Looking through the almost ended year, here are some the major achievements which set GEJ apart and has endeared him to people both in his fatherland Nigeria and the world at large.
1. Conceding Defeat
The 2015 general elections was tension filled and packed with a lot of surprises. One great surprise was the unseating of the incumbent PDP-led administration. It was the first time in the history of the nation, to have a sitting president defeated, and so it was in March 2015 that the APC with Buhari as its front runner, defeated the Jonathan administration.
President Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
Many did not expect what followed the announcement of the poll results, as many argued that it would be difficult to see a smooth transition between opposing parties, especially in a very tensed country as Nigeria. Thus, the world watched on in anticipation of ethnic clashes, and party feuds, but nothing of such nature came to light.
One singular act many claim saved the day, and that was the point at which Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat by calling his opponent to congratulate him.GEJ went on to give a concession speech and political analyst say Jonathan’s speech put out the flames of war. At some point, people began to term Jonathan the saviour of the time, comparing him to even to Jesus.
Some reports have it that he conceded reluctantly, and others are of the believe that making Jonathan’s concession a heroic feature is a misplaced priority. However, Jonathan said he needed to check his ambition, as the consequences of not doing so may have been dire not only for Nigeria, but for Africa.
2. Leading The Commonwealth Observer Team
With the fame of his famous conceding act spreading sporadically, GEJ was made leader of a 33-nation observer mission to monitor the elections in Tanzania. Jonathan led the commonwealth team to the election which was billed for Sunday, October 25, while the former president of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza led the African Union (AU) team.
Jonathan led the Commonwealth observer team to Tanzania.
At a press conference in Tanzania, the ex-Nigerian president, called on the Tanzanian National Electoral Commission, political parties and civil society is the country to ensure a peaceful and transparent election. He made allusions to his concession of defeat in the March 28 presidential election, urging aspirants to hope for the best but accept outcomes even if they were unfavourable.
3. Jonathan Gets Clinton’s Position
Just about a week ago, Jonathan was assigned a new task in the United States of America. The former Bayelsa state governor was chosen to present the keynote address at the 2016 Hope Global Forums conference, billed to hold in the second week of January in Atlanta.
Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, during a recent visit to the United States of America
Jonathan is to take over the mantle from Bill Clinton, America’s former president who had handle the 2015 edition of the event which attracted over 3, 000 leaders from 40 countries.
4. Diplomatic Circle Award
Former-President-Goodluck-Jonathan
Goodluck Jonathan was nominated and won numerous awards in 2015, however, one very outstanding award was the honour bestowed on him by the Diplomatic Circle in Geneva, Switzerland.The award affirmed that the former president had indeed become a global icon. He was selected to be honoured for his democratic credentials and upholding human rights in Africa.
It will be recalled that GEJ was nominated by many as a potential candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, he was also seen as a strong contender for the Mo Ibrahim Prize- which is the world’s richest prize worth $ 5million plus additional annual $200,000 pension for life.
5. Numerous Roads Constructed
Owing to a recent statement by the minister of power, works and housing, Goodluck Jonathan is credited as the Nigerian head-of-state with the most amount of roads constructed.
GEJ constructed more roads that any other Nigerian Head of state, say Babatunde Fashola (SAN).
While revealing the agenda for his ministry, the former governor of Lagos in his first news conference tagged “Setting the Agenda for Delivering Change”, said Jonathan did very well in constructing roads, he also note that there was transformation in the power sector, noting that he would try to build on it.
Goodluck Jonathan might not be the man who calls the shots anymore, however he still maintains his relevance in Nigeria and global politics. The PDP leader is well respected, regardless of certain claims that tend to dent his administration.
Many are of the opinion that though there were flaws in the GEJ regime, still Nigerians need not focus only on the ill-side, but must also note the many good deeds accomplished by former president Jonathan and members of his cabinet.
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