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Guardian UK Writer Lists Reasons Why He Thinks GEJ Lost Elections: Fallout with Obasanjo, Perceived Indifference to Boko Haram & More
In the aftermath of the 2015 elections, political pundits all around the world are giving their perspectives on how it went.
The Guardian UK‘s Max Siollun shares his thoughts on why he thinks President Goodluck Jonathan lost the elections.
Here are excerpts from his article:
Goodluck Jonathan has earned the dubious distinction of being the first president in Nigerian history to lose an election. In many ways, Jonathan was the architect of his own downfall. He made critical mistakes that turned the public and allies against him, and led them to gravitate towards the opposition. Here’s where it all went wrong:
Fallout with Obasanjo
Jonathan made the mistake of alienating Obasanjo; leading the general to write a public 18-page letter containing lacerating criticism of the president in December 2013. A party member likened Obasanjo’s hectoring of Jonathan to a father’s disappointment with his son. Getting on the wrong side of Obasanjo is the political equivalent of crossing a mafia don. You will pay…
Jega’s role as INEC chairman
Previous Nigerian presidents were too cynical to expose themselves to the unpredictable risk of a fair election. The election victories of PDP presidents during the past 16 years have been partially “assisted” by electoral malpractice. That changed when Jonathan nominated Professor Attahiru Jega as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2010. Jega vowed to reform Nigeria’s electoral process to ensure free and fair elections…
Bad management
Jonathan’s relations with party members at times resembled a football coach antagonising his star players into leaving for rival teams. His tendency to fall out with colleagues simultaneously weakened his party and strengthened the opposition…
Boko Haram & abduction of the Chibok girls
When Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in northern Nigeria, Jonathan failed to realise how much this would capture the public’s attention, both locally and internationally. His failure to speak about the kidnap for several weeks made him appear uncaring. These shortcomings were exacerbated by the behaviour of his wife, Patience, when she met the mothers of the kidnapped girls. Her ostentatious display and over-the-top emotions were mercilessly parodied…
Corruption and cronyism
Nigerians refer to their country’s resources as the “national cake” which must be shared by its citizens. There was a perception that Jonathan gave slices of the cake largely to members of his own community. Many powerful members of his government were from Jonathan’s region in the deep south of the country. Even Jonathan’s wife was appointed as a senior civil servant in his home state of Bayelsa…
