A security expert and political analyst, Lekan Jackson-Ojo, has described the alleged plan to make the former President Goodluck Jonathan stage a comeback to the presidency as a gimmick of the Northern political elite.
He said that the present ruling “APC came to power in 2015 with four legs and no head destroyed Jonathan to hijack the political machinery in 2015”.
Political analysts opined that the Northern elite, having realised that the constitution can only allow Jonathan to spend only one term more, decided to use him as a short bridge back to power, adding that such an agenda would be at the detriment of the former president.
The security expert made this assertion in an interview with TheInfoStride on Monday in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
Jackson-Ojo added that the level of damage the All Progressives Congress, APC, had done to Jonathan in the count down to 2015 general election would not make him sellable again amongst Nigerian electorate.
He explained that in the bid to destroy the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic party, PDP, the APC succeeded in destroying former President Goodluck Jonathan and terribly defamed his personality.
He said, “The rumour making the rounds that the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, is planning to come back and complete his second tenure as stipulates by the Nigerian constitution, is nothing but fallout of the political permutation of the northern political elites, who are desperately looking for short bridge to come back to power after 2023.
“It is a dangerous dummy the northern oligarchy wants to sell to gullible Nigerians, it is obvious that they don’t want a fresh person that will be constitutionally eligible to spend an eighth years of two terms, they don’t want a long bridge, they desire a short bridge back to power.
“This gimmick could be compared to what happened to Pastor Ize Iyamu of Edo in the recently concluded gubernatorial election in the state. While Oshiomole of APC completely destroyed Iyamu in 2016, and vociferously massacred his character to favour the candidate of his party, having realised the political strength of Iyamu as grassroots mobilizer, it became practically impossible for him to sell Iyamu again in 2020.
“In the same vein, the present ruling APC, that came to power in 2015 with four legs and no head, destroyed Jonathan to hijack the political machinery in 2015, calling him all sorts of names, saying he was corrupt, weak and clueless.
“Sincerely, if former President Goodluck Jonathan falls for this cheap political popularity this time around, he will surely die politically and fail woefully. It will then create the opportunity for the North to scale through on the platform of PDP with their candidate.”
Jackson-Ojo added that while the North could come together as a formidable political front in all the 19 states, including the FCT to support a particular candidate for election into the presidency, the South would be greatly divided amongst itself along ethnic and religious lines .
He continued, “Somebody is trying to contest for the presidency from the South, as we speak, that person can’t get any support from Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti and Ogun, and he was said to be nursing ambition to become president, where would that support come from, and definitely, Kwara will go with the North, forget that Yoruba are majority.
“Let me tell you this bitter truth, those who are romancing Jonathan to contest the 2023 presidency are those individuals that are working against Tinubu in the APC, so, Jonathan should be wary of these political gladiators, they can’t be trusted in any way,” he said.
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