On the possibility of Jonathan's return for 2019...

on the possibility of Jonathan return for 2019 On Possibility Of Jonathan's Return For 2019 Race Editor's note: Inspired by the various debates still going on at various levels over the choice of President Muhammadu Buhari for second term in 2019 or the former president Goodluck Jonathan, Eustace Dunn, a Rivers state resident, commentator on social matters and Naij.com's senior editor , in this opinion piece analyzes the two sides of the coin. Jonathan and Buahri Since the immediate past president Goodluck Jonathan left power, his name has ceased to elude people's talks and write-ups on every media platform especially the social media. It has even led to attacks and counter attacks on both his supporters and antagonists alike. This then informed a question in my mind's eye as I asked myself: what if Jonathan returned for 2019, would his popularity win him the seat? You might be tempted to conclude that the question is inconsequential, but don't be so quick in your response. In a recent observation letter a young Nigerian wrote showing remorse that Nigerians unknowingly voted the ex-president out, it was highly conspicuous that a lot of people are still having the general election hangover. The arguments were still hinged on who should be the best choice in the 2019 election. Come on, this is barely six months from the May 29 handover. But if we may discuss it, it is ideal to look at some of the aspects that make the arguments still linger on. From the look of things, some Nigerians are already beginning to lament that the present administration is a sham. Among them are the ardent supporters of the former president. But a most surprising set of those who have now pronouncedly eaten up their words are those who had always thrown their support for President Muhammadu Buhari. Some of them are gradually getting weak in their various well thought out or impulsive debates as they too are ostensibly having some elements of regrets. A promise of change or a change of promise? You may have seen some of the pro-Buhari say that the APC came with a game of absolute deceit and that if they had known, they would have had another choice made asides the two major contenders in the last presidential election. This means to a very large extent that the party's promise of change may be gradually turning into a change of promise before its people that voted it to power. Subsequently, the youths are coming out to shout that Buhari has abandoned the promise he had made to them during the electioneering campaigns while others are saying that he left the problems Nigeria is currently plagued with to be touring round the world. If the presidency says it's for Nigerians' sake that he travelled, do we now say 'the ways of Buhari are not the ways of Nigerians'? The lamentations were evident in his recent appointments into the federal government cabinet. It took a long time to do so, which earned him the name of 'Baba go-slow'. Someone like the Ekiti state governor had stressed that since the president displayed his dictatorship for allegedly singlehandedly picking his team players. Even after picking, the question that bombarded the air became: "are these the saints we've been waiting for?" Many of the president's supporters have also written to call him to order. The popular Ovation magazine publisher recently wrote an open letter while other writers who have been his impassioned followers may have as well been making a u-turn. On the contrary, some say it is too early in the morning of the administration to begin to pass a verdict on President Buhari. The question then is why shouldn't Nigerians criticise him? That's the only way that a lagging government can sit up. If it had been this way during Jonathan's time, things wouldn't have been that bad as it were. However, with all the noises made by the citizenry, the most bone of contention is that those at the helm of affairs may not necessarily act on the cries as they already have a script they always adhere to. If you say it's too early to tackle the president for not meeting up with the yearnings of Nigerians, why has the APC started the process of lobbying for Buhari to come back in 2019? Yes! Senator Ahmed Yerima, the former governor of Zamfara state, said it in an interview recently. He was not mincing words. The corrupt PDP members By and large, it is also on records that the members of the former ruling PDP were not in any way better as they had eaten deep into corruption of all sorts. For instance, billions of naira and in foreign currencies were said to have been stolen during Jonathan's time as the president. It was mostly in that era that people really stole and went scot-free. The likes of Stella Oduah, Diezani Alison-Maduake, were indicted, yet no justice. It was also in the previous administration that the justice system became highly rotten and unarguably dormant. It was in that government that Honourable Farouk Lawal was openly bribed and he also did not face trial. Even the oil mogul, Femi Otedola, who put the bribe forward, is still doing his business. It was in that same government that all these corruption cases were swept under the carpet. Unfortunately, Nigerians were presented with two evils of which whichever choice anyone made was regarded to him or her as the lesser evil. Eventually, the winner was announced, yet the fight continued in all nook and cranny of the nation: at home, work place, social media etc. Debates keep ensuing and the most recent is the question we are on – if Buhari and Jonathan were placed again in 2019, in general terms, who would clinch on the victory podium? What I understand is that the critical tongue lashing of President Buhari is on political prejudice. Prejudice they say is a chain, it can hold you. If you prejudice, you can't move, you keep prejudice for years. it definitely will never get one anywhere. This is why whatsoever the president tries to do right, the past notion on him will not make his efforts impress anyone. Those who voted Buhari had no doubt wanted a change of person who was the president. It's because if we say it was a change of party, that cannot be justified as a chunk of those in the ruling APC at the moment were card carrying members of the PDP. What Nigerians say on social media Further based on the return of Jonathan for 2019, there were three categories of public opinion. The ones who believed that he could come back and win but he's already too big for presidency apparently owing to his current international recognition and political reputation; the ones who opined that in as much as they do not like President Buhari, that Jonathan is too weak to be a president; and then the ones that believe both Buhari and Jonathan should not surface as they are the "worse things" that ever happened to the nation. Some others say that President Buhari's slow pace government is paving way to absolute rebellion by professional architects of mayhem. In the light of all of these, in preparation for 2019, is it possible that the former president Jonathan is returned to run for the position since he had been presented in the last election? That he lost does not necessarily mean he no longer has the right to contest again. Yet, if one says he cannot be the best candidate, then who would be for the PDP in 2019? If one says he cannot be the best for the former ruling party, why was he projected in the March 28 presidential election? If one says he cannot be, where was the person the party intends to project? If he can't be, does it mean that the traits the party had seen in him have fizzled out so quickly? In general terms, will the PDP accept to re-present Jonathan for 2019? The answer is emphatic NO! Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, once said that the presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands. In truth, apart from the speculation of a zoning strategy for presidency on the platform of the PDP being shifted to the North, anyone advising the former president for a return is not being a good one. There are basic demands he needs to attend to at least, for himself. He is not big enough for the demand of the presidency. He had failed, he should move on with life and never look back at the Nigerian political terrain. Likewise President Buhari who has proven that he is now too old to handle the position of a president. The problem with Nigeria at the moment is bigger than Buhari, no offence. The president, although living in a past glory of a corruption fighter, should also not be returned in the 2019 presidential elections.