement of the final result of the presidential election.
When both President Jonathan and General Buhari renewed their pledge to the peace accord ahead of the election, not many took them seriously. As far as many Nigerians were concerned, the commitment of the two gladiators was not worth more than the document they signed.
Given the intense hate and acrimonious campaign for the presidency, it was almost certain that despite the pretence of the candidates and their followers, the contest was a ‘do-or-die’ one. This explains why it was feared that violent protests may follow the announcement of the result either way it goes.
However, as it turned out, not only have we held the election using the controversial card reader anywhere it worked, but the loser has uncharacteristically accepted defeat while the winner has been magnanimous in victory.
Such was the envisaged crisis that the peace that has followed is still a surprise to all. It still seems like a dream from which some people are yet to awake from. But it is real and we have no other person than President Jonathan to thank for his willingness to put the country above his personal interest.
Notwithstanding the massive support for General Buhari which gave him a landslide victory, there are still grounds for President Jonathan to fault the election and give room for the expected violent clashes. But by conceding defeat easily, he proved that his claim that his election is not worth the blood of any Nigerian was not mere rhetoric.
Even when he could have made an issue about the embarrassment he suffered at the polling booth when he and his wife could not use the card reader which his party had said should not be used, Jonathan pleaded for patience.
Notwithstanding his shortcomings as President, history, as Senate President David Mark rightly said, will be kind to Jonathan for proving not to be as clueless as many of his critics think he is.
I agree completely with the statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Lai Muhammed on the significance of President Jonathan’s action.
“By that singular act, which went a long way in dousing post-election tension, the President has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, written his name in gold in the annals of Nigeria’s history and catapulted himself to a statesman.”
NATION
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