Hubbub and Yabing over Jonathan’s book: The other side of the coin

On Tuesday the 21st November, 2018, the former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan presented to the public his book which is in fact his memories entitled MY TRANSITION HOURS.
According to every available information including those from people who simply don’t like Jonathan and from his admirers, the gathering of his book presentation was tremendous and almost all inclusive. The occasion showed evidence of good planning for such event. The calibre of personalities who attended the event cut across all the spectrum of National and International divide.
Among those who attended but were not expected included Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who in fact played a major role in the defeat of Jonathan. He was not only present, but He accepted to be the Chairman of the occasion, drawing so many applauses at every point because, like Obasanjo or hate Him, he is at any time a joker, a humourist and a warmer. His presence alone gave many people food for thought. Apart from Obasanjo, the presence of easy going Abdusalam Abubakar and retired General Yakubu Gowon and many other great minds and great leaders in this country were also recognised.
Indeed, the assemblage of these personalities made the absence of the current President, Mohammadu Buhari a non issue because by abstaning himself from such an occasion he should have attended was a minus to his image and image makers who have by any striaght of comparison have contributed mostly to Buhari’s dwindling image due to their lack of professionalism in the communication and public relations output for the President. In fact, if Buhari had been there, people would be talking less of his presence than they would have been talking or writing of his absence. But from moral stand point, honestly, if I were among Buhari’s group of his image makers, I would have seriously and successfully persuaded him to attend. Because, if for nothing sake, Jonathan’s early conceeding victory to Buhari before the final tally of the result which Jegga and his Northern hawks had cooked was announced. That magnimonous gesture of international and historical value should have persuaded Buhari to honour Jonathan’s invitation to that book presentation.
Anyway, Buhari we know is not a person with rational thinking. He is a highly self opinionated person who honestly does not understand any iota of public relations. In fact until today, he has never changed and would never change. Even when his audience or handlers try to make him smile or laugh in the public, it is obvious that it is a forced laughter or smile. Of course, how many of us have seen him laughing, laughing derisively or laugh at all? In short, his absence from that occasion was a costly mistake.
Now back to the main thrust of this analysis, yes, a lot has been said and still being said and written about Jonathan’s presentation in his book. Those of us who are in the bussiness of writing books, news or features are conversant with criticisms but sometimes prasies. And since Jonathan’s book was a revealing one of many things that were not known to the public, it is bound to attract a lot of comments, applauds and criticisms from different perspectives particularly those he was not very charitable with the roles they played in bringing about his eventual defeat. We ought not to expect that bunch to either keep quiet or to accept their ignorable roles as presented by Jonathan. Afterall, it is a book that touches on many people and stepped on many toes. Nobody but nobody can fault the author. The best way to present a robust response to his narratives is for those people to go and write their own books “putting some facts correct.” Otherwise, saying all sorts of things against him or the book is effort in futility because the book has been published and is now in public domain.
The blame game is over for life!
In fact sifing through all or most of a plethora of volumes so far written since the public sanitation of the book, the one I must not fail to mention is one by a Northern group who had come out to take honour and glory for their roles in bringing about his defeat. Yes, that is how people should behave and react.
In fact, as far as I am concerned, although I have not seen or read the book apart from synopsis published in many National daily and magazines in and in the facebook, appointing figures to those whom his defeat is effort in futility because there were too many of them Perhaps those he mentioned in his book were the principal but there are many of them like that.
But when we come to sit down to analyze the whole process and the list of those blamed, I strongly posit that the number one person to blame should be Jonathan himself. Because, if he had done one thing, to accept the advice of wise counsellors not to contest for the second time when he did, all these would not have come to place. Because driven by the aura of the office of President and its enormous influence and power and possibly wrong advice from his advisers then and from his wife, he made a very costly mistake.
That notwithstanding, the response to the publication of the book by the Presidency was very infantile. For the Presidency to take a look at one aspect of the book, CORRUPTION smaks on lack of indepth knowledge of issues raised in the book.
No matter what Garuba Shehu, the Presidential spokesman may say or claims are the sucesses of this Administration in the area of corruption, whether there are more corruption now than when Jonathan was the President. The simple answer is that Transparency Internationaly has continued to say that there is more corruption now in the country under Buhari than when Jonathan was the President. What more evidence do we need or does Shehu need?
In conclusion, politicans and leaders should always be rational in their thinking, honestly, I know that when Jonathan declared that he would run for the Second tenure, he had gotten it all wrong. A simple objective political analysis would have being more than enough for him to refuse to recontest. For Example: he was the Vice President to Umaru Musa Yaradua when he died. He comfortably completed Yaradua’s tenure. He should have reminded himself of the difficulty and trauma which the country went through before the Northern Hawks would admit that yaradua was dead. Even at a point, yaradua’s wife almost assumed the Presidency and welded a lot of influence to the chagrin of Nigerians. The North was devastated of the President’s death because power was shifted to the North.
So, after completing Yaradua’s tenure, Jonathan should not have thought of running for the second time. I still remember vividly that at the beginning of Obasanjo’s opposition to Jonathan, was when he Jonathan ignored Obasanjo’s advice not to run for the second time. Afterall, was it not Obasanjo who made Jonathan the Governor of Bayelsa State, Vice President and president?
Painfully enough, Nigeria political leaders don’t listen to wise advice. Once they have being driven by political ambition, they hardly have recourse to reasonable or rational thinking.
Afterall, if Jonathan had not taken that position of running for the second time, political climate in this country today would have being different. Evidently, an Igbo President or at least Igbo Vice president would have being possible earlier than now. In a way, Jonathan by his costly mistake blocked the Igbo opportunity.
Many, I mean many, have not stopped to reason that way.
Having said that, Nothing, Absolutely Nothing would push me to crucify Jonathan on the altar of Political Mistake because after all said and done, he is a good Man. According to Micheal Haas, “good persons don’t make good leaders.” This is my mind.
This is the other side of the Coin!