An activist lawyer has berated some opposition leaders whom are trying hard to rebrand former President, Goodluck Jonathan, who was voted out of office by Nigerians in 2015. Farotimi questioned the validation behind the move, insisting that those expecting the Otuoke born politician to come and do miracle would be squarely disappointed.
According to him, there were good reasons Nigerians rejected Jonathan in 2015 which they believed was the solution to the country’s problems, but ended up with a worse alternative.
He believes that repackaging former president Jonathan back would only amount to waste of time as against President Bola Tinubu, insisting that this won’t solve Nigeria’s problems.
The senior lawyer was speaking over growing rumors of Jonathan entering the race for the presidency come2027 with some people believing that he may be the person to wrest power from the All Progressives Congress, APC.
He questioned the sanity of those poised on considering going back to the former Bayelsa governor who, according to him, they vilified, labeled and voted out in 2015.
Farotimi said, “This was the same Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who was vilified and labeled.
“The press went into overdrive in this country, the pulpits and the mosques said Jonathan’s removal will solve the problems of Nigeria, but here we are – we’re going back into the past to dig up the past. That was how we dug up the one that just expired,” he said in an interview published by Channel Television.
According to the lawyer the challenges facing the country were far beyond a mere change of personality that occupies the seat of power rather than people to see the problems for what they are.
The activist declared that even if President Tinubu were to vacate his office today and the evil system remains in place, nothing was going to change, insisting that changing the system is what Nigeria requires.
“We’re not looking for saviours; it’s about building systems, building a country,” he said, adding “how do you rebrand the failure of 2015 into a saint and a saviour in 2025?
“They want to bring Goodluck Jonathan because it is the safe option for them.
“There were valid reasons 10 years ago to have him removed, but people did not ask themselves: ‘What does it mean to change this?’ They focused on change, and they were sold a thought.
“Now, we’re back here 10 years later. I would be more interested in knowing exactly what it is that Mr. Goodluck might bring this time around that is different from what he did before people called for his removal.”
Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were sent packing in 2015 by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and late former President Muhammadu Buhari.