10 things you don't know about President Goodluck Jonathan

President Jonathan

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is Nigeria’s 14th head of state and current president, but that’s all common knowledge.

It’s also common knowledge that he originally came into office after the former president fell ill.

Here are some lesser-known things worth learning about.


Jonathan was born to a family of canoe makers 

Jonathan was born in what is now Bayelsa State to a family of canoe makers. In the oil-rich Niger Delta region, this was a somewhat unusual occupation, and Goodluck made the even more rare decision not to follow in his parents’ footsteps

His middle name means “God’s wish” 

Jonathan’s middle name, Ebele, means “God’s wish,” suggesting his parents had pretty high expectations for him from the get-go. I mean, if your name is Goodluck God’s wish, you’ve got some high hopes to live up to, right?

He has a Ph.D in Zoology 

Which might be a bit of an oddity for a sitting head of state. But Jonathan began with a bachelor’s degree in zoology, and followed up with an master’s in hydrobiology and fisheries biology and a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Port Harcourt. Who knows, maybe the Nigerian presidential office has a ton a pets!

He worked as an environmental protection officer before taking office 

Among other things. Before entering into the political arena in 1998, Jonathan worked as an education inspector, a lecturer, and more memorably as an environmental protection officer. It was in this latter capacity that he stepped into the public light, serving as a watch dog on many corporations in the country.

Jonathan seems to have a penchant for being in the right place at the right time 

It’s common knowledge that he assumed the presidency following then-President Olusegun Obansajo’s illness, but that wasn’t the first time he had to lead. In 1999, he was deputy governor for his home state of Bayelsa when the governor was impeached on corruption charges. Jonathan moved into the open position, beginning his more illustrious political career

His fedora is one of his more memorable signature features 

The fedora has character, but a former U.S. ambassador made the unfortunate comment that Jonathan lacked charisma and possessed an “underwhelming personality,” a slip of the tongue uncovered in the WikiLeaks scandal

As vice president, he kept a low profile but was instrumental in several key moments 

One of Jonathan’s niche roles was as a negotiator with his fellow Ijaws. He managed to help forge an agreement with militant groups in the Niger Delta to stop a rash of violence and encouraged them to lay down their weapons in exchange for amnesty, a move celebrated both by his administration and by citizens country wide

Jonathan tried to ban the Nigerian national soccer team after a poor showing at the 2010 World Cup 

After the Nigerian soccer team didn’t progress past the group stage at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Jonathan tried to implement a two-year ban on the team’s participation in international competition. He later backtracked due to pressure from FIFA, but it was pretty clear he wasn’t pleased with the performance.

Jonathan became the first sitting Nigerian president to have his own Facebook page 

Jonathan launched his Facebook page in June 2010 to help better interact with the Nigerian people. He used it as a platform to announce his run for office in 2011, which would represent his first actual run for political election

His wife has been investigated on money laundering allegations 

Though she was never found guilty or convicted of any wrongdoing, Jonathan’s wife, Patience, was investigated by an anti-corruption committee in 2006. It was alleged she had tried to launder more than $13 million, but the evidence wasn’t strong enough for a conviction

Why President Jonathan and his wife are after me — Amaechi

The Governor of Rivers State, southern Nigeria, Rotimi Amaechi, has disclosed that he incurred the wrath of President Goodluck Jonathan because he was seen to be exposing a lot of corrupt activities going on in government.

Amaechi also gave the impression that the President and his wife can never keep to their promises, recalling how they held several meetings with him begging him to deliver the state to Jonathan during the 2011 presidential election with the promise that they would never trouble him again, a promise they did not keep.
Governor Amaechi, who spoke exclusively with TheNEWS magazine, our sister publication, listed many instances where his actions infuriated President Jonathan and his wife, Patience, who he described as a de facto President.

First among the reasons for the battle to bring him down, according to Amaechi, is the desperate ambition of Dame Patience Jonathan to see herself and be addressed as the political ‘lord’ of Rivers State, her home state despite the fact that she is even not recognised by the constitution and is not occupying any elective office.

This seeming bottled-up anger culminated in the incident that occurred in Okrika, Patience’ hometown, in which she snatched the microphone from the governor and reprimanded him for saying he would buy off some buildings around a school and demolish it so as to create enough space for extracurricular activities for the school.

Governor Amaechi attributed the crisis to three things: “the first was the attempt by the wife of the President to control the Rivers State government. I remember when female senators came to me after she met with them. “She said to them: ‘I am the highest ranking officer from Rivers State and I wonder why the Governor of Rivers State does not accord me that respect’. “I said in law, I don’t see the office of the wife of the President being superior to that of the governor…The resistance is what you are seeing.”

During Jonathan’s campaigns for 2011, he said the President and his wife pleaded with him since he (Amaechi) wanted to be assured that if Jonathan emerged, there would not be a multiplicity of presidents where “you have the wife manipulating power, everybody doing one thing or the other. “I wanted to make sure that I and the Rivers people are fully protected. I wasn’t convinced.

“Now, within the period, the President had called me and the wife and we sat together and made peace. There again, they promised that nobody would hurt me, nobody would do this or that. That’s why this is a bit difficult because there is nothing new that they can tell me that they did not tell me in 2011 and they did not keep to their promise”.

He said the meeting was just between him, the President and Mrs. Jonathan and he secured their promise to protect him, but “we had hardly won the 2011 elections when the wife descended on me and the Rivers State Government.

“Basically, the only way you can survive is if you then wake up in the morning to say: ‘Good morning, ma. My name is Rotimi Amaechi, governor of Rivers State. Do I greet this person or that person’? “If she says no, then I don’t greet you. But if you need to run the office of the governor the way it is supposed to be run, then you would certainly have a disagreement with the wife of the President. “It is about power and control. She appears to be somebody who loves power.”

The governor also said part of the problem was that the President took about 41 oil wells from Rivers and handed them to Abia and Bayelsa, the President’s state. He also said the President was not comfortable with the fact that he (Amaechi) speaks his mind whenever he had the opportunity. For example, he said he had complained many times about the rising poverty and corruption among public office holders in the country to no avail even as the country’s economy is in bad shape.

Another incident that pitched Amaechi against the President was that the former accused the World Bank, during an event abroad, of aiding Nigeria’s lamentable corruption. He also lamented the increasing activities of oil thieves, adding that attempts by his government to subdue the thieves have also been scuttled by the President because of the problem between them, thus making the country suffer the consequence. “My colleague, the governor of Benue State, told me that teachers are on strike in his state because of salary. And you would see more in the next few months. The country is broke. “The amount of money being stolen is enough to run this economy. They set aside 455,000 barrels per day for local refining. We don’t refine in Nigeria. Crude is refined overseas, brought back to Nigeria and then we pay subsidy on it,” he said.
The governor made a lot of other revelations as published in the current edition of the magazine.

Dame Jonathan and Turai settlement talks collapse again

For the fourth consecutive time, talks for an out of court resolution of the legal battle between the incumbent First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and her predecessor, Hajiya Turai Yar’ Adua over a choice plot of land situated at Cadastral Zone in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja has collapsed.

With this development, the court would be asked by next week Monday to proceed with its judgment on the matter. Before Justice Peter Affen of an Abuja High Court where the case is on trial, the Federal Government, through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), had offered to settle the matter out of court. Following this development, the court adjourned the matter at the instance of counsel to the AGF, Baba Sai’Idu to allow time for the parties to reach an amicable resolution of the dispute.

Findings by Daily Sun at the Justice Ministry revealed that after meeting with authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), the Federal Government offered alternative plots to the Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WAYEF), a non-governmental organization belonging to Hajiya Turai.

However, these offers had been rejected by WAYEF, the original owners of the land for being too small and incapable of replacing or compensating its objectives. Specifically, four separate plots of land were offered to Turai’s NGO to choose from.

The first plot, No. 818 measuring 5333 square meters is located at the central area close to Akwa Ibom House; the second plot, no 3367 is along Airport Road, Wawa District, measuring 2.1 hectares, the third plot is within the vicinity of the National Mosque, while the fourth is plot 1838 located at Cadastral Zone A00, measuring 6119.29m2 as replacements for the disputed plot of land.

In rejecting the offer, Daily Sun learnt that the legal representatives of WAYEF, from the law firm of Adamu, Ahmed, Ibrahim and Co, noted that while the first plot is within a green area, the second plot of land falls within an un-approved layout of the city, the third has large number of pipes buried underneath and will not carry a high capacity building, while the fourth is rather too small compare to the original plot.

Specifically, the fourth offer was made last Friday afternoon via a letter addressed to the law Firm and dated April 12, 2013 by Felix Ibanga of the Legal Services, Secretariat, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCDA). The letter with the title: Offer of plot N0. 1838 cadastral Zone A00 Central Area, Abuja measuring 6119.29m2 for settlement of Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/324/2011 out of Court and obtained by Daily Sun reads: “You will recall that on the March, 5, 2013 a meeting was held at the office of the minister of the FCT for the resolution of the above mentioned suit out of court.

“At the said meeting which was attended by the general counsel/Sec. Legal FCT, the Director of Litigation, LSS, Felix Ibanga, LSS, Barr. Innocent Lagi who represented your chambers, the minister of the FCT expressed his desire and willingness to resolve this matter amicably out of court. “Based on the foregoing, we have the minister’s instruction to offer your client who is the plaintiff in the above mentioned suit plot N0. 1838 1838 Cadastral Zone A00 Central Area, Abuja measuring 6119.29m2 as a replacement plot for plot N0. 1347 Cadastral Zone A00 Central Area, Abuja the subject matter of suits FCT/HC/324/2011.

“Your prompt response to our offer will be appreciated to enable the administration take necessary steps to perfect your client’s title in the new plot of land.” But in rejecting the offer, Turai’s lawyer noted that the terms and contents of the offer did not express the commitment to settle the matter out of court. “It is the positions of the law firm that the essence of a settlement is to enable the parties engage in such a process that will obtain some measure of satisfaction of their claims.

This appears not the basis on which the offer is made, having carefully considered the following: *In spite of your admitted knowledge of an interlocutory injunction restraining you and anybody whatsoever called from interfering with our clients, title and interest over and above plot 1347 Cadastral Zone A00 within the Central Area, Abuja, you are continuing with your contempt of a valid court order by continuing building on the plot of land.

*That your offer of a much smaller parcel of land or none within an un-approved layout, did not take into consideration the interest of our client and its readiness to continue development before your actions. *The fact that your action has stalled and is continuing to stall the attainment of empowerment for women and youth in Nigeria.

“For the following reasons we are unable to accept your proposal as settlement as it is incapable of replacing or compensating the objectives of WAYEF as enshrined on the Registered Trustees.” The law firm said with the development, it was no longer interested in the out of court settlement since the authorities had not shown any form of sincerity committed for the settlement to sail through. Beyond, the offer of alternative plots of land; the law firm said the authorities had not mentioned the issue of monetary compensation.

However, it has however offered to waive the cost of litigation and inconveniences and withdraw the contempt proceedings if the authorities immediately retract from their actions and reverse its decision and allow it to resume work at the site.

Source: The Sun